CONSTITUTION OF ZIMBABWE as amended by Amendment No. 17 [Section as substituted by section 15 of Act 31 of 1989 - Amendment No. 9] PART 5 Powers and Procedure of Parliament 50 Legislative powers Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may make laws for the peace, order and good government of Zimbabwe. 51 Mode of exercising legislative powers (1) Subject to the provisions of section 52 and Schedule 4, the power of Parliament to make laws shall be exercised by Bills passed by the House of Assembly and the Senate and assented to by the President. [Subsection as amended by section 26 of Act 31 of 1989 - Amendment No. 9 and section 23 of Act No. 5 of 2005 – Amendment No. 17] (2) When a Bill is presented to the President for assent he shall, subject to the provisions of this section, within twenty-one days, either assent or withhold his assent. [Subsection as amended by section 4 of Act 23 of 1987] (3) Where this Constitution provides that a Bill of a specified description shall not be presented to the President for assent unless it is accompanied by a certificate, the President shall not assent to such Bill unless it is accompanied by the said certificate. (3a) Where the President withholds his assent to a Bill, the Bill shall be returned to the House of Assembly and, subject to the provisions of subsection (3b), the Bill shall not again be presented for assent. [Subsection as inserted by section 4 of Act 23 of 1987 and as amended by section 26 of Act 31 of 1989 - Amendment No. 9 and section 23 of Act No. 5 of 2005 – Amendment No. 17] (3b) If, within six months after a Bill has been returned to the House of Assembly in terms of subsection (3a), the House of Assembly resolves upon a motion supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of the House of Assembly that the Bill should again be presented to the President for assent, the Bill shall be so presented and, on such presentation, the President shall assent to the Bill within twenty-one days of the presentation, unless he sooner dissolves Parliament. [Subsection as inserted by section 4 of Act 23 of 1987 and as amended by section 26 of Act 31 of 1989 - Amendment No. 9 and section 23 of Act No. 5 of 2005 – Amendment No. 17] (4) All laws made by Parliament shall be styled “Acts” and the words of enactment shall be “enacted by the President and the Parliament of Zimbabwe” or words to the like effect. [Subsection as amended by section 16 of Act 31 of 1989 - Amendment No. 9] (5) An Act of Parliament shall come into operation on the day of its publication in the Gazette or on such other day as may be specified in or under that or some other Act. Consolidation 56 14th September, 2005