Sierra Leone (Constitution) Order in Council, 1961
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1961/741 |
1961 No. 741
WEST AFRICA
The Sierra Leone (Constitution) Order in Council, 196114thApril 1961
14thApril 1961
Immediately before the 27thApril 1961
At the Court at Windsor Castle, the 14th day of April, 1961
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 Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
Citation, commencement and interpretation.
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Sierra Leone (Constitution) Order in Council, 1961.
(2) This Order shall come into operation immediately before the twenty-seventh day of April, 1961:
Provided that where by or under this Order the Governor-General has power to make any appointment, to make any order or to do any other thing for the purposes of this Order that power may be exercised by the Governor of the Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone at any time after the fourteenth day of April, 1961, to such extent as may, in his opinion, be necessary or expedient to enable the Constitution established by this Order to function as from the twenty-seventh day of April, 1961.
(3) The Interpretation Act, 1889(b), as in force at the commencement of this Order, shall apply, with the necessary adaptations, for the purpose of interpreting this Order and otherwise in relation thereto as it applies for the purposes of interpreting, and in relation to, Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Revocations.
2.—(1) The Orders in Council specified in Column 1 of Part I of the First Schedule to this Order (hereinafter referred to as "the existing Orders") are revoked to the extent specified in Column 2 of that Part.
(2) The Letters Patent specified in Part II of the First Schedule to this Order (hereinafter referred to as "the existing Letters Patent") are revoked.
(3) The Schedule to the Sierra Leone (Constitution) Order in Council, 1958(c) (as set out in the Schedule to the Sierra Leone (Constitution) (Amendment) (No. 3) Order in Council, 1960(d)) is amended as specified in Part III of the First Schedule to this Order.
(a) 53 & 54 Vict. c. 37.
(b) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.
(c) S.I. 1958/1259 (1958 II, p. 2851).
(d) S.I. 1960/2415 (1960 III, p. 4032).
(4) The Sierra Leone and the Gambia Court of Appeal Order in Council, 1959, as amended by the Sierra Leone and the Gambia Court of Appeal (Amendment) Order in Council, 1960(a), is revoked in so far as it applies to Sierra Leone:
Provided that in so far as they relate to the powers, authority, jurisdiction or procedure of the former Sierra Leone and the Gambia Court of Appeal the provisions of that Order or any law made in pursuance of that Order by the Legislature of the former Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone or any rules of court made under that Order in force in the former Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone immediately before the commencement of this Order shall, until it is otherwise provided by or under any Act of the Parliament of Sierra Leone, apply with the necessary adaptations and modifications in relation to the Court of Appeal established by the Constitution as they applied in relation to the former Sierra Leone and the Gambia Court of Appeal.
Establishment of Constitution.
3. Subject to the provisions of this Order, the Constitution of Sierra Leone set out in the Second Schedule to this Order (in this Order referred to as "the Constitution") shall come into effect in Sierra Leone 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, have effect after the commencement of this Order as if they had been made in pursuance of this Order and shall be read and construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this Order.
(2) The Governor-General may at any time within twelve months after the commencement of this Order make such amendments to any existing law as may appear to the Governor-General 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) 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.
(4) Where any matter falls to be prescribed under this Order by Parliament or any other person or authority that matter shall be regarded as being so prescribed if it is prescribed by any existing law, including any amendment to any such law made under this section.
(5) For the purposes of this section the expression "the existing laws" means all Ordinances, laws, rules, regulations, orders and other instruments having the effect of law made or having effect as if they had been made in pursuance of the existing Orders and having effect as part of the law of the Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone or any part thereof immediately before the commencement of this Order.
Existing officers.
5.—(1) Where any office has been established for the former Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone by or under the existing Orders, the existing Letters Patent or any existing law, and the Constitution establishes the same or an equivalent office for Sierra Leone, not being the office of Prime Minister, Minister, member of the Cabinet or
(a) S.I. 1959/1977, 1960/440 (1959 II, p. 3289; 1960 III, p. 4099).
Parliamentary Secretary, any person who, immediately before the commencement of this Order, is holding or acting in the former office shall, so far as is consistent with the provisions of this Order, be deemed as from the commencement of this Order to have been appointed to or to act in the latter office in accordance with the provisions of this Order and to have taken any necessary oath under this Order:
Provided that any person who, under the existing Orders, the existing Letters Patent or any existing law, would have been required to vacate his office at the expiration of any period or upon his attainment of any age shall vacate his office at the expiration of that period or upon his attainment of that age.
(2) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to—
(a) the provisions of section 6 of this Order; and
(b) any powers conferred by or under this Order upon any person or authority to make provision for the abolition of offices and the removal of persons holding or acting in any office.
(3) In this section "existing law" means such a law as is referred to in subsection (5) of section 4 of this Order.
House of Representatives.
6.—(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Order, the House of Representatives established for the former Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (in this section referred to as "the existing House of Representatives") shall be the House of Representatives of Sierra Leone during the period beginning with the commencement of this Order and ending with the first dissolution of Parliament thereafter (in this section referred to as "the interim period").
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Order, during the interim period the provisions of the Constitution mentioned in Part IV of the First Schedule to this Order shall not have effect and in lieu thereof the provisions of the Sierra Leone (Constitution) Order in Council, 1958(a), as in force immediately before the commencement of this Order, mentioned in Part V of that Schedule shall continue to have effect but shall be construed subject to the adaptations and modifications specified in that Part.
(3) The persons who immediately before the commencement of this Order are members of the existing House of Representatives (other than persons who are Nominated Members thereof) shall continue to be members of that House after the commencement of this Order and as from that time shall be deemed to have been elected thereto in pursuance of the provisions of the Sierra Leone (Constitution) Order in Council, 1958, as applied by subsection (2) of this section, and shall hold their seats in that House in accordance with those provisions as so applied.
(4) The person who immediately before the commencement of this Order is Speaker of the existing House of Representatives shall continue to be Speaker of that House after the commencement of this Order and shall as from that time be deemed to have been elected as such in pursuance of section 33 of the Constitution and shall hold office in accordance with the provisions of that section.
(a) S.I. 1958/1259 (1958 II, p. 2851).
(5) During the interim period laws enacted or deemed to have been enacted in pursuance of section 53 of the Sierra Leone (Constitution) Order in Council, 1958(a), and in force immediately before the commencement of this Order shall, except as may be otherwise provided by Parliament, continue to apply in relation to the matters mentioned in that section but shall be read and construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this Order, and the power conferred on the Governor-General by subsection (2) of section 4 of this Order shall include power to amend such laws.
(6) Any law in force in the former Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone immediately before the commencement of this Order which makes provision for determining or regulating the privileges, immunities or powers of the existing House of Representatives or its members shall, except as may be otherwise provided by Parliament, continue to apply during the interim period in relation to those matters but shall be read and construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be...
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