It would be a rare person indeed who would accurately respond that the guarantee to each state of equal suffrage in the Senate is the only constitutional provision that is now expressly unamendable under the Constitution's own terms.
The amendment process is very difficult and time consuming: A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states. The ERA Amendment did not pass the necessary majority of state legislatures in the 1980s.
An amendment of the Constitution can be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament. The Bill must then be passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.
A Constitution Amendment Bill which aims to affect changes to the basic values of the Constitution requires a supporting vote of at least 75% of the members of the National Assembly and of at least six provinces in the NCOP in order to be passed.
The primary way to amend the Constitution of the State of North Carolina is by a vote of the qualified voters of the State. The General Assembly first passes a law by a three-fifths vote of the members of both the House and Senate.
Congress may submit a proposed constitutional amendment to the states, if the proposed amendment language is approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses. Congress must call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states (i.e., 34 of 50 states).
An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.
The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures.
Limitation on the amendment power: article five itself cannot be amended so as to create any new limitations on the amending power.
In other words, the Court held that the basic elements or the fundamental features of the Constitution as contained in the Preamble cannot be altered by an amendment under Article 368.