Seychelles Independence Order 1976
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1976 No. 894
SEYCHELLES
The Seychelles Independence Order 19769thJune 1976
21stJune 1976
29thJune 1976
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 9th day of June 1976
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers in Her Majesty vested and by virtue and in exercise of the powers in that behalf conferred by the Seychelles Act 1976(a) is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Seychelles Independence Order 1976.
Citation, commencement and construction.
(2) This Order shall come into operation on 29th June 1976:
Provided that the Governor of Seychelles acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister may at any time after 9th June 1976, exercise any of the powers conferred upon the President by section 4(3)(a) of this Order or Article 83(1) of the Constitution of Seychelles established by the Order to such extent as may, in his opinion, be necessary or expedient to enable that Constitution to function as from 29th June 1976.
(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 I to this Order and the provisions of Article 119 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 mentioned in Schedule II to this Order are revoked with effect from the appointed day.
Establishment of Constitution.
3. Subject to the provisions of this Order the Constitution set out in Schedule I to this Order (hereinafter referred to as "the Constitution") shall come into effect in Seychelles at the commencement of this Order.
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 Seychelles, continue in force after the commencement of this Order as if they had been made in pursuance of this Order.
(a) 1976 c. 19.
(2) The existing laws and any Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom or Order of Her Majesty in Council (other than the Seychelles Act 1976 or this Order) having effect as part of the law of Seychelles 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 28th December 1976 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 Seychelles Act 1976 or this Order) having effect as part of the law of Seychelles 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) For the purposes of this section, the expression "the existing laws" means all Ordinances, laws or statutory instruments having effect as part of the law of Seychelles or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order (including any Ordinance, law or statutory instrument made before the commencement of this Order and coming into operation on or after the commencement of this Order) which were made or had effect as if they were made in pursuance of the existing Orders.
Existing offices.
5.—(1) Where any office has been established by or under the existing Orders and the Constitution establishes a similar or an equivalent office, any person who immediately before the commencement of this Order holds or is acting in the former office shall, so far as is consistent with the provisions of the Constitution, be deemed to have been appointed or elected as from the commencement of this Order to hold or to act in the latter office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and to have taken the oath of allegiance and any other necessary oath under 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) Where any office of Minister (other than the office of Prime Minister) is established under the existing Orders immediately before the commencement of this Order an equivalent office 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, immediately after the assumption of office by the first President of the Republic of Seychelles, to hold the equivalent office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(3) The President may, at any time after the commencement of this Order, require any person who continues in office by virtue of the provisions of this section to take an oath of allegiance and any oath for the due execution of his office that is prescribed by or under an Act of Parliament.
(4) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to the provisions of section 9 or 10 of this Order.
(5) In this section "existing law" means such a law as is referred to in section 4(6) of this Order.
Citizenship.
6.—(1) Any person who, at the commencement of this Order, is entitled to be registered as a citizen of Seychelles under Article 5 or 8 of the Constitution shall, until he becomes a citizen of Seychelles or until 29th June 1977 (whichever is the earlier) and subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, have the status of a citizen of Seychelles.
(2) Any person who has the status of a citizen of Seychelles by virtue of the provisions of this section shall be regarded as such a citizen for the purposes of the provisions of the Constitution (other than Chapter II or Article 65(1)) and the provisions of any other law for the time being in force in Seychelles (other than a law made or having effect as if made in pursuance of Article 10 of the Constitution).
(3) Where provision is made by any law for the time being in force for depriving any person of citizenship of Seychelles those provisions shall apply to the status conferred by this section and any person may be deprived of the status conferred by this section and any person may be deprived of that status under those provisions accordingly.
Declaration of emergency.
7. If, immediately before the commencement of this Order, a Proclamation by the Governor of Seychelles under section 4 of the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance(a) is in force, then, there shall be deemed to be in force, from the commencement of this Order, a declaration under Article 28(1) of the Constitution that has been approved by the National Assembly at the commencement of this Order, and that declaration shall, unless it is sooner revoked continue in force until 28th December 1976.
First President.
8.—(1) If at the commencement of this Order the person named in Article 31 of the Constitution is not alive or is for any reason incapable of or disqualified from becoming the first President of the Republic of Seychelles, the first President of the Republic of Seychelles shall be the person who immediately before the commencement of this Order was the Prime Minister of Seychelles and if, at the commencement of this Order, there is no person who was the Prime Minister of Seychelles, the office of
(a) Laws of Seychelles, Cap. 36 Revision 1971.
President shall be deemed to have become vacant at the commencement of this Order and the provisions of Article 36 of the Constitution shall apply accordingly.
(2) The first President shall, as soon as practicable after the commencement of this Order, take the oaths prescribed for the purposes of Article 38 of the Constitution.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in the Constitution, where the person named in Article 31 of the Constitution or the person who was the Prime Minister of Seychelles immediately before the commencement of this Order or the person who under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section becomes the first President of Seychelles and accordingly vacates his seat in the National Assembly such seat shall be filled not by means of an election but by the appointment by the first President of Seychelles of a person duly qualified to be a member of the National Assembly and such person shall be deemed for the purposes of the Constitution and this Order to have been elected as a member of the National Assembly.
(4) The person appointed under the provision of subsection (3) of this section shall, before taking his seat in the National Assembly, take the oaths prescribed for the purposes of...
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