Botswana Independence Order 1966
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1966 No. 1171
AFRICA
The Botswana Independence Order 196620thSeptember 1966
20thSeptember 1966
Immediately before 30thSeptember 1966
At the Court at Balmoral, the 20th day of September 1966
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers in that behalf conferred by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890(a) and section 5 of the Botswana Independence Act 1966(b), is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
Citation, commencement and construction.
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Botswana Independence Order 1966.
(2) This Order shall come into operation immediately before 30th September 1966:
Provided that Her Majesty's Commissioner for the Bechuanaland Protectorate (in this Order referred to as "the Commissioner") acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, may at any time after 20th September 1966 exercise any of the powers conferred upon the President by section 4(3)(a) of this Order or section 91(1) of the Constitution of Botswana established by this Order to such extent as may, in his opinion, be necessary or expedient to enable that Constitution to function as from 30th September 1966.
(3) Save where the context otherwise requires, expressions used in sections 1 to 18 (inclusive) of this Order have the same meaning as in the Constitution set out in Schedule 2 to this Order and the provisions of section 129 of that Constitution shall apply for the purposes of interpreting those sections as they apply for the purposes of interpreting that Constitution.
Revocations.
2. The Orders specified in Schedule 1 to this Order (hereinafter referred to as "the existing Orders") are revoked to the extent specified therein.
3. Subject to the provisions of this Order the Constitution set out in Schedule 2 to this Order (hereinafter referred to as "the Constitution") shall come into effect in Botswana at the commencement of this Order.
(a) 1890 c. 37.
(b) 1966 c. 23.
Existing laws.
4.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the existing laws shall, notwithstanding the revocation of the existing Orders or the establishment of a Republic in Botswana, continue in force after the commencement of this Order as if they had been made in pursuance of this Order.
(2) The existing laws and any Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom or Order of Her Majesty in Council (other than the Botswana Independence Act 1966 or this Order) having effect as part of the law of Botswana or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this Order.
(3) The President may by order made at any time before 30th September 1967 make such amendments to—
(a) the existing laws; or
(b) any Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom or Order of Her Majesty in Council (other than the Botswana Independence Act 1966 or this Order) having effect as part of the law of Botswana or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order,
as may appear to him to be necessary or expedient for bringing those laws or that Act of Parliament or Order into conformity with the provisions of this Order or otherwise for giving effect or enabling effect to be given to those provisions.
(4) Where any matter that falls to be prescribed or otherwise provided for under the Constitution by Parliament 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) 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 under the Constitution by Parliament or, as the case may be, by the other authority or person.
(5) 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.
(6) In 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 the Bechuanaland Protectorate or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order (including any such instrument made before the commencement of this Order and coming into operation on or after the commencement of this Order) and includes any law applied to the Bechuanaland Protectorate by any such instrument.
Existing officers.
5.—(1) Every person who immediately before the appointed day holds or is acting in a public office shall be deemed to have been appointed as from the commencement of this Order to hold or to act in that office or the corresponding office established by the Constitution in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution:
Provided that any person who, under the existing Orders or under any existing law, would have been required to vacate his office at the expiration of any period or on the attainment of any age shall vacate his office at the expiration of that period or upon the attainment of that age.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section the expression "public office" shall include the office of Chief Justice and of Chairman or member of the Public Service Commission, and any person who holds or is acting in any such office as from the commencement of this Order shall be deemed to have taken and subscribed any necessary oath under the Constitution.
(3) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to the provisions of sections 7 and 8 of this Order.
(4) In this section "existing law" means such a law as is referred to in section 4(6) of this Order.
Judges of the Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, and Swaziland Court of Appeal to be judges of the new Court of Appeal.
6.—(1) Any person who, immediately before the commencement of this Order, holds or is acting in the office of President of the Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland Court of Appeal shall be deemed to have been appointed as from the commencement of this Order to hold or act in the office of President of the Court of Appeal established by the Constitution.
(2) Any person who immediately before the coming into effect of this Order holds or is acting in the office of an appointed judge (other than the President) of the Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland Court of Appeal shall be deemed to have been appointed as from the commencement of this Order to hold or act in the office of Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal established by the Constitution and such number of offices of Justice of Appeal as may be necessary for that purpose shall be deemed to have been established in accordance with the provisions of section 100(2)(b) of the Constitution.
(3) Any person who holds or is acting in the office of President or a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Botswana as from the commencement of this Order shall be deemed to have taken and subscribed any oath which may subsequently be prescribed by Parliament under section 103 of the Constitution.
(4) Any person who holds or is acting in the office of President or a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal as from the commencement of this Order and who at the commencement of this Order has attained the age of sixty-two years shall be deemed to have been appointed to hold or to act in the office of President or Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal until 30th September 1969 or until such earlier date, if any, as may have been prescribed as the limit of his term of office when he was appointed to the Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland Court of Appeal.
First Vice-President and Ministers.
7.—(1) Any person who immediately before the commencement of this Order holds the office of Deputy Prime Minister established under the existing Orders shall be deemed to have been appointed as from the commencement of this Order to hold the office of Vice-President in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(2) Where any office of Minister (other than the office of Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister) or of Parliamentary Secretary is established under the existing Orders immediately before the commencement of this Order the equivalent office of Minister or, as the case may be, Assistant Minister shall be deemed to have been established, from the commencement of this Order, under the Constitution, and any person holding that office immediately before the commencement of this Order shall be deemed to have been appointed as from the commencement of this Order, to hold the equivalent office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
Parliament.
8.—(1) Any person who immediately before the commencement of this Order is an Elected or Specially Elected Member of the Legislative Assembly constituted by the existing Orders (in this section referred to as "the existing Assembly") shall, if he is qualified to be elected as a member of the National Assembly, be deemed as from the commencement of this Order to have been elected as an Elected or Specially Elected Member, as the case may be, of the National Assembly in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution and shall hold his seat in the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution:
Provided that any such person who does not become a citizen of Botswana on the commencement of this Order shall be deemed to be such a citizen for the purpose of section 62 of the Constitution until he...
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