NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE ACT: SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
INDEX TO SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
National Constitutional Conference Act (Commencement) Order, 2007
National Constitutional Conference (Committees) Regulations, 2008
National Constitutional Conference (Procedure) Rules, 2008
National Constitutional Conference (Disciplinary Committee Proceedings) Rules, 2008
National Constitutional Conference (Extension of Duration of Conference) Order, 2009
NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE ACT (COMMENCEMENT) ORDER, 2007
[Section 1]
Arrangement of Paragraphs
Paragraph
1. Title
2. Commencement of act No. 19 of 2007
SI 68 of 2007.
This Order may be cited as the National Constitutional Conference Act (Commencement) Order, 2007.
2. Commencement of act No. 19 of 2007
The National Constitutional Conference Act, 2007, shall come into operation on the date of publication of this Order.
NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE (COMMITTEES) REGULATIONS, 2008
[Section 33]
Arrangement of Regulations
PARTI
PRELIMINARY
Regulation
1. Title
2. Interpretation
PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEES OF CONFERENCE
3. Establishment of committees
4. Composition of committees
5. Powers and functions of committees
6. Subcommittees
7. Chairpersons of committees
PART III
PROCEEDINGS OF COMMITTEES
8. Proceedings committees
9. Disorder in committees
10. Services of experts and consultants
11. Giving of evidence before committee
12. Written submissions
13. Rejection of evidence
14. Relevance of questions
PART IV
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
15. Report of committee
16. Consideration of reports
17. Repots to be signed
18. Confidentiality of reports
19. Presentation of reports
20. Adoption of report
SI 24 of 2008.
PARTI
PRELIMINARY
These Regulations may be cited as the National Constitutional Conference (Committee) Regulations, 2008.
In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–
“Act” means the National Constitutional Conference Act, 2007;
“Chairperson” has the meaning assigned to it in the Act;
“Commission” has the meaning assigned to it in the Act;
“Committee” means the National Constitutional Conference established under the Act;
“Secretary” means the Secretary to the Conference; and
“Vice-Chairperson” has the meaning assigned to it in the Act.
PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEES OF CONFERENCE
3. Establishment of committees
(1) The following committees are hereby established for purposes of the Conference–
(a) the General Constitutional Principles Committee;
(b) the Citizenship Committee;
(c) the Human Rights Committee;
(d) the Democratic Governance Committee;
(e) the Executive Committee;
(f) the Legislative Committee;
(g) the Judicial Committee;
(h) the Local Government Committee
(i) the Public Service Committee;
(j) the Public Finance Committee;
(k) the Land and Environment Committee;
(l) the Disciplinary Committee; and
(m) the General Purpose Committee.
(2) There shall be a Drafting Committee appointed by the Minister.
(3) The Drafting Committee shall provide drafting and other services, as specified in the Schedule, the Conference and its committees.
(1) A committee shall comprise such number of members as the Conference may determine.
(2) A member shall be assigned by the Secretary to only one of the committees established under these Regulations:
Provided that–
(a) a member of the General Purposes Committee and the Disciplinary Committee shall be assigned to another committee; and
(b) the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Conference may attend the meetings of the committees.
(3) The Conference shall in assigning the members to the committees ensure parity and gender representation in the membership of the committees and take into consideration the interest group, the experience and qualifications of the members.
(4) The General Purposes Committee shall comprise the following members–
(a) the Chairperson of the Conference;
(b) the three Vice-Chairpersons of the Conference; and
(c) the chairpersons and the vice-chairpersons of the committees.
(5) The office of a member of a committee becomes vacant–
(a) upon the member’s death;
(b) if the member ceases to be a member of the Conference;
(c) if the member resigns from office;
(d) if the member is adjudged bankrupt;
(e) if the member is absent from three consecutive meetings of the committee of which the member has had notice, without the prior approval of the chairperson of the committee;
(f)
(g)
(h) if the member is convicted of an offence under this Act or any other written law and sentenced therefore to imprisonment for a term of six months or more without the option of a fine.
5. Powers and functions of committees
(1) The functions of the committees are to–
(a) consider and deliberate the provisions of the report of the Commission and the draft constitution;
(b) deliberate and examine the clauses of the draft constitution as specified in the terms of reference set out in the Schedule to these Regulations; and
(c) submit a report with recommendations to the plenary session of the Conference for consideration and adoption or otherwise.
(2) A committee may order any person to appear before the committee and given information or produce any paper, book, record or document in the possession or under the control of that person.
(3) No document received by a committee for its use shall be withdrawn or altered without the approval of the Chairperson of the Conference.
(4) A committee may, make a report of the Conference at any time with its opinions and observations on any matter referred to it for consideration.
(1) A committee may, for purposes of carrying out its functions under these Regulations, with the approval of the General Purposes Committee, establish sub-committees of the committee.
