Statutory Orders (Special Procedure) Act 1945
| Year | 1945 |
Statutory Orders (Special Procedure) Act, 1945
(9 & 10 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 18.
An Act to regulate the procedure to be followed in connection with statutory orders required by any future enactment to be subject to special parliamentary procedure; to apply such procedure to orders made under certain existing enactments; and to enable such procedure to be applied to certain other orders.
[20th December 1945]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Application of Act to certain statutory orders, mad under future enactments.
(1) Where, by any Act passed after the passing of this Act, power to make or confirm orders is conferred on any authority, and provision is made requiring that any such order shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure, the provisions of this Act shall apply in relation to any order so made or confirmed.
(2) An order to which this Act applies shall be of no effect until it has been laid before Parliament by the Minister and has been brought into operation in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
2 Preliminary proceedings.
(1) No order to which this Act applies shall be laid before Parliament until the requirements of the empowering enactment with respect to the publication or service of notices, the consideration of objections, and the holding of inquiries or other proceedings preliminary to the making or confirmation of the order have been complied with, or, where no such requirements are imposed by that enactment, until the requirements of the First Schedule to this Act have been complied with; and after any such requirements as aforesaid have been complied with, notice of the Minister's intention to lay the order before Parliament shall be published in the London Gazette not less than three days before the order is so laid.
(2) When any order to which this Act applies is laid before Parliament there shall, together with it, be laid before Parliament a certificate by the Minister specifying the requirements as to the matters aforesaid which relate to the order and certifying that they have been complied with Where a local inquiry has been dispensed with in accordance with any such requirements the said certificate shall include a statement to that effect.
(3) In this section the expression ‘empowering enactment,’ in relation to any order, includes any enactment other than this Act which has the effect of requiring the publication or service of notices, the consideration of objections or the holding of inquiries or other proceedings preliminary to the making or confirmation thereof.
3 Petitions.
(1) If, within the period of fourteen days beginning with the day on which an order to which this Act applies is laid before Parliament, or, if the order is so laid on different days, with the later of the two days, a petition is duly presented against the order, the petition shall stand referred for examination to the Lord Chairman of Committees and the Chairman of Ways and Means (hereinafter together referred to as ‘the Chairmen’).
(2) The following provisions shall have effect with respect to petitions against an order to which this Act applies:—
(a ) a petition praying for particular amendments to be made in the order shall specify the amendments asked for, and shall be known as a petition for amendment;
(b ) a prayer against the order generally shall not be included in a petition for amendment, but may be contained in a separate petition which shall be known as a petition of general objection.
(3) As soon as practicable after the expiration of the said period of fourteen days, the Chairmen shall take into consideration all petitions referred to them under this section, and if the Chairmen are satisfied with respect to any such petition that the provisions of this Act and of Standing Orders have been complied with in respect thereof and that the petition discloses a substantial ground of objection to the order, they shall certify that the petition is proper to be received and is a petition for amendment or a petition of general objection as the case may be.
(4) Where in the opinion of the Chairmen a petition presented as a petition for amendment involves amendments of the order which would constitute a negative of the main purpose of the order, they shall if they certify that the petition is proper to be received, certify it as a petition of general objection provided that if the petitioner satisfies the Chairmen that some only of the amendments involved would constitute a negative of the main purpose of the order, the Chairmen may direct the deletion of so much of the petition as requires such amendments and certify the remainder thereof as a petition for amendment.
(5) In respect of every order to which this Act applies, the Chairmen shall report whether any petitions have been presented against it, and if so what petitions, if any, have been certified as proper to be received and as petitions for amendment and petitions of general objection respectively; and subject to Standing Orders, every such report shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
4 Proceedings consequent upon report as to petitions.
(1) If either House, within the period of fourteen days beginning with the date on which the report of the Chairmen relating to any order to which this Act applies is laid before it, resolves that the order be annulled, the order shall thereupon become void and no further proceedings shall be taken thereon, but without prejudice to the laying before Parliament of a new order:
Provided that on the consideration of any motion for the annulment of an order under this subsection either House may, if a petition of general objection to the order has been certified as proper to be received, and the House is of opinion that the question of annulment ought not to be determined until that objection has been further examined, order that the petition be referred to a joint committee of both Houses in accordance with the provisions of this section, and in that case the order shall not be annulled except in accordance with the provisions of the two next following sections.
In reckoning the said period of fourteen days, no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued, or during which both Houses are adjourned for more than four days.
(2) If within the period mentioned in the foregoing subsection (hereinafter referred to as ‘the resolution period’) no resolution that the order be annulled has been passed, then, subject as hereinafter provided, any petitions certified by the Chairmen as proper to be received shall stand referred to a joint committee of both Houses:
Provided that where any petition so certified has been certified as a petition of general objection, that petition shall not stand so referred unless either House has ordered as aforesaid that the petition be so referred.
(3) If during the resolution period neither House has resolved that the order be annulled, and no petitions relating to the order stand referred to the joint committee under this section, the order shall come into operation at the expiration of that period, or on such later date, if any, as may be specified in the order.
5 Powers of joint committee on opposed orders.
(1) Where any petition against an order to which this Act applies is referred to a joint committee of both Houses under the last foregoing section, the order shall stand referred to that committee for the purpose of the consideration of the petition, and the committee shall have power to report the order either without amendment or with such amendments as they think expedient to give effect, either in whole or in part, to any such petition, and with such consequential amendments, if any, as they think proper.
(2) Where any petition so referred to the joint committee is a petition of general objection, and the committee, upon consideration of the petition, are satisfied that effect ought to be given thereto, they may report the order with amendments notwithstanding that the petition is one of general objection, but if in their opinion the order ought not to take effect, they shall report that the order be not approved.
(3) Subject to Standing Orders, the report of the joint committee in respect of any such order shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
6 Operation of orders.
(1) Where an order to which this Act applies is reported by the joint committee without amendment, the order shall come into operation on the date on which the report of the committee is laid before Parliament in accordance with the last foregoing section, or on such later date, if any, as may be specified in the order.
(2) Where any such order is reported by the joint committee with amendments, then, subject as hereinafter provided, the order shall come into operation as so amended on such date as the Minister may, by notice given...
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