Judgment No. CCZ 10/2018
Const. Application No. CCZ 80/2016
proposed legislation to enable it to rectify such defect in order to secure due conformity
with the Constitution.
Similarly, while it might be argued that the requirements of Standing
Orders made under s 139 are primarily designed to regulate the procedural aspects of
parliamentary business, I do not think that they are solely concerned with purely
procedural matters. Insofar as they regulate the gazetting of Bills and the attendant
dissemination of proposed legislation in pursuit of participatory democracy, they
implicate the involvement of all political parties represented in Parliament as well as the
general public, as is explicitly recognised in s 139(3). They therefore necessarily impact
upon the constitutional obligations envisaged in s 141.
In the premises, I am satisfied that the three constitutional questions raised
for determination in this matter call for the adjudication of primarily political questions
that intrude into the domain of Parliament and thus impinge upon the separation of
powers between the judiciary and the legislature. Accordingly, I take the view that these
questions relate to the fulfilment of constitutional obligations that are subject to the
exclusive jurisdiction of this Court within the contemplation of s 167(2)(d) of the
Constitution.
Locus Standi of the Applicants
The second respondent contests the legal standing of the applicants in
instituting this application on the basis that they both participated in the process of
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