CHAPTER 5

Parliament and Parliamentary

Procedure and Practice

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 The Institution of Parliament

• See Handout

‘CL Handout 10 - Evolution of the Institution of

Parliament’

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Parliamentary Procedure and Practice – Overview (1)

• National Assembly or Parliament?(Articles 266, 62, 68)

• The Speakership (Article 82)
• Administrative Functions
• Institutional Functions
• Leader of Government Business [Article 74 (1)]
• Leader of the Opposition [Article 74 (2)]
• The Government Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip and Party
Whips (no constitutional reference; Standing Orders of the
NA)
• Clerk of the National Assembly (Article 84)
• Committee System (Article 80)
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Parliamentary Procedure and Practice – Overview (2)

• Powers and Privileges [Article 76 (2)]

• Parliamentary Immunity
• Parliamentary Privilege
• Parliamentary Power
• Controls on Administrative Actions [Article 63 (2)]
• The Law-Making Process (Article 64)
• First reading
• Second reading
• Committee Stage
• Report Stage
• Third Reading
• Presidential Assent
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 National Assembly or Parliament?
• Two different institutions with varying consequences at law
• Article 266 provides that ‘Parliament’ means the President
and the National Assembly > National Assembly is a
component of Parliament and only becomes so when we add
the President
• Article 62 establishes Parliament and is clear in Article 62 (1)
• Article 68 (2) speaks of the composition of the National
Assembly
• Therefore, National Assembly and Parliament are different
creatures with different functions and mandates at law 226
 The Speakership

• Speaker of the National Assembly is the political head of the

legislative branch of government (assisted by the First
Deputy Speaker and Second Speaker in line with Articles 68
(2) and Article 82)
• Speaker is elected in accordance with Article 82 (1) >> Read it!
• The Constitution does not specifically outline the roles and
functions of the Speaker of the National Assembly >
However, some functions can be categorised as
administrative and institutional functions (see below)
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 The Speakership – Administrative Functions
• Administrative functions are those relating to the day-to-day
administration and management of the staff and activities of the
legislature as an organ of government
• These functions extend to the various departments of the
National Assembly which provide services to the members of the
house
• According to Section 5 of the National Assembly Staff Act, the
Speaker has certain powers to appoint persons to hold or to act
in any office in the department of the Clerk (other than the
Office of the Clerk), and to exercise disciplinary control over such
persons
• Speaker has the power to prescribe conditions of service for the
general staff of the NA (Section 7 of the same Act)
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 The Speakership – Institutional Functions
• These functions are linked to the Speaker of the NA as a
deliberative body > this means that the Speakers most common
and primary role is to control the debates of the House
• The NA has been endowed with authority and power to make its
own rules, practice and procedure to govern and regulate its own
conduct
• Functions may include:
• Preside over sittings in the house
• Disciplines erring Members of Parliament
• Interprets the rules of procedure of the House
• Appoints Committees of the House
• Represents the NA at both domestic and international gatherings etc.
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 Leader of Government Business
• Article 74 (1) provides that the President shall appoint the
Vice-President to be the Leader of Government Business
(LGB) in the National Assembly
• This can be seen as an anomaly in the law here as in its
current form, it suggests that the VP may only become LGB
upon appointment by the President > Solace is found in the
word ‘shall’ as the provision suggests that it is mandatory for
the President to appoint the VP as LGB
• In whatever way one looks at it, there is a anomaly in this
provision as history shows the VP becomes LGB in the NA by
virtue of his or her election as VP
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 Leader of the Opposition

• Article 74 (1) provides that the opposition political party with

the largest number of seats in the National Assembly shall
elect a Leader of the Opposition from amongst the Members
of Parliament who are from the opposition

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Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip and Party Whips

• These positions are not constitutional positions but rather

derived from practice and perhaps the Standing Orders of
the National Assembly
• Whips are mainly responsible for counting heads and
rounding up party members for votes and quorum calls, or in
other words “The role of whips is largely to ensure that MPs
vote as required by the party leadership”

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 Clerk of the National Assembly

• The Clerk‘s office is established by Article 84

• The Clerk is the administrative head of the legislature as an
organ of the government and sees to ot that the Speaker and
Members of the NA are properly serviced with all financial,
human, logistical and material support
• The Clerk is a controlling officer for the legislative branch and
helps the Speaker in supervising all the departments of the
NA
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 Committee System (1)
• Established by Article 80 (read it!)
• Catgeroised into standing committees (exist for the entire life of
the Parliament) and select committees (ad hoc in nature)
• Purpose of committees is to provide oversight and scrutiny
on the executive as well as the judicial arm of government in
furtherance of the doctrines of checks and balances and the
separation of powers
• All members of parliament must belong to a committee
(max. 3) >>> Exceptions listed in the Standing Order (e.g. VP,
Dep. Speaker, Minister, Leader of the Opposition)
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 Committee System (2)
• Examples of standing committees:
• House Keeping Committees > concerned with matters of the
administration and management of the House itself (Examples:
Standing Orders Committee, House Business Committee, Parliamentary
Reforms and Modernisation Committees)
• General Purpose Committees > mandate is not confined to any
specific government ministry or portfolio as the issues that they
consider are applicable to all ministries (Examples: Public Accounts
Committee, Committee on Delegated Legislation, Budget Committee)
• Portfolio Committees > estanblished and strutured to mirror as
much as possible portfolie of ministries, departments and agencies
of government so that scrutiny and oversight is ecxtended to all
government functions; Examples of these(Examples: )