The ANC unveils its proposed constitutional principles

On 12 April 1991, the African National Congress (ANC) made public its proposed constitutional principles in a discussion document, which to some extent had the effect of shifting public focus away from the prospect of a total breakdown. Among the things that the discussion document called for was a non-racial democratic state with a Bill of Rights, the independence of judiciary and other related issues. This was followed by the first plenary session of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), which began on 21 December 1991 at the World Trade Centre, Johannesburg.