Northern Rhodesia (Constitution) Order in Council 1963
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2088/1963 |
| Year | 1963 |
1963 No. 2088
AFRICA
The Northern Rhodesia (Constitution) Order in Council 196320thDecember 1963
1stJanuary 1964
3rdJanuary 1964Remainder—as provided in section 4
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 20th day of December 1963
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers in that behalf by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890(a) or otherwise in Her 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 Northern Rhodesia (Constitution) Order in Council 1963.
(2) This Order shall, except as otherwise provided, come into operation on 3rd January 1964.
Interpretation.
2.—(1) In this Order—
"the existing Orders" means the Northern Rhodesia (Constitution) Order in Council 1962(b), the Northern Rhodesia (Electoral Provisions) Order 1963(c), the Northern Rhodesia (Electoral Provisions) (No. 2) Order 1963(d) and the Northern Rhodesia (Electoral Provisions) (No. 3) Order 1963(e);
"the Constitution" means the Constitution set out in the Schedule to this Order.
(2) 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 116 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 sections 5 and 14(1) of this Order, the existing Orders are revoked with effect from the commencement of this Order.
(a) 53 & 54 Vict. c. 37.
(b) S.I. 1962/1874 (1962 II, p. 2195).
(c) S.I. 1963/1489 (1963 II, p. 2628).
(d) S.I. 1963/1922 (1963 III, p. 3771).
(e) S.I. 1963/2087 (1963 III, p. 4531).
Establishment of Constitution.
4. Subject to the provisions of this Order, the Constitution shall come into effect in Northern Rhodesia at the commencement of this Order:
Provided that—
(a) Chapters II, VI and IX of the Constitution shall come into operation on such day after the commencement of this Order, as the Governor, acting in his discretion, may by notice in the Gazette appoint;
(b) sections 92, 93, 94, 95 and 96 of the Constitution shall come into operation on 31st July 1964; and
(c) section 8(8) of the Constitution shall come into operation on 1st January 1965.
Continuance of Executive Council and exercise of Governor's powers.
5.—(1) Until Chapter VI of the Constitution comes into operation the provisions of section 4 and Part II of the Constitution set out in schedule 2 to the Northern Rhodesia (Constitution) Order in Council 1962, shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, continue to have effect and accordingly—
(a) the Executive Council established in accordance with those provisions shall continue to exist and shall be constituted and perform its functions in accordance with those provisions;
(b) Parliamentary Secretaries appointed in accordance with those provisions shall continue to perform their functions in accordance with those provisions; and
(c) any member of the Executive Council, who immediately before the commencement of this Order, has responsibility for any business of the Government of Northern Rhodesia or any department of the Government under those provisions, shall, subject to those provisions, continue to have such responsibility.
(2) No member of the Executive Council and no Parliamentary Secretary appointed under the said provisions shall vacate his office on the grounds that he has ceased to be a member of the Legislative Council established by the existing Orders, by reason only of the fact that the said Legislative Council has ceased to exist.
(3) Until the coming into operation of Chapter VI of the Constitution, section 9 of the Constitution set out in schedule 2 to the Northern Rhodesia (Constitution) Order in Council 1962 shall have effect in relation to functions conferred upon the Governor by any provision of the Constitution as it has effect in relation to functions conferred upon him by the existing Orders.
Qualifications for elections to Legislative Assembly.
6.—(1) Until such day as the Governor, acting in his discretion, may by notice in the Gazette appoint, section 36(1)(b) of the Constitution shall have effect as if for the word "registered" there was substituted the words "qualified for registration".
(2) Until the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly has been elected under section 34 of the Constitution, the person who, immediately before the commencement of this Order, holds the office of Speaker of the Legislative Council constituted by the existing Orders or, if that person becomes unable for any reason to discharge the functions referred to in this section, such person as the Governor, acting in his discretion, may appoint, shall discharge the functions of the Speaker of the Assembly under section 36(2)(b) of the Constitution.
(3) Until other provision is made under section 37(1)(d) of the Constitution, a person shall be excepted from the disqualifications relating to public offices or offices in the armed forces of the Crown specified in that subsection if, under the provisions of section 29(1) of the Constitution set out in Schedule 2 to the Northern Rhodesia (Constitution) Order in Council 1962 or under any law made under section 29(2) of that Constitution which is in force immediately before the commencement of this Order, he would not have been treated as holding or acting in a public office for the purposes of Part III of that Constitution.
Qualification of voters.
7. Until the day appointed under section 6(1) of this Order, section 41(1) of the Constitution shall have effect as if for the words "the date upon which he applies for registration", wherever they occur, there was substituted the words "30th September 1963".
Constituencies.
8. Until other provision is made under section 39 of the Constitution, the boundaries of the main roll constituencies and the reserved constituencies into which Northern Rhodesia is divided by section 38 of the Constitution shall be the boundaries of the equivalent constituencies established under regulations made under the Northern Rhodesian (Electoral Provisions) Order 1963 as delimited immediately before the commencement of this Order.
Existing laws.
9.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the existing laws shall, notwithstanding the revocation of the existing Orders, have effect after the commencement of this Order as if they had been made in pursuance of this Order and shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this Order.
(2) The Governor may by order made at any time before 1st July 1964 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 Northern Rhodesia or by any other person or authority 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 Northern Rhodesia.
(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 Ordinances, laws, rules, regulations, orders and other instruments made in pursuance of, or kept in force by, the existing Orders and having effect as part of the law of Northern Rhodesia or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order.
Existing Offices.
10.—(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 Council) 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 5 of this Order, be regarded as a similar or equivalent office to the office of Minister established by or under the Constitution.
Rules of procedure of Legislative Assembly.
11. The rules and orders of the Legislative Council constituted by the existing Orders as in force immediately before the commencement of this Order shall, until it is otherwise provided under section 53 of the Constitution, be the rules of procedure of the Legislative Assembly but shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring those rules into conformity with the Constitution.
Procedings before High Court.
12. Any proceedings pending immediately before the commencement of this Order...
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