Swaziland Constitution Order 1967
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1967/241 |
| Year | 1967 |
1967 No. 241
AFRICA
The Swaziland Constitution Order 196722ndFebruary 1967
28thFebruary 1967
1stMarch 1967
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 22nd day of February 1967
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 and commencement.
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Swaziland Constitution Order 1967.
(2) This Order shall come into force on 1st March 1967.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In the Order—
"the Constitution" means the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland set out in the Schedule to this Order;
"the appointed day" means such date after the return of the writs at the general election referred to in section 8(1) of this Order as may be appointed by the Commissioner, acting in his discretion, by notice published in the Gazette;
"the existing laws" means any Proclamations, Laws, rules, regulations, orders or other instruments made, or having effect as if they had been made, in pursuance of the existing Orders or this Order and having effect as part of the law of Swaziland immediately before the appointed day;
"the existing Orders" means the Swaziland Order in Council 1963(b), the Swaziland (Amendment) Order 1964(c), the Swaziland (Amendment) Order 1965(d) and the Swaziland (Amendment) Order 1966(e).
(2) The provisions of sections 134 and 141 of the Constitution shall apply for the purposes of interpreting sections 1 to 13 of this Order and otherwise in relation thereto as they apply for the purpose of interpreting and in relation to the Constitution.
Revocations.
3. With effect from the appointed day, the existing Orders and the Swaziland Court of Appeal Order 1966(f) are revoked:
Provided that section 98 of the Swaziland Order in Council 1963 shall continue in force until the date on which section 89 of the Con-
(a) 1890 c.37.
(b) S.I. 1963/2094 (1963 III, p. 4616).
(c) S.I. 1964/1192 (1964 II, p. 2770).
(d) S.I. 1965/1305 (1965 II, p. 3708).
(e) S.I. 1966/1178 (1966 III, p. 3053).
(f) S.I. 1966/1180 (1966 III, p. 3056)
stitution shall, in pursuance of section 4(2) of this Order, have come into operation.
Establishment of Constitution.
4.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Constitution shall come into operation in Swaziland on the appointed day and from that day Swaziland shall be known as the Kingdom of Swaziland.
(2) Section 89 of the Constitution shall come into operation on such date, after the appointed day, as may be appointed by the Commissioner by notice published in the Gazette.
Existing laws.
5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the existing laws shall have effect on and after the appointed day as if they had been made in pursuance of the Constitution and shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with the Constitution.
(2) The King may, by order published in the Gazette, at any time within six months after the appointed day provide that any existing law shall be read and construed with such adaptations and modifications as may appear to him to be necessary or expedient for bringing that law into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution or otherwise for giving effect, or enabling effect to be given, to those provisions; and any existing law shall have effect accordingly from such date (not being earlier than the appointed day) as may be specified in the order.
(3) An order made under this section may be amended or revoked by Parliament or, in relation to any existing law affected thereby, by any other authority having power to amend, repeal or revoke that existing law.
(4) Where any matter that falls to be prescribed or otherwise provided for the purposes of the Constitution by Parliament or by any other person or authority is prescribed or provided for by or under any existing law (including any adaptation or modification of any such law made under this section) or is otherwise prescribed or provided for, immediately before the appointed day, by or under the existing Orders, that prescription or provision shall, as from the appointed day, have effect as if it had been made for those purposes by Parliament or, as the case may be, by the other person or authority.
(5) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to any powers conferred by the Constitution or any other law upon any person or authority to make provision for any matter, including the amendment or repeal of any existing law.
Existing offices.
6.—(1) The person who, immediately before the appointed day, holds the office of Her Majesty's Commissioner under section 20 of the Swaziland Order in Council 1963 shall, as from that day, continue to hold that office as if he had been appointed thereto in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
(2) Where any other office has been established by or under the existing Orders or any existing law and the Constitution establishes a similar or an equivalent office any person who, immediately before the appointed day, 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 on the appointed day to hold or to act in the latter office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and to have taken any necessary oaths under the Constitution:
Provided that any person who under the existing Orders or 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 under the Constitution at the expiration of that period or upon the attainment of that age.
(3) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to any powers conferred by or under the Constitution upon any person or authority to make provision for the abolition of offices and the removal from office of persons holding or acting in any office.
First constituencies.
7. Until such time as is otherwise provided under section 51 of the Constitution, the respective boundaries of the constituencies established by that section shall be those prescribed in the Electoral Provisions Regulations 1966 made by the Commissioner under section 2 of the Swaziland (Electoral Provisions) Order 1966(a).
Provisions relating to elections.
8.—(1) Writs for a general election of elected members of the House of Assembly shall be issued within thirty days of the dissolution of the Legislative Council established by the existing Orders and the provisions of the Constitution shall apply in relation to that general election as they would apply in relation to a general election held after the appointed day:
Provided that for those purposes a person shall be entitled to vote if, in pursuance of the Swaziland (Electoral Provisions) Order 1966, he has been registered as a voter, but no person shall be entitled to vote in any constituency unless, in pursuance of the said Order, he has been registered as a voter in that constituency.
(2) The Commissioner, acting in his discretion, may at any time before the appointed day by regulations make such provision for the holding of elections to the House of Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and matters relating thereto as he may consider necessary or expedient for the purpose of enabling elections of the elected members of that House to be held.
(3) The Commissioner, acting in his discretion, may at any time before the appointed day by regulations make such provision as he may consider necessary or expedient for the election, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, by the members of the House of Assembly of elected Senators.
(4) Any regulation made under this section may amend or revoke any law relating to elections to the Legislative Council established by the existing Orders and may be amended or revoked by Parliament.
Procedure of House of Assembly.
9. The Standing Orders of the Legislative Council established by the existing Orders, as those Standing Orders were in force immediately before the appointed day, shall, except as may be otherwise provided under section 66 of the Constitution, have effect after the appointed day as if they had been made under that section but shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with this Order.
Legal proceedings.
10.—(1) All proceedings that, immediately before the appointed day, are pending before any court established by or under the existing Orders or the Swaziland Court of Appeal Order 1966 may be continued and concluded after that day before the corresponding court established by or under the Constitution.
(a) S.I. 1966/1179 (1966 III, p. 3054).
(2) Any decision given before the appointed day by any such court as aforesaid shall, for the purpose of its enforcement or for the purpose of any appeal therefrom, have effect after that day as if it were a decision of the corresponding court established by or under the Constitution.
Remuneration of certain offices.
11. Until such time as a salary and allowances are prescribed, there shall be paid to the holder of any office to which section 124 of the Constitution applies a salary and allowances calculated at the same rate as the salary and allowances paid immediately before the appointed day to the holder of the office corresponding thereto.
Power reserved to Her Majesty.
12. There is reserved to Her Majesty in Council power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Swaziland—
(a) in respect of any matter which in the opinion of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom is a matter relating to—
(i) defence (whether of Swaziland or of the United Kingdom or of any...
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