(2) The General Purposes Committee shall prescribe rules for the conduct of sub-committee proceedings which rules shall be consistent with these Rules.
(3) Subject to sub-regulation (2), the rules for the conduct of proceedings in a committee apply to a sub-committee.
(1) A committee shall, at its first sitting elect a chairperson and vice chairperson of the committee from amongst the members of the committee.
(2) The members of a committee shall elect a member to chair the first sitting of a committee until the chairperson of the committee is elected.
(3) For purposes of electing a chairperson and vice-chairperson, where the chairperson is a man, the vice-chairperson shall be a woman and vice-versa.
(4) The functions of a chairperson of a committee are to–
(a)
(b) at the conclusion of the sittings of the committee, present the report of the committee to the plenary session of the Conference for consideration and adoption.
PART III
PROCEEDINGS OF COMMITTEES
(1) Meetings shall be convened by the Secretary at the direction of the Chairperson of the Conference.
(2) A committee shall not hold any meeting at any time during which the Conference is sitting.
(3) The sitting of a committee shall be open to the public: provided that nothing in this regulation precludes the committee from holding its deliberations in camera where the circumstances so warrant.
(4) Half of the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
(5) If a quorum is not present within 15 minutes of the appointed hour of the meeting, the committee shall adjourn and the Chairperson of the Conference shall instruct the Secretary to convene a meeting for another day.
(6) If at anytime during the sitting of a committee, a quorum is not present, the chairperson of the committee shall either suspend business until a quorum is present or adjourn the meeting to another day.
(7) The Chairperson of a committee or if neither is present, the members of the committee shall choose a member from among themselves to preside at the meeting.
(8) A committee may, for purposes of any meeting, invite any person or any member of any other committee or a representative from any Government department or institution.
(9) Any person invited under sub-regulation (8), or any other person in attendance at the meeting shall do so in an advisory and consultative capacity only and shall have no voting rights.
(10) The first item of business at a meeting of a committee shall be to read and confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.
(11) The second item of business shall be matters arising from those minutes and the meeting shall deal with each of the matters set out in the agenda.
(12). All questions before a committee shall be determined by consensus, but in the absence of consensus, the decisions shall be determined by a two thirds majority vote of the members of the committee:
Provided that voting shall be by secret ballot.
(13) A member present, including the chairperson shall have one vote, and in the event of a tie, the Chairperson or person presiding shall have in addition to an original vote, a casting vote.
(14) A member of a committee shall not leave a meeting of the committee without the approval of the Chairperson.
(15) The secretary of a committee shall record and produce the minutes including a list of all persons in attendance, and shall within seven days of the date of the meeting forward a copy of the confirmed minutes to the Chairperson of the Conference.
(16) The meetings of the committees shall be held in places that are accessible to persons with disabilities.
(17) A committee shall provide a sign language interpreter for deaf members and members of the public at each sitting of the committee.
(1) In the case of any grave disorder arising in a committee, the chairperson of the committee shall temporarily suspend the proceedings of the committee.
(2) The chairperson of a committee may order any person or member to withdraw from a meeting of the committee if that person’s or member’s conduct is disorderly.
(3) A committee may resolve to exclude a member of the committee from its meetings if the member’s conduct is disorderly.
(4) A member may be excluded for up to the remainder of the meeting held on a particular day.
(5) The chairperson of a committee shall refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee if a member–
(a) persistently and wilfully obstructs the committee;
(b) wilfully disobeys an order of the chairperson of the committee; or
(c) persistently and wilfully disregards the authority or the chairperson of the committee.
10. Services of experts and consultants
A committee may, at any stage of the proceedings, request the Secretary to avail the services of an expert or consultant or any information or data to enable the committee to discharge its functions.
11. Giving evidence before committee
(1)The chairperson of a committee may, on behalf of the committee, request any person to attend and give evidence before the committee.
(2) The taking of evidence from witnesses before a committee shall be conducted as the chairperson of the committee, with approval of the committee, directs.
(3) The chairperson of a committee, and member, through the chairperson of the committee, may put questions to a witness.
(4) A person who attends to give evinced before a committee shall not be liable to any action or proceedings for anything said or done in good faith before the committee in accordance with these Regulations.
A witness shall be given an opportunity to make a submission in writing before appearing to give oral evidence.
A committee may reject, or expunge from any transcript of proceedings, any evidence or statement that it considers to be irrelevant to its proceedings, offensive or defamatory.
The chairperson of a committee shall ensure that all questions put to a witness are relevant to the committee’s proceedings and that the information sought by those questioning is necessary for the purpose of those proceedings.
PART IV
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
(1) The chairperson of a committee shall, where all the matter referred to a committee have been considered, make a report to the Conference.
(2) The chairperson of a committee shall, where any matter has not been considered, report on the progress, or lack progress, as the case may be.
