Judgment No. SC 54/2018
Case No. SC 228/14
history of the Urban Councils Act as well as established legislative practice in the treatment
of existing delegated legislation.
The original Ordinance No. 10 of 1911, as amended, remained in force and
operational until 1963 when it was converted into an Act of Parliament, titled the Salisbury
Water and Electricity Supply and Loan Act [Chapter 132]. Thereafter, in 1974, this Act
was repealed by the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 214]. However, in terms of the savings
provision incorporated in the latter Act, i.e. s 270, all by-laws or regulations made under
any repealed Act were to continue in force as though they were made under the repealing
Act. Eventually, Chapter 214 was repealed and replaced, in the 1996 Revised Edition of
Statutes, by the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15]. Once again, pre-existing subsidiary
legislation was saved by virtue of s 321 of that Act which sets out its savings and
transitional provisions. With specific reference to by-laws, s 321(1)(d) now provides that:
“any by-laws which were made or continued in force under the repealed Act and
which were in force immediately before the date of commencement of this Act shall
continue in force as though they were, and shall be deemed to be, by-laws, made
under the appropriate provisions of this Act and may be amended or repealed as
though they had been so made;”.
What emerges plainly and clearly from the foregoing is that the 1913 Byelaws, having been made under the 1911 Ordinance but having continued and remained in
force under the successive replacement Acts of 1963, 1974 and 1996, now continue in force
as though they were made under Chapter 29:15. It follows that the validity of the 1913
Bye-laws stands to be examined and affirmed or negatived by reference to the enabling
provisions of the current Urban Councils Act.
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