Belize Independence Order 1981
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1981 No. 1107
BELIZE
The Belize Independence Order 198131stJuly 1981
10thAugust 1981
21stSeptember 1981
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 31st day of July 1981
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by sections 2 and 6 of the Belize Act 1981 (a), is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
Citation, commencement and Independence Day.
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Belize Independence Order 1981.
(2) This Order shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into operation on 21st September 1981 which is hereby appointed as 'Independence Day':
Provided that sections 4(2) and 6 of this Order shall come into operation forthwith.
Interpretation.
2.—(1) In this Order—
"the Constitution" means the Constitution set out in Schedule 1 to this Order;
"the Constitution Ordinance" means the British Honduras Constitution Ordinance 1963(b);
"the Letters Patent" means the Belize Letters Patent 1964 to 1979(c).
(2) Save where the context otherwise requires, expressions used in this Order shall have the same meaning as in the Constitution and the provisions of sections 128, 129 and 131 of the Constitution shall apply for the
(a) 1981 c. 52.
(b) No. 33/1963, amended by No. 23/1966 and No. 9/1970.
(c) 1964 I, p. 1136; 1968 II, p. 4104; 1968 III, p. 5624; 1973 II, p. 4708; 1974 III, p. 8672; 1976 II, p. 3814; 1979 II, p. 2868; 1979 III, p. 4717.
purposes of interpreting this Order and otherwise in relation thereto as they apply for the purposes of interpreting and in relation to the Constitution.
Revocations.
3.—The instruments specified in Schedule 2 to this Order are revoked.
Establishment of Constitution.
4.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Order, the Constitution shall come into effect in Belize on Independence Day.
(2) The Governor (as defined for the purposes of the Letters Patent) acting after consultation with the Premier (as so defined) may at any time after this subsection comes into operation exercise any of the powers conferred on the Governor-General by section 5 of this Order to such extent as may be necessary or expedient to enable the Constitution to function as from Independence Day.
Existing laws.
5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Order, the existing laws shall, notwithstanding the revocation of the Letters Patent and the Constitution Ordinance, continue in force on and after Independence Day and shall then have effect as if they had been made in pursuance of the Constitution, but they shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with the Belize Act 1981 and this Order.
(2) Where any matter that falls to be prescribed or otherwise provided for under the Constitution by the National Assembly or by any other authority or person is prescribed or provided for by or under an existing law (including any amendment to any such law made under this section), that prescription or provision shall, as from Independence Day, have effect (with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring it into conformity with the Belize Act 1981 and this Order) as if it had been made under the Constitution by the National Assembly or, as the case may require, by the other authority or person.
(3) The Governor-General may, by order published in the Gazette, within twelve months after Independence Day make such amendments to any existing law (other than the Belize Act 1981) as may 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.
(4) An order made under this section may be amended or revoked by the National Assembly or, in relation to any existing law affected thereby, by any other authority having power to amend, repeal or revoke that existing law.
(5) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to any powers conferred by this Order or by any other law upon any person or authority to make provision for any matter, including the amendment or repeal of any existing law.
(6) In this section, the expression "existing law" means any Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Order of Her Majesty in Council, Ordinance, rule, regulation, order or other instrument having effect as part of the law of Belize immediately before Independence Day (including any such law made before that day and coming into operation on or after that day), but does not include any instrument revoked by this Order.
First Governor-General.
6.—(1) Her Majesty may before Independence Day appoint the first Governor-General from among persons who qualify by virtue of section 23 of the Constitution to become citizens of Belize on Independence Day.
(2) Any such appointment shall take effect as from Independence Day, and the person so appointed shall hold office in accordance with section 30 of the Constitution.
Ministers.
7.—(1) The person who, immediately before Independence Day, holds the office of Premier under the Letters Patent shall, as from that day, hold office as Prime Minister as if he had been appointed thereto under section 37 of the Constitution.
(2) The persons who, immediately before Independence Day, hold office as Ministers (other than the Premier) under the Letters Patent shall, as from that day, hold the like offices as if they had been appointed thereto under section 40 of the Constitution.
(3) Any person holding the office of Prime Minister or other Minister by virtue of subsections (1) and (2) of this section who, immediately before Independence Day, was under the Letters Patent assigned responsibility for any business or department of government shall, as from that day, be deemed to have been assigned responsibility for that business or department under section 41 of the Constitution.
(4) Any person holding the office of Prime Minister or other Minister by virtue of subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of section 46 of the Constitution.
National Assembly.
8.—(1) The persons who, immediately before Independence Day, are members of the former House of Representatives shall, as from that day, be deemed to have been elected in pursuance of section 56(1) of the Constitution in the respective electoral divisions corresponding to the electoral divisions by which they were returned to the former House of Representatives, and shall hold their seats in the House of Representatives in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(2) The persons who, immediately before Independence Day, are members of the former Senate, having been appointed as such under paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of section 9(2) of the Constitution Ordinance, shall, as from Independence Day, be deemed to have been appointed to the Senate in pursuance of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) respectively of section 61 (2) of the Constitution, and shall hold their seats in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(3) The persons deemed to be elected to the House of Representatives or to be appointed to the Senate by virtue of subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of section 71 of the Constitution.
(4) The persons who, immediately before Independence Day, are the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the former House of Representatives and the President and Vice-President of the former Senate shall, as from Independence Day, be deemed to have been elected respectively as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and President and Vice-President of the Senate in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and shall hold office in accordance with those provisions.
(5) The person who, immediately before Independence Day, is the Leader of the Opposition in the former House of Representatives shall, as from that day, be deemed to have been appointed as Leader of the Opposition in pursuance of section 47 of the Constitution, and shall hold office as such in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(6) The Standing Orders of the former House of Representatives and of the former Senate as in force immediately before Independence Day shall, until it is otherwise provided under section 70 of the Constitution, be the Standing Orders respectively of the House of Representatives and of the Senate, but they shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with the Constitution.
(7) Notwithstanding anything in section 84(2) of the Constitution (but subject to subsection (3) of that section), the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved on 30th November 1984 (that is to say, five years from the date when the two Houses of the former National Assembly first met after the last dissolution of that Assembly under the Constitution Ordinance).
(8) In this section, the expressions "former National Assembly", "former House of Representatives", and "former Senate" mean respectively the National Assembly, House of Representatives, and Senate established by the Constitution Ordinance.
Existing public officers.
9.—Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, every person who immediately before Independence Day holds or is acting in a public office under the Letters Patent or the Constitution Ordinance shall, as from that day, continue to hold or act in that office or the corresponding office established by the Constitution as if he had been appointed thereto in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and as if he had taken any oath required by the Constitution or any other law:
Provided that any person who under the Letters Patent, the Constitution Ordinance or any other law in force...
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