Reference of certain matters to special tribunal

Reference of certain matters to special tribunal (1) Whenever— (a) a request is made in accordance with clause (2) for a report on a bill or statutory instrument; or (b) the Chief Justice considers it necessary for the purpose of determining claims for legal aid in respect of proceedings under Article 30 or 31; the Chief Justice shall appoint a tribunal which shall consist of two persons selected by him from amongst persons who hold or have held the office of a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court. (2) A request for a report on a bill or a statutory instrument may be made by not less than thirty members of the National Assembly by notice in writing delivered— (a) in the case of a bill, to the Speaker within three days after the final reading of the bill in the Assembly; (b) in the case of a statutory instrument, to the authority having power to make the instrument within fourteen days of the publication of the instrument in the Gazette. (3) Where a tribunal is appointed under this Article for the purpose of reporting on a bill or a statutory instrument, the tribunal shall, within the prescribed period, submit a report to the President and to the Speaker of the National Assembly stating— (a) in the case of a bill, whether or not in the opinion of the tribunal any, and if so which, provisions of the bill are inconsistent with this Constitution; (b) in the case of a statutory instrument, whether or not in the opinion of the tribunal any, and if so which, provisions of the instrument are inconsistent with this Constitution; and, if the tribunal reports that any provision would be or is inconsistent with this Constitution, the grounds upon which the tribunal has reached that conclusion: Provided that if the tribunal considers that the request for a report on a bill or statutory instrument is merely frivolous or vexatious, it may so report to the President without entering further upon the question whether the bill or statutory instrument would be or is inconsistent with this Constitution. (4) In determining any claim for legal aid as referred to in clause (2), the tribunal may grant to any person who satisfies it that— (a) he intends to bring or is an applicant in proceedings under clause (1) or (4) of Article 28; (b) he has reasonable grounds for bringing the application; and By Laws.Africa and contributors. Licensed under CC-BY. Share widely and freely. 20 Constitution of Zambia Act, 1991 (Chapter 1) Zambia (c) he cannot afford to pay for the cost of the application; a certificate that the application is a proper case to be determined at the public expense: Provided that paragraph (c) shall not apply in any case where the application relates to the validity or a provision in respect of which the tribunal has reported that it would be or is inconsistent with this Constitution or where it appears to the tribunal that issues are or will be raised in the application which are of general public importance. (5) Where a certificate is granted to any person by the tribunal in pursuance of clause (4), there shall be paid to that person out of the general revenues of the Republic such amount as the tribunal, when hearing the application, may assess as the costs incurred by that person in connection with the application; and the sums required for making such payment shall be a charge on the general revenues of the Republic. (6) For the purposes of clause (5)— (a) the costs incurred in an application shall include the cost of obtaining the advice of a legal representative and, if necessary, the cost of representation by a legal representative in any court in steps preliminary or incidental to the application; (b) in assessing the costs reasonably incurred by a person in an application, regard shall be had to costs awarded against that person or recovered by him in those proceedings. (7) In this Article, "prescribed period" means— (a) in relation to a bill, the period commencing from the appointment of the tribunal to report upon the bill and ending thirty days thereafter or if the Speaker, on the application of the tribunal considers that owing to the length or complexity of the bill thirty days is insufficient for consideration of the bill, ending on such later day as the Speaker may determine; (b) in relation to a statutory instrument, the period of forty days commencing with the day on which the instrument is published in the Gazette. (8) Nothing in clause (1), (2) or (3) shall apply to a bill for the appropriation of the general revenues of the Republic or a bill containing only proposals for expressly altering this Constitution or the Constitution of Zambia Act.