The US Constitution in Art. V provides for a very complicated amendment procedure, being one of the toughest in the world. The amendment is adopted by 2/3 of the votes of the members of each House of Congress or by the Convention - the constituent authority - specially convened at the initiative of the legislatures of 2/3 of the states. Once an amendment is adopted at the federal level, it is subject to ratification by the states. For an amendment to enter into force, 3/4 states must approve it. States can also ratify the amendments in two forms similar to those used at the federal level: either by legislatures or conventions. Thus, the procedure for amending the US Constitution includes two main stages: federal adoption and state ratification, and amendments can be made through one of four possible procedures.
So far, in practice, all but one of the amendments have been made by the first of these procedures. The exception was the XXI amendment, repealing the Prohibition introduced by the XVIII amendment - it was adopted by Congress and ratified by state conventions.
The super-rigid procedure for amending the US Constitution of 1787, established to give stability to it, combined with a policy of educating the population to respect their highest law, undoubtedly achieved its goal. Over more than 200 years of US history, about 5,000 constitutional amendments have been presented to the Congress. Of these, 33 were approved by the chambers, and, as it is known, 27 were ratified, of which 26 are valid. As can be seen, the most powerful “filtering” draft amendments are subject to consideration by Congress. However, ratification by states is a very serious barrier to amendment. The history of the development of the American Constitution knows examples where the ratification of the amendment dragged on for decades and even centuries.
The procedure for adopting amendments to the Constitution is rather cumbersome. Therefore, the American state does not often resort to formal changes to the Fundamental Law – only when this is forced by a confluence of political circumstances. In quiet periods, this complex procedure is not applied.
Many constitutional issues were regulated by constitutional amendments. The amendments are mainly in the nature of additions. Constitutional law matters are also governed by state constitutions and laws, Congressional laws, and especially decisions of the US Supreme Court. The latter, with its interpretations, without changing the text of the constitution, creates new constitutional norms (“living constitution”), because the act of 1787 was adopted in a completely different setting and in some cases does not meet modern social relations.
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