Lesotho Independence Order 1966
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1966 No. 1172
AFRICA
The Lesotho Independence Order 196620thSeptember 1966
Immediately before 4thOctober 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 vested in Her by section 5 of the Lesotho Independence Act 1966(a) and of all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, 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 Lesotho Independence Order 1966.
(2) This Order shall come into operation immediately before 4th October 1966 (in this Order referred to as "the appointed day").
(3) Save where the context otherwise requires, expressions used in sections 1 to 20 (inclusive) of this Order have the same meaning as in the Constitution set out in the Schedule to this Order and the provisions of section 139 of that Constitution shall apply for the purpose of interpreting those sections as they apply for the purpose of interpreting that Constitution.
(4) References in Chapter X of the said Constitution to any question as to the interpretation of that Constitution shall be construed as including references to any question as to the interpretation of any provision of this Order.
Revocations.
2.—(1) The Basutoland Order 1965(b) (hereinafter referred to as "the existing Order") is revoked.
(2) The Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland Court of Appeal Order in Council 1954 and the Orders in Council amending that Order(c) (hereinafter referred to as "the existing Court of Appeal Orders") are revoked in so far as they have effect as part of the law of Basutoland.
Establishment of Constitution.
3. Subject to the provisions of this Order, the Constitution set out in the Schedule to this Order shall come into effect at the commencement of this Order.
(a) 1966 c. 24.
(b) 1965 I, p. 2571.
(c) S.I. 1954/1369, 1964/1187, 1965/133, 1965/978 (1954 I, p. 167: 1964 II p. 2759; 1965 I, pp. 274, 2414).
Existing laws.
4.—(1) The existing laws shall, as from the appointed day, be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with the Lesotho Independence Act 1966 and this Order.
(2) 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 appointed day by or under the existing Order or the existing Court of Appeal Orders, that prescription or provision shall, as from the appointed day, have effect (with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring it into conformity with the Lesotho Independence Act 1966 and this Order) as if it had been made under the Constitution by Parliament or, as the case may require, by the other authority or person.
(3) The King may by regulations made at any time before 4th October 1967 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 the Lesotho Independence Act 1966 and this Order or otherwise for giving effect or enabling effect to be given to those provisions.
(4) 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.
(5) For the purposes of this section, the expression" existing law" means any proclamation, law, rule, regulation, order or other instrument made or having effect as if it had been made in pursuance of (or continuing in operation under) the existing Order or the existing Court of Appeal Orders and having effect as part of the law of Basutoland immediately before the appointed day or any Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom or Order of Her Majesty in Council so having effect and includes the customary law of Basutoland and any other unwritten rule of law so having effect.
(6) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that nothing in this section is to be construed as continuing in force the Concessions Veto Proclamation(a).
Ministers and Assistant Ministers.
5.—(1) The persons who immediately before the appointed day hold office as Prime Minister or other Minister or Assistant Minister shall, as from the appointed day, hold the like offices as if they had been appointed thereto in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and shall be deemed to have taken and subscribed any necessary oath under the Constitution.
(2) Any person holding the office of Prime Minister or other Minister by virtue of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section who, immediately before the appointed day, was charged with responsibility for any matter or department of Government under the existing Order shall, as from the appointed day, be deemed to have been assigned responsibility for that matter or department under section 74 of the Constitution.
(a) Proclamation No. 65 of 1922; Revised Laws of Basutoland 1960, p. 432.
Parliament.
6.—(1) The persons who immediately before the appointed day are members of the Senate constituted by the existing Order (in this section referred to as "the existing Senate") shall, as from the appointed day, be deemed to be members of the Senate in pursuance of the provisions of section 41 of the Constitution, and shall hold their seats in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(2) The persons who immediately before the appointed day are members of the National Assembly constituted by the existing Order (in this section referred to as "the existing National Assembly") shall, as from the appointed day, be deemed to have been elected as members of the National Assembly in pursuance of the provisions of sections 42 and 43(1) of the Constitution, and shall hold their seats in the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(3) The persons who immediately before the appointed day hold office as President or Vice-President of the existing Senate or Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the existing National Assembly shall, as from the appointed day, hold the like offices as if they had been, elected thereto in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(4) Any person who, by virtue of this section, is deemed as from the appointed day to be a member of the Senate or to have been elected as President or Vice-President thereof or to have been elected as a member of the National Assembly or as Speaker or Deputy Speaker thereof shall be deemed to have taken and subscribed any necessary oath under the Constitution.
(5) The Standing Orders of the existing Senate and the Standing Orders of the existing National Assembly in force immediately before the appointed day shall, until it is otherwise provided by the Senate or, as the case may be, the National Assembly under section 66(1) of the Constitution, be respectively the rules of procedure of the Senate and of the National Assembly, but they shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with the Constitution.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 68(2) of the Constitution (but subject to subsection (3) of that section) Parliament shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved on 30th April 1970.
High Court.
7.—(1) The High Court of Basutoland in existence immediately before the appointed day shall, as from that day, be the High Court for the purposes of the Constitution, and any proceedings pending before the High Court of Basutoland immediately before the appointed day may be continued before the High Court of Lesotho and any judgment of the High Court of Basutoland given, but not satisfied, before that day may be enforced accordingly.
(2) The provisions of section 10 of this Order shall apply in relation to the offices of Chief Justice and puisne judge as if those offices were public offices, and any person who, by virtue of the provisions of this subsection, holds or acts in any such office as from the appointed day shall be deemed to have taken and subscribed any necessary oath under the Constitution.
Existing appointments of judges of Court of Appeal.
8.—(1) Any person who immediately before the appointed day holds the office of President or other judge of the Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland Court of Appeal by virtue of having been appointed thereto in accordance with the provisions of the Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland Court of Appeal Order 1954, as amended from time to time, shall as from that day be deemed, subject to subsection (2) of this section, to have been appointed to hold office in the Court of Appeal established by the Constitution as if they had been appointed thereto in accordance with the provisions of proviso (a) to section 117(8) of the Constitution, in the case of the person holding the office of President, to the office of President of the Court, and, in the case of a person holding the office of such other judge, to the office of Justice of Appeal of the Court.
(2) A person deemed to have been appointed under subsection (1) of this section to the office of President or to the office of Justice of Appeal of the Court shall vacate his office at the expiration of two years from the commencement of this Order.
Transitional provisions respecting appeals.
9.—(1) Any proceedings pending immediately before the appointed day on appeal from the High Court of Basutoland to the Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland Court of Appeal may be...
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