Gold Coast (Constitution) Order in Council, 1954
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1954/551 |
| Year | 1954 |
1954 No. 551
GOLD COAST
GOLD COAST GENERALLY
The Gold Coast (Constitution) Order in Council, 195429thApril 1954
30thApril 1954
On a date to be appointed by the Governor under Section 2 (2).*
At the Court of Saint James, the 29th day of April, 1954.
Present,
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret.
Lord Privy Seal
Viscount Swinton
Miss Horsbrugh
Mr. Selwyn Lloyd
Sir Thomas Dugdale
Mr. Hopkinson
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
* Dates appointed: 5.5.54 except for Part II and ss. 56, 63, 70. 18.6.54 for Part Hands. 70. 31.7.55 for ss. 56, 63.
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 pursuance of the powers conferred upon Her Majesty by the British Settlements Act, 1887 and 1945(a), the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890(b), and of all other powers 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
Interpretation
1.—(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires:—
"Ashanti" means the territories from time to time as defined as such by Order of Her Majesty in Council;
"the Assembly" means the Legislative Assembly constituted under this Order;
"the Cabinet" means the Cabinet of Ministers constituted under this Order;
"the Colony" means the Gold Coast Colony as from time to time defined by Order of Her Majesty in Council;
"election" means the election of Elected Members to the Assembly and "elector" means an elector for any such election;
"the existing Instructions" means the Instructions passed under the Royal Sign Manual and Signet to the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Gold Coast dated the twenty-sixth day of December, 1950;
"the existing Orders" means the Orders in Council specified in the First Schedule to this Order;
"the Gazette" means the Official Gazette of the Gold Coast;
"the Gold Coast" means the Gold Coast Colony, Ashanti and the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast; and for the purposes of this Order references to the Gold Coast shall be construed as including Togoland under United Kingdom Trusteeship;
"the Governor" means the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Gold Coast and includes the Officer for the time being administering the Government and, to the extent to which the Deputy Governor is authorised to act on behalf of the Governor, the Deputy Governor;
(a) 50 & 51 Vict. c. 54 and 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 7.
(b) 53 & 54 Vict. c. 37.
"judicial officer" means the holder of any judicial office in the public service but does not include a Judge of the Supreme Court or an officer who exercises all or any of the functions of a judicial office by virtue of an appointment to some other office in the public service;
"meeting" means any sitting or sittings of the Assembly commencing when the Assembly first meets after being summoned at any time and terminating when the Assembly is adjourned sine die or at the conclusion of a session;
"the Northern Territories" means the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast as from time to time defined by Order of Her Majesty in Council;
"Northern Togoland" means the Northern section of Togoland under United Kingdom Trusteeship as from time to time defined by Order of Her Majesty in Council;
"the Prime Minister" means, until the date of commencement of Part II of this Order, the person appointed as such under the existing Orders, and thereafter the person appointed as such under this Order;
"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;
"Public Seal" means the Public Seal of the Gold Coast;
"the public service" means the service of the Crown in respect of the Government of the Gold Coast;
"session" means the sittings of the Assembly commencing when the Assembly first meets after being constituted under this Order, or after its prorogation or dissolution at any time, and terminating when the Assembly is prorogued or is dissolved without having been prorogued;
"sitting" means a period during which the Assembly is sitting continuously without adjournment, and includes any period during which the Assembly is in Committee;
"the Speaker" and "the Deputy Speaker" mean respectively the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly;
"Southern Togoland" means the Southern section of Togoland under United Kingdom Trusteeship as from time to time defined by Order of Her Majesty in Council;
"the Trans-Volta/Togoland Region" means Southern Togoland and such part of the Colony as may be declared to form part of that Region by any law for the time being in force in the Colony;
"the United Kingdom" means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
(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) Where, by or under this Order, a power is conferred to make any appointment, the person or authority having power to make the appointment shall have power, exercisable in the like manner—
(a) to suspend the appointment of any person appointed;
(b) in the case of a power to make an appointment to a public office, to direct that a person other than the person appointed shall, during any period that the person appointed is unable to perform the functions of his office owing to absence or inability to act from illness or any other cause, perform the functions of that office;
(c) in the case of a power to make an appointment to a public office, to appoint another person substantively to such an office, notwithstanding that there is already a substantive holder thereof, when that substantive holder in on leave of absence pending relinquishment of his office.
(4) Save where the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Order to Her Majesty's dominions shall be construed as including a reference to all territories under Her Majesty's protection or in which Her Majesty has for the time being jurisdiction.
(5)—(a) For the purposes of this Order, a person shall not be considered to hold a public office by reason only that he is in receipt of a pension or other like allowance in respect of service in any such office; and if it shall be declared by any law in force in the Gold Coast that an office shall not be a public office 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 hot 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 or any allowance in respect of his tenure of the office of Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Minister, Ministerial Secretary, Member of the Assembly or personal assistant of a Minister.
(c) For the purposes of Pact VI of this Order the expression "the public service" shall not include service otherwise than in a civil capacity and the expression "public office" and "public officer" shall be construed accordingly.
(6) 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 subsection 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(c), applied to it as those subsections apply to laws in force at the dates of the commencement of those Acts respectively.
(7) Save as is 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.
Citation and commencement
2.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Gold Coast (Constitution) Order in Council, 1954.
(2) This Order shall be published in the Gazette and the provisions thereof, save as otherwise expressly .provided in this Order, shall come into operation on a date to be appointed by the Governor, acting in
(a) 12,13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 92.
(b) 11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 56.
(c) 12,13 & 14 Geo. 6. 6. 41.
(d) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.
his discretion, by Notice in the Gazette, which date shall not be earlier than the day after the day upon which this Order shall have been laid before both Houses of Parliament, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Order:
Provided that the Governor shall not appoint a date for the commencement of section 56 or section 63 of this Order, which is earlier than one year after the date of commencement of Part II of this Order.
Revocation
3. The existing Orders are hereby revoked but without prejudice to anything lawfully done thereunder:
Provided that the Executive Council established by the existing Orders shall continue to exist until the date of the commencement of Part II of this Order and shall be constituted and...
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