PART 4 TENURE, ETC., OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
7.13 Tenure of seat of member of Parliament (1) The seat of a member of Parliament becomes vacant (a) on the dissolution of Parliament; (b) upon the member resigning his or her seat by notice in writing to the President of the Senate or to the Speaker, as the case may be; (c) upon the member becoming President; (d) upon the member becoming President of the Senate or Speaker or a member of the other House; (e) if the member ceases to be qualified for registration as a voter;
(f) if, without leave from the Speaker or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, the member is absent from the House of which he or she is a member for twenty-one consecutive days on which the House sits, and the House concerned resolves by a vote of at least two-thirds of its total membership that the seat should become vacant;
(g) if the member accepts public office or office as a member of a statutory body, government-controlled entity, provincial council or local authority or employment as an employee of a statutory body, provincial council or local authority;
(h) if the member was a public officer or a member or employee of a statutory body, a government-controlled entity, a provincial council or a local authority when he or she became a member of Parliament, and he or she fails to relinquish that office, membership or employment within fourteen days after becoming a member of Parliament;
(i) if the member is convicted (i) in Zimbabwe of an offence of which breach of trust, dishonesty or physical violence is an essential element; or (ii) outside Zimbabwe of conduct which, if committed in Zimbabwe, would be an offence of which breach of trust, dishonesty or physical violence is an essential element; and sentenced to imprisonment for six months or more without the option of a fine or without the option of any other non-custodial punishment, unless on appeal the member’s conviction is set aside or the sentence of imprisonment is reduced to less than six months or a punishment other than imprisonment is substituted;
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(j) if the member has been declared insolvent under a law in force in Zimbabwe and has not been rehabilitated or discharged, or if the member has made an assignment under such a law with his or her creditors which has not been rescinded or set aside;
(k) if the member has ceased to belong to the political party of which he or she was a member when elected to Parliament and the political party concerned, by written notice to the Speaker or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, has declared that the member ceased to represent its interests in Parliament;
(l) if the member, not having been a member of a political party when he or she was elected to Parliament, becomes a member of a political party;
(m) if the member is certified to be mentally disordered or intellectually handicapped under any law in force in Zimbabwe; or
(n) if the member has been convicted of an offence under the Electoral Law and has been declared by the High Court to be disqualified for registration as a voter or from voting at any election.
(2) A member referred to in subsection (1)(i) who has noted an appeal against his or her conviction may continue, until the final determination of the appeal, to exercise his or her functions as a member and to receive remuneration as a member, unless a court has ordered that he or she should be detained in prison pending the outcome of the appeal.
7.14 Oath of member of Parliament
(1) Before a member of Parliament takes part in any proceedings of Parliament, except proceedings necessary for the purpose of this section, the member must take the oath of a member of Parliament in the form set out in the Second Schedule.
(2) The oath referred to in subsection (1) must be taken before the Chief Justice or a judge of the Constitutional Court.
PART 5 LEGISLATIVE AND OTHER POWERS
7.15 Powers and functions of Senate and National Assembly
(1) Except as provided in the Fifth Schedule, in the exercise of their legislative authority both the Senate and the National Assembly have power to initiate, prepare, consider or reject any legislation.
(2) In addition to their functions under this Constitution, the Senate and the National Assembly may exercise any further functions conferred or imposed on them under any law.
7.16 Acts of Parliament and procedure for their enactment
(1) Parliament’s legislative authority is exercised through the enactment of Acts of Parliament. (2) An Act of Parliament is a Bill which has been— (a) presented in and passed by both Houses of Parliament; and (b) assented to and signed by the President; in accordance with this Constitution. (3) The words of enactment in Acts of Parliament are “Enacted by the Parliament of Zimbabwe”, or words to that effect. (4) The procedure to be followed by the National Assembly and the Senate with regard to Bills is set out in the Fifth Schedule. (5) After a Bill has been passed by both Houses in accordance with the Fifth Schedule, the President of the Senate or the Speaker, as the case may be, must without delay—
(a) cause it to be presented to the President for assent and signature, together with any certificate which is required by this Constitution to accompany the Bill; and (b) give public notice of the date on which the Bill was sent to the President.
