British Guiana (Constitution) (Temporary Provisions) Order in Council, 1953
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1953/1910 |
| Year | 1953 |
1953 No. 1910
The British Guiana (Constitution) (Temporary Provisions) Order in Council, 195322ndDecember 1953
At the Court of Saint James, the 22nd day of December, 1953
Present,
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret.
Lord President Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd
Mr. Secretary Head Commander Galbraith
Whereas Her Majesty, in pursuance of the Regency Acts, 1937 to 1953, was pleased, by Letters Patent dated the twentieth day of November, 1953, to delegate to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and the Earl of Harewood, or any two or more of them, as Counsellors of State, full power and authority during the period of Her Majesty's absence from the United Kingdom to summon and hold on Her Majesty's behalf Her Privy Council and to signify thereat Her Majesty's approval of anything for which Her Majesty's approval in Council is required:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, being authorized thereto by the said Letters Patent, and in exercise of the powers conferred on Her Majesty by the British Guiana Act, 1928(a), and of all other powers enabling Her Majesty in that behalf, do hereby, by and with the advice of Her Majesty's Privy Council, on Her Majesty's behalf order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
PART I
Preliminary
Citation and commencement
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the British Guiana (Constitution) (Temporary Provisions) Order in Council, 1953.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, this Order shall come into operation forthwith.
(3) Parts IV and V of this Order shall come into operation on such day as the Governor, by Proclamation in the Gazette, shall appoint; and thereupon Part III of this Order shall, without prejudice to anything lawfully done thereunder, cease to have effect.
(4) This Order shall be published in the Gazette.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Colony" means the Colony of British Guiana;
(a) 18 & 19 Geo. 5. c. 5.
"the Executive Council" means the Executive Council established by Part II of this Order;
"the Gazette" means the Official Gazette of the Colony;
"the Governor" means the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony and includes any other officer for the time being administering the Government of the Colony and, to the extent to which a Deputy for the Governor is authorized to act, that Deputy;
"the Legislative Council" means the Legislative Council provided for by Part IV of this Order;
"Nominated Official Member" means a Nominated Member of the Executive or Legislative Council, as the case may be, who, at the time of his appointment as such, holds an office of emolument under the Crown in the Colony;
"Nominated Unofficial Member" means a Nominated Member of the Executive or Legislative Council, as the case may be, who, at the time of his appointment as such, does not hold an office of emolument under the Crown in the Colony;
"public office" means any office of emolument in the public service;
"public officer" means the holder of any public office and includes any person appointed to act in any such office;
"the Public Seal" means the Public Seal of the Colony;
"the public service" means the service of the Crown in respect of the Government of the Colony;
"session" means the sittings of the Council commencing when the Council first meets after being constituted under this Order, or after its prorogation at any time, and terminating when the Council is prorogued;
"sitting" means a period during which the Council is sitting continuously without adjournment, and includes any period during which the Council is in committee;
"Speaker" means the Speaker of the Legislative Council.
(2) Where in this Order reference is made to any officer by the term designating his office, such reference shall be construed as a reference to the officer for the time being lawfully discharging the functions of that office.
(3) References in this Order to Her Majesty's dominions shall have effect as if they included references to all British protectorates and protected states and to all territories administered by the Government of any part of Her Majesty's dominions under the trusteeship system of the United Nations.
(4) (a) For the purposes of this Order a person shall not be considered to hold an office of emolument under the Crown if he is on leave of absence pending relinquishment of such office or by reason only that he is in receipt of a pension or other like allowance in respect of service under the Crown; and if it shall be declared by any law in force in the Colony that an office shall not be an office of emolument under the Crown for all or any of the purposes of this Order, this Order shall have effect accordingly as if such law were enacted herein.
(b) For the purposes of this Order a person shall not be considered to be a public officer or otherwise to hold office of emolument under the Crown by reason of the fact that he is in receipt of a salary or other emoluments in respect of his tenure of the office of Speaker or Nominated Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council or Nominated Unofficial Member of the Executive Council.