(3) A report made under this regulation shall contain any minority views or expression of opinion or observation of a minority.
(4) All the reports of a committee shall be translated into braille to facilitate access to the information by visually impaired persons.
(1) On the consideration of any committee report the chairperson of the committee shall move a motion to adopt the report.
(2) In the absence of the chairperson of a committee, the vice-chairperson on the committee, and in the absence of both the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the committee, any other member of the committee, shall move the motion.
Where a committee has adopted a report, the report shall be signed by the Chairperson on behalf of the committee, or by some other member of the committee authorised to do so by the committee and shall be presented to the Conference.
18. Confidentiality of reports
A report or draft of the report of a committee or a subcommittee shall be strictly confidential to the committee until it reports to the Conference.
(1) A report of a committee shall be presented by delivering it to the Secretary on any working day but not later than 13:00 hours on a day on which the Conference sits.
(2) The Secretary shall announce the presentation of the reports of the committees to the Conference.
(3) Once a report has been presented it shall be published under the authority of the Conference.
In reporting to the Conference, the chairperson of a committee shall move that the report be adopted.
[Regulation 5]
TERMS OF REFERENCE OF COMMITTEES
A. GENERAL CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES COMMITTEE
1. Supremacy of the Constitution
2. Defence of the Constitution
3. Continuous force and effect of the Constitution
4. Republican status of Zambia
5. Sovereignty of Zambia
6. National Symbols
7. Languages
8. Application of national values, principles, objectives and directive principles of State Policy
9. Political values, principles and objectives
10. Social economic values, principles and objectives
11. Adoption, amendment, and review of the Constitution
12. Amendment by referendum
13. Amendment without referendum
14. Certificate of compliance
15. Legal Aid
16. Definitions
17. Interpretation of Constitution
18. Cultural values, principles and objectives
19. Foreign policy, principles and objectives
20. Principles and objectives of accountability and transparency
21. The Constitution of Zambia Bill and Transitional Provisions
22. Any other matter which is connected with, related to or incidental to the terms of reference of the committee or is referred to the committee by the Conference
B. CITIZENSHIP COMMITTEE
1. Existing citizenship
2. Acquisition of citizenship by birth
3. Citizenship by descent
4. Citizenship by registration
5. Citizenship by adoption
6. Dual citizenship
7. Renunciation and deprivation of citizenship
8. Citizenship Board
9. Entitlement of citizen
10. Legislation on citizenship
11. Any other matter which is connected with, related to or incidental to the terms of reference of the committee or is referred to the committee by the Conference
C. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
1. Fundamental rights and freedoms
2. Duty of State to promote rights and freedoms
3. Application of Bill of Rights
4. Interpretation of Bill of Rights
5. Right to life
6. Human dignity
7. Equality before law
8. Fair administration
9. Right to refuse unlawful instructions
10. Right to justice
11. Rights of suspects and arrested persons
12. Rights of persons detained or in custody
13. Fair trial
14. Protection from discrimination
15. Equality of both gender
16. Further rights for women
17. Older members of society
18. Children
19. Youth
20. Protection of young persons
21. Family
22. Persons with disability
23. Special measures for persons with disability
24. Language and culture
25. Freedom and security of the person
26. Slavery, servitude and forced labour
27. Privacy
28. Freedom of worship and conscience
29. Freedom of expression
30. Access to information
31. Freedom of media
32. Freedom to disclose
33. Freedom not to disclose
34. Independence of the public media
35. Freedom of association
36. Assembly, demonstration, picking, lockout and petition
37. Right to participate in politics
38. Freedom of movement and residence
39. Refugees and asylum
40. Land and other property
41. Consumer rights
42. Progressive realisation of economic and social rights
43. Freedom to choose trade, occupation and profession
44. Labour relations and pensions
45. Social security
46. Health
47. Education
48. Shelter and housing
49. Food, water and sanitation
50. Environment
51. Limitations on rights and freedoms
52. Non-derogable rights and freedoms
53. Derogation of rights and freedoms during emergency or national disaster
54. Restriction and detention during emergency
55. Enforcement of Bill of rights
56. Establishment and composition of the Human Rights Commission
57. Functions of the Human Rights Commission
58. Independence of the Human Rights Commission
59. Tenure of office of members of the Human Rights Commission
60. Funds of the Human Rights Commission
61. Expenses of the Human Rights Commission
62. Legislation on powers of Human Rights Commission
63. Establishment of Gender Equality Commission
64. Any other matter which is connected with, related to or incidental to the terms of reference of the committee or is referred to the committee by the Conference
D. DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
1. Basis of electoral system
2. Election systems for Presidential, National Assembly and local government elections
3. Losing candidates not eligible for certain appointments
4. Independent candidates
5. Unopposed candidates
6. Election date for general elections
7. By elections
8. Franchise
9. Electoral process
10. Establishment and composition of Electoral Commission of Zambia
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