(6) When a Bill is presented to the President for assent and signature, he or she must, within twenty-one days, either— (a) assent to it and sign it, and then cause it to be published in Gazette without delay; or (b) if he or she considers it to be unconstitutional or has any other reservations about it, refer the Bill back to Parliament through the Clerk of Parliament, together with detailed written reasons for those reservations and a request that the Bill be reconsidered at a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate.
(7) Where a Bill has been referred back to Parliament in terms of subsection (6)(b), the Speaker and the President of the Senate must without delay convene a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate, which must—
(a) reconsider the Bill and fully accommodate the President’s reservations; or (b) pass the Bill, with or without amendments, by a two-thirds majority of the total membership of the National Assembly and the Senate; and in either case the Speaker must cause the Bill to be presented to the President without delay for assent and signature and must give public notice of the date on which the Bill was sent to the President.
(8) If a Bill that has been presented to the President in terms of subsection (7) fully accommodates the President’s reservations, the President must assent to the Bill and sign it within twenty-one days and then cause it to be published in the Gazette without delay, but if the President still has reservations about the Bill, he or she must within that period either—
(a) assent to the Bill and sign it, despite those reservations; or (b) refer the Bill to the Constitutional Court for advice on its constitutionality.
(9) If on a reference under subsection (8) the Constitutional Court advises that the Bill is constitutional, the President must assent to it and sign it immediately and cause it to be published in the Gazette without delay.
(10) If a Bill is presented to the President for assent and signature and it is not accompanied by a certificate which is required by any provision of this Constitution, the President must not assent to the Bill or sign it until the certificate is produced but must cause the Clerk of Parliament to be notified, immediately and in writing, that the certificate was not sent with the Bill.
7.17 Commencement of Acts of Parliament An Act of Parliament comes into operation at the beginning of the day on which it is published in the Gazette, or at the beginning of any other day that may be specified in the Act or some other enactment.
7.18 Enrolment of Acts of Parliament
(1) When the President has assented to and signed an Act of Parliament, the Clerk of Parliament must transmit a fair copy of it, authenticated by the President’s signature and the public seal of Zimbabwe, to be enrolled in the office of the Registrar of the High Court, and that copy is conclusive evidence of the provisions of the Act unless the Act is revised under an Act of Parliament referred to in subsection (2).
(2) An Act of Parliament may provide for the statute law, or any part of it, to be published in revised form and may further provide that
(a) upon being published, the revision is the sole authentic version of the statutes contained in it; (b) a copy of the revision must be deposited in the office of the Registrar of the High Court; and (c) the copy that is deposited in the office of the Registrar of the High Court is conclusive evidence of the provisions of the statutes contained in it.
(3) The validity of an Act of Parliament or a revision of the statute law does not depend on its enrolment or deposit under this section.
7.19 Subsidiary legislation
(1) Parliament may, in an Act of Parliament, delegate power to make statutory instruments within the scope and for the purposes laid out in that Act, but—
(a) Parliament’s primary law-making power must not be delegated;
(b) statutory instruments must not infringe or limit any of the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration of Rights;
(c) statutory instruments must be consistent with the Act of Parliament under which they are made;
(d) an Act of Parliament must require appropriate consultation with interested parties before statutory instruments are made;
(e) the Act must specify the limits of the power, the nature and scope of the statutory instrument that may be made, and the principles and standards applicable to the statutory instrument;
(f) statutory instruments do not have the force of law unless they have been published in the Gazette;
(g) statutory instruments must be laid before the National Assembly in accordance with its Standing Orders and submitted to the Parliamentary Legal Committee for scrutiny; and
(h) an Act of Parliament must make provision for statutory instruments to be repealed, revoked or cease to have effect if they are not approved by the National Assembly.
