Chapter nine institutions refer to a group of organisations established in terms of Chapter 9 of the South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n Constitution

Constitution of South Africa

The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...

 to guard democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

. The institutions are:

• the Public Protector
  Public Protector
  The Public Protector is an office established by the Constitution of South Africa. It is one of the Chapter nine institutions, named for the constitutional chapter that establishes a number of bodies with the mandate to guard democracy....
  
  
• the South African Human Rights Commission
  South African Human Rights Commission
  The South African Human Rights Commission was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent national institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the South African Human Rights Commission Act of 1994....
  
   (SAHRC)
• the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities
• the Commission for Gender Equality
• the Auditor-General
  Auditor-General (South Africa)
  The Auditor-General is an office established by the 1996 Constitution of South Africa and is one of the Chapter nine institutions intended to support democracy, although its history dates back at least 95 years ....
  
  
• the Independent Electoral Commission
  Independent Electoral Commission (South Africa)
  The Independent Electoral Commission is South Africa's independent election management body. It manages elections to the National Assembly, the provincial legislatures and the municipal councils....
  
   (IEC)
• an Independent Authority to Regulate Broadcasting.

Though chapter nine calls for a broadcast regulator it does not specifically mandate the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the public interest....

 (Icasa). Interpretations vary on whether Icasa is (or is not) a chapter nine institution.

Parliamentary review

In October 2006 an ad-hoc parliamentary

Parliament of South Africa

The Parliament of South Africa is South Africa's legislature and under the country's current Constitution is composed of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces....

committee was established to investigate the chapter nine bodies with regard to employment procedures and institutional governance.
Also of concern was spending on the institutions and their lack of mandate to operate outside of the country.
The committee recommended the establishment of a directorate, under the office of the Speaker, to liaise with the institutions.

External links

• Text of Chapter 9 at South African Government Information