Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) Order 1965

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1965/134

1965 No. 134

AFRICA

The Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) Order 1965

29thJanuary 1965

29thJanuary 1965

30thJanuary 1965The Constitution3rdMarch 1965

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 29th day of January 1965

Present,

The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers on that behalf by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890(a) or otherwise in Her Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—

Citation and commencement.

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) Order 1965.

(2) This Order, except as otherwise provided, shall come into operation on 30th January 1965.

Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Order—

"the appointed day" means such day after the commencement of this Order as the Commissioner may by notice in the Gazette appoint.

"the existing Orders" means the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) Order in Council 1960(b), the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) (Amendment) Order 1963(c) and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) (Amendment) Order 1964(d).

"the Constitution" means the Constitution set out in the schedule to this Order.

(2) References in this Order to "the Commissioner" shall be construed, in relation to any period before the appointed day, as references to the person holding the office of Commissioner constituted by the existing Orders or, to the extent of his authority, to any person who is for the time being authorised to perform the functions of that office.

(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, expressions used in sections 1 to 16 (inclusive) of this Order have the same meaning as in the Constitution and the provisions of section 102 of the Constitution shall apply for the purposes of interpreting those sections as they apply for interpreting the Constitution.

Revocation.

3. Subject to the provisions of section 5 of this Order, the existing Orders are revoked with effect from the appointed day.

(a) 53 & 54 Vict. c. 37.

(b) S.I. 1960/2416 (1960 I, p. 327).

(c) S.I. 1963/1628 (1963 III, p. 3027).

(d) S.I. 1964/1189 (1964 II, p. 2764).

Establishment of Constitution.

4. Subject to the provisions of this Order, the Constitution shall come into effect in Bechuanaland on the appointed day:

Provided that sections 91 to 97 (inclusive) of the Constitution shall come into operation on such day after the appointed day as the Commissioner, acting in his discretion, shall by notice in the Gazette appoint.

Continuance of certain provisions of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) Order in Council 1960.

5. Until the day appointed under the proviso to section 4 of this Order, section 52(4) and Part VII of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) Order in Council 1960, as amended by the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Constitution) Order 1963, shall continue to have effect after the appointed day, but so that references in the said Part VII to the Legislative Council shall be construed as references to the Legislative Assembly established by this Order.

Existing laws.

6.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the existing laws shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this Order.

(2) The Commissioner may by order made at any time before 1st July 1965 make such amendments to any existing law as may appear to him to be necessary or expedient for bringing that law into conformity with the provisions of this Order or otherwise for giving effect or enabling effect to be given to those provisions.

(3) Where any matter that falls to be prescribed or otherwise provided for the purposes of the Constitution by the Legislature of Bechuanaland or by any other authority or person is prescribed or provided for by or under any existing law (including any amendment to any such law made under this section) or is otherwise prescribed or provided for, immediately before the commencement of this Order, by or under the existing Orders, that prescription or provision shall, as from the commencement of this Order, have effect as if it had been made by the Legislature of Bechuanaland or by that authority or person, as the case may be.

(4) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to any powers conferred by this Order upon any person or authority to make provision for any matter, including the amendment or repeal of any existing law.

(5) For the purposes of this section, the expression "the existing laws" means all Proclamations, Ordinances, laws, rules, regulations, orders and other instruments made by the High Commissioner for South Africa, the High Commissioner for Basutoland, the Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland or any other person or authority in Bechuanaland and having effect as part of the law of Bechuanaland or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order and includes any law applied to Bechuanaland by any such instrument.

Existing Offices.

7.—(1) Where any office has been established by or under the existing Orders and any provision of the Constitution establishes a similar or an equivalent office (not being the office of a member of the Legislative Assembly or the Speaker) any person who, immediately before the commencement of that provision, holds or is acting in the former office shall, so far as is consistent with the provisions of this Order, be deemed to have been appointed, as from the commencement of that provision, to hold or to act in the latter office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and to have taken any necessary oath under the Constitution:

Provided that any person who under the provisions of the existing Orders would have been required to vacate his office at the expiration of any period shall vacate his office at the expiration of that period.

(2) For the purposes of this section the office of a member of the Executive Council established by the existing Orders shall not, except as provided in section 8 of this Order, be regarded as a similar or equivalent office to the office of Minister established by or under the Constitution.

Executive Council.

8. Notwithstanding the revocation by this Order of the existing Orders, the Executive Council established by those Orders—

(a) shall continue to exist until such time as the Cabinet established by the Constitution has been constituted, and

(b) shall, until that time, perform its functions and be consulted by the Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of the existing Orders.

First Specially Elected Members.

9.—(1) At any time before the appointed day the Commissioner may, by regulations, which shall be published in the Gazette, make provision for the holding, as nearly as may be in accordance with the schedule to the Constitution, of a general election of the Specially Elected Members of the Legislative Assembly as soon as practicable after the holding of an election of the members of the Legislative Assembly under the authority of regulations made by the Commissioner under the Bechuanaland (Electoral Provisions) Orders 1964(a), and for the purposes of such general election of the Specially Elected Members the Speaker of the Legislative Council established by the existing Orders shall be deemed to be the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

(2) The persons who are elected at a general election held in pursuance of regulations made under subsection (1) of this section as Specially Elected Members of the Legislative Assembly shall be deemed to have been elected in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

(3) Any regulations made by the Commissioner under this section shall have effect after the appointed day as if they were rules made by the Legislative Assembly under paragraph 2 of the schedule to the Constitution, and may be amended or revoked accordingly.

First Elected Members of House of Chiefs.

10.—(1) At any time before the appointed day the Commissioner may by regulations published in the Gazette make provision for the holding of an election of the Elected Members of the House of Chiefs in the manner provided by section 84 of this Constitution.

(2) The persons who are elected in pursuance of regulations made under subsection (1) of this section as Elected Members of the House of Chiefs shall be deemed to have been elected in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

(3) Any regulations made by the Commissioner under this section shall have effect after the appointed day as if they were rules made by the House of Chiefs with the approval of the Commissioner under section 88(f) of the Constitution and may be amended or revoked accordingly.

First Constituencies.

11. Until other provision is made under section 52 of the Constitution, Bechuanaland shall be divided, for the purpose of the election of

(a) S.I. 1964/915, 1843 (1964 II, p. 1953; III, p. 4009).

the Elected Members of the Legislative Assembly, into thirty one constituencies in accordance with the provisions of any Proclamation made by the Commissioner under section 4(5) of the Bechuanaland (Electoral Provisions) Order 1964(a) which is in force immediately before the appointed day.

Financial Secretary.

12.—(1) There shall be a Financial Secretary, whose office shall be a public office.

(2) The Financial Secretary shall be a member of the Legislative Assembly in addition to the members of the Assembly for whom provision is made by section 45 of the Constitution.

(3) There shall be an office of Minister of Finance which shall be deemed to be one of the offices established under section 26(2) of the Constitution and shall be held by the Financial Secretary.

(4) Nothing in sections 26(3) or 27 of the Constitution shall apply in relation to the office of Minister held by the Financial Secretary.

(5) The Minister of Finance shall have responsibility for the conduct (subject to the provisions of the...

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