STATUTES REQUIRING CONSTITUTIONAL ALIGNMENT __________________________________________________________________________________ 54. Private Voluntary Organisations Act [Chapter 17:05] This Act prohibits charitable organisations and many other types of associations from functioning or seeking funds from any source unless they are registered by the Government. It infringes freedom of association, guaranteed by section 58 of the Constitution, and should be amended to limit its unduly wide scope. 55. Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act [Chapter 2:08]* This Act was promulgated at a time when Parliament consisted of only the House of Assembly [now the National Assembly], and the amendments made by the General Laws Amendment Act do not rectify this. There are still anomalies in the Act, for example: • The Act gives the Speaker the same privileges as are enjoyed by Members of Parliament; this is necessary because the Speaker is not a Member of Parliament [section 126(6) of the Constitution]. So under the Act the Speaker, like a Member, has the right not to be sued for what he or she says in Parliament and cannot be summoned to court while Parliament is sitting. The President of the Senate who, like the Speaker, is not a Member of Parliament, does not enjoy these privileges. • A person who has given evidence before the National Assembly can be given a certificate by the Speaker which exempts the person from being sued for defamation arising out of what he or she told the Assembly [section 13 of the Act]. The President of the Senate cannot issue such a certificate to persons who give evidence before the Senate. The General Laws Amendment Act made two amendments to the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act which are highly questionable on constitutional grounds. Both concern Parliament’s power to impose punishment on its members and other persons: • The Act gives Parliament, when sitting as a court, power to impose not only fines for contempt of Parliament but also imprisonment for up to two years in default of payment of the fines. What this means is that if a person who has been convicted of contempt fails to pay the fine imposed by Parliament, he or she will have to serve the period of imprisonment which Parliament has specified as a default punishment. • The Bill also gives Parliament power to impose an “administrative penalty” of imprisonment on persons who are guilty of contempt. These provisions are to be inserted in the Act despite section 148(2) of the Constitution, which states: “No … Act may permit Parliament or its Members or officers to impose any punishment in the nature of a criminal penalty, other than a fine, for breach of privilege or contempt of Parliament.” 56. Produce Export Act [Chapter 18:17] This Act, like others originating from the Parliament of the defunct Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, confers excessively wide regulation-making powers on the President. Section 134(a) of the Constitution states that Parliament’s primary lawmaking power must not be delegated: this means that an Act of Parliament can confer power to make regulations filling in details that are not covered in the Act itself, but cannot go further. 18