(2) Ordinances, by-laws and regulations of provincial and local government institutions referred to in Chapter 14 must be laid before and approved by the National Assembly in terms of subsection (1).
PART 6
PROCEDURE IN PARLIAMENT
7.20 Head of Parliament (1) The Speaker is the head of Parliament and responsible for its day-to-day administration, subject to any instructions given by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
(2) The President of the Senate is the deputy head of Parliament and acts as head whenever the Speaker is for any reason unable to do so.
7.21 Persons presiding in Parliament
(1) The person presiding at any sitting of the Senate must be— (a) the President of the Senate or, in his or her absence, the Deputy President of the Senate; or (b) in the absence of the President or Deputy President of the Senate, a Senator elected for the purpose by the Senate, but that Senator must not be a Minister.
(2) The person presiding at any sitting of the National Assembly must be— (a) the Speaker or, in his or her absence, the Deputy Speaker; or (b) in the absence of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker, a member of the National Assembly elected for the purpose by the National Assembly, but that member must not be a Minister.
(3) The Speaker, or in his or her absence the President of the Senate, must preside at any joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate.
7.22 Quorum in Parliament
The Senate and the National Assembly must prescribe in Standing Orders the minimum number of members who must be present for the conduct of business.
7.23 Voting and right of audience in Parliament
(1) Except where this Constitution provides otherwise— (a) all questions proposed for decision in either House of Parliament are decided by a majority of the votes of the members of that House present and voting; (b) the person presiding in either House of Parliament does not have either a deliberative or a casting vote on any issue before the House; (c) if the votes in either House of Parliament are equally divided on any motion, the motion is lost.
(2) (Voting rights of chiefs: to be discussed.)
(3) Ministers and Deputy Ministers are entitled to sit and speak in both Houses of Parliament but have no right to vote in a House of which they are not members.
(4) Members of the Parliamentary Legal Committee and any other joint committee of Parliament are entitled to sit and speak in either House of Parliament for the purpose of introducing or debating any report of that committee which is before the House, but have no right to vote in a House of which they are not members.
(5) Where a member of Parliament, other than a Minister or Deputy Minister, has introduced a Bill in the House of which he or she is a member, and the House has passed the Bill, that member or, in his or her absence, any other member of the House concerned is entitled to sit and speak in the other House for the purpose of conducting the Bill through that House, but has no right to vote in that other House.
7.24 Standing Orders
(1) The proceedings of the Senate and the National Assembly are regulated by rules known as Standing Orders, which are made by the Houses individually or jointly on the recommendation of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
(2) Standing Orders may provide for— (a) the passing of Bills; (b) the appointment and functions of committees and the delegation of functions to them; (c) the appointment of a committee to advise members of Parliament on the legal validity of Bills, draft Bills and statutory instruments; (d) the way in which the powers, privileges and immunities of the Houses may be exercised and upheld; and (e) generally, the regulation and orderly conduct of business and proceedings in and between the Houses.
(3) Standing Orders must provide for—
(a) (for further consultation) the questioning of the President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers by members of Parliament; (b) a code of conduct to be followed by members of Parliament; and (c) the exercise of the right of the public to petition Parliament.
(4) The procedures and processes of Parliament and its committees, as provided for in Standing Orders, must promote openness, must encourage the involvement of members of minority parties and the public, and must be fair and just.
(5) Any committee established by or under Standing Orders must reflect, as closely as possible, the political and gender composition of Parliament or of the House to which the Standing Orders apply, as the case may be, and the members of the committee who represent minority political parties must be elected or appointed by those parties.
7.25 Presidential addresses to Parliament
(1) The President may at any time address either House of Parliament or a joint sitting of both Houses. (2) At least once a year the President must address a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on the state of the nation, and the Speaker and the President of the Senate must make the necessary arrangements for Parliament to receive such an address.