(5) This Order shall be construed—
(a) as if subsection (1) of section 1 of the India (Consequential Provision) Act, 1949(a), applied to it in the same way as that section applies to laws in force on the date mentioned in that subsection; and
(b) as if subsection (2) of section 3 of the British Nationality Act, 1948(b) (as interpreted by subsection (1) of section 3 of the Ireland Act, 1949(c)), and subsection (2) of section 3 of the Ireland Act, 1949, applied to it as those subsections apply to laws in force at the dates of the commencement of those Acts respectively.
(6) Save as in this Order otherwise provided or required by the context, the Interpretation Act, 1889(d), shall apply for the interpretation of this Order as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
British Guiana (Constitution) Orders in Council, 1953, to cease to have effect
3.—(1) Save as is otherwise provided in this section, from the date of this Order the British Guiana (Constitution) Orders in Council, 1953(e), shall have no effect unless and until Her Majesty, by order in Council, shall otherwise provide.
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to Part VII (comprising sections 85 to 90 inclusive) or to section 92 of the British Guiana (Constitution) Order in Council, 1953(f) (hereinafter referred to as "the Constitution Order"), and accordingly section 1 of the Constitution Order shall continue to have effect in relation to that Part and that section:
Provided that section 88 of the Constitution Order shall be construed as if the words "subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section "in subsection (1), and as if subsection (3), were omitted.
(3) The provisions of subsection (2) of section 38 of the Interpretation Act, 1889, shall apply in relation to the operation of subsection (1) of this section as they apply to the repeal of an Act of Parliament.
PART II
Executive Council
Executive Council
4. There shall be an Executive Council in and for the Colony which shall consist of three ex-officio Members and not more than seven Nominated Members.
Ex-officio Members
5. The ex-officio Members of the Executive Council shall be the Chief Secretary, the Attorney-General and the Financial Secretary.
(a) 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 92.
(b) 11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 56.
(c) 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 41.
(d) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.
(e) S.I. 1953/586, 1478, 1564, pp. 126, 160, 162 above.
(f) S.I. 1953/586, p. 126 above.
Nominated Members
6. The Nominated Members of the Executive Council shall be such persons as the Governor, in pursuance of instructions from Her Majesty through a Secretary of State, shall appoint by Instrument under the Public Seal:
Provided that, after Part IV of this Order comes into operation, no person shall be appointed to be a Nominated Unofficial Member of the Council who is not a Nominated Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council.
Tenure of office of Nominated Members
7.—(1) Every Nominated Member of the Executive Council shall hold his seat in the Council during Her Majesty's pleasure.
(2) Every such Nominated Member shall vacate his seat in the Council on such date (if any) as may be provided in the Instrument by which he is appointed, or before such date:—
(a) if, by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor, he shall resign his seat in the Executive Council; or
(b) if, in the case of a Nominated Official Member, he shall cease to hold office of emolument under the Crown in the Colony; or
(c) if, in the case of a Nominated Unofficial Member, he shall be appointed permanently to any office of emolument under the Crown in the Colony; or
(d) if, without the written permission of the Governor, he shall be absent from the Colony; or
(e) if, in the case of a Nominated Unofficial Member, he shall not, within one month after the coming into operation of Part IV of this Order, have been appointed to be a Member of the Legislative Council; or
(f) if, in the case of a Nominated Unofficial Member, he shall, at any time after the coming into operation of Part IV of this Order, vacate his seat in the Legislative Council.
(3) If a Nominated Unofficial Member of the Executive Council shall be appointed temporarily to, or to act in, any office of emolument under the Crown in the Colony, he shall not sit as a Member or take part in the proceedings of the Council by virtue of his appointment as a Nominated Unofficial Member so long as he continues to hold or act in that office.
(4) A person whose seat in the Council has become vacant may be again appointed as a Nominated Member from time to time.
...
To continue reading
Request your trial