Electoral & Democracy

Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Acts 2023

Suite of 16 constitutional amendments — including financial autonomy for state legislatures + judiciary, and devolution of railway + electricity to concurrent list.

Signed
2023-03-17
Status
In force

1 Background

The Fifth Alteration was a suite of 16 separate Acts amending the 1999 Constitution, signed together in March 2023. Two amendments stand out: (1) financial autonomy for state legislatures and state judiciaries — they now receive their funds directly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund rather than through the executive; (2) devolution of railway and electricity from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list, which legally enabled the Electricity Act 2023 and state-led rail projects.

2 Key provisions (6)

01
Financial autonomy for state legislatures and judiciaries
02
Railway moved from exclusive to concurrent list
03
Electricity moved from exclusive to concurrent list (key enabler for Electricity Act 2023)
04
Local government financial autonomy strengthened
05
Streamlined process for ministerial appointment confirmations
06
Pre-action notice requirements relaxed for FG litigation

3 What changed in practice

Electricity Act 2023 became possible because of the concurrent-list devolution
State houses of assembly received direct CRF allocation from 2024
Local government autonomy strengthened (later expanded by Supreme Court 2024 ruling)

4 Who it affects

State governmentsState legislaturesState judiciariesLocal governments

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