Constitutional Amendment Procedures

This primer sets forth issues, considerations and options in drafting amendment provisions for constitutions.   Questions that the primer addresses include:  (1) What is the difference between a constitutional amendment and a total revision? (2) Who should be able to initiate a constitutional amendment? (3) Who should be involved in amending the constitution? (4) What kind of special constraints might be helpful in the constitutional amendment process? (5) Should the public be involved in the amendment process—either directly or indirectly? (6) Should there be alternative amendment procedures available to choose between? (7) Should all constitutional provisions be subject to the same amendment procedure? (8) What special provisions should be in place for federal or composite societies?  And (9) Should some provisions be unamendable?