Bermuda Constitution Order 1968

1968 No. 182

CARIBBEAN AND NORTH ATLANTIC

TERRITORIES

The Bermuda Constitution Order 1968

14thFebruary 1968

20thFebruary 1968

21stFebruary 1968

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 14th day of February 1968

Present,

The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers vested in Her in that behalf by section 1 of the Bermuda Constitution Act 1967(a), 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 Bermuda Constitution Order 1968.

(2) This Order shall come into force on 21st February 1968.

Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Order—

"the Constitution" means the Constitution of Bermuda set out in schedule 2 to this Order;

"the appointed day" means such day after the return of the writs of election in the general election referred to in section 7 of this Order as may be appointed by the Governor by proclamation published in the Gazette;

"the existing instruments" means the instruments revoked by section 3 of this Order;

"the existing laws" means any laws (including Resolves) made before the appointed day by any legislature for the time being constituted as the legislature of Bermuda and having effect as part of the law of Bermuda immediately before the appointed day (whether or not they have then come into operation) and any rules, regulations, orders or other instruments made in pursuance of such laws and having such effect.

(2) The provisions of sections 102, 103 and 108 of the Constitution shall apply for the purposes of interpreting sections 1 to 10 of this Order and otherwise in relation thereto as they apply for the purpose of interpreting and in relation to the Constitution.

Revocations.

3. The instruments set out in schedule 1 to this Order are revoked with effect from the appointed day.

Establishment of Constitution.

4. Subject to the provisions of this Order, the Constitution shall come into operation on the appointed day.

(a) 1967 c. 63.

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 read and construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with the Constitution.

(2) The Governor may, by order published in the Gazette, at any time within twelve months after the commencement of this Order make such amendments in any existing law 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 the Legislature 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 the Legislature or by any other person or authority is prescribed or provided for by or under any existing law (including any amendment 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 instruments, that prescription or provision shall, as from the appointed day, have effect as if it had been made for those purposes by the Legislature 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.

(6) For the avoidance of doubts it is hereby declared that nothing in section 55 of the Constitution shall affect any register of electors subsisting under any existing law immediately before the appointed day, but the provisions of that section shall be construed as applying in relation to any subsequent revision of any such register.

Existing officers.

6.—(1) Any person who, immediately before the appointed day holds or is acting in any office to which this section applies shall be deemed as from that day to have been appointed to or to act in that office or the corresponding office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and to have made any necessary oath or affirmation under the Constitution:

Provided that any person who under the existing instruments 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 at the expiration of that period or on the attainment of that age.

(2) This section applies to the offices of the Governor, judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal and the personal staff of the Governor and to any public office.

(3) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to the power of any person or authority to abolish any office or to remove from office any person holding or acting in any office.

Holding of general election prior to the appointed day.

7.—(1) Writs for a general election of members of the House of Assembly shall be issued within two months of the dissolution of the House of Assembly under the existing instruments next following the commencement of this Order, and as from the appointed day the persons elected at that general election shall be deemed to have been elected as members of the House of Assembly established by the Constitution.

(2) The provisions of sections 28, 29, 30, 33 and 52(1) and (2) of the Constitution and, in so far as they have application to the aforesaid provisions, the provisions of sections 102 and 103 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 that purpose—

(a) the references in sections 30, 33(3) and 103(1) to the Legislature shall (without prejudice to the provisions of section 5(4) of this Order) be construed as including references to any legislature for the time being constituted as the legislature of Bermuda; and

(b) section 102(3) shall not have any application to section 29 and accordingly the reference in section 29 to the possession of Bermudian status shall be construed as a reference to the possession of that status under the law for the time being in force in Bermuda.

Rules of procedure of Legislative Council and House of Assembly.

8. The rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly in force immediately before the appointed day shall, except as may be otherwise provided under section 45 of the Constitution, have effect on and 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 the Constitution.

Legal proceedings.

9.—(1) All proceedings commenced or pending before the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal for Bermuda immediately before the appointed day may continue on and after that day before the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal, as the case may be, established by the Constitution.

(2) Any decision given by the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal for Bermuda before the appointed day shall, for the purposes of its enforcement or of any appeal therefrom, have effect on and after that day as if it were a decision of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal, as the case may be, established by the Constitution.

Regulations for retirement, compensation, etc. of certain officers.

10.—(1) The Governor may, with the concurrence of a Secretary of State, by regulations published in the Gazette make such provision as appears to him to be necessary or expedient for permitting the retirement of such persons or classes of person holding public office or office as a judge of the Supreme Court immediately before the appointed day as may be specified in the regulations and for the grant and payment of compensation, pensions, gratuities and other like allowances in the case of such persons or classes of person.

(2) All sums payable by virtue of regulations made under this section shall be a charge upon the Consolidated Fund established by the Constitution.

(3) Except in so far as the regulations may otherwise provide—

(a) regulations made under this section shall not be a pensions law for the purposes of section 93 of the Constitution; and

(b) references in the Constitution to the power to remove a public officer from his office shall not be construed as including any power conferred by such regulations to permit that officer to retire.

(4) Any compensation, gratuity, grant or allowance payable under regulations made under this section shall, if it is so provided in any such regulations, be exempt from tax under any law in force in Bermuda relating to the taxation of incomes or imposing any other form of taxation.

(5) In the exercise on or after the appointed day of the powers conferred by this section the Governor shall act in his discretion.

W. G. Agnew.

Section 3.

SCHEDULE 1 TO THE ORDER

INSTRUMENTS REVOKED

Letters Patent, dated 19th January 1888, passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, constituting the office of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Bermudas or Somers Islands(a).

The Bermuda (Amendment) Letters Patent 1953(b).

The Bermuda (Amendment) Letters Patent 1955(c).

The Bermuda Letters Patent 1962(d).

Instructions issued under the Royal Sign Manual and Signet to the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Bermudas or Somers Islands on 25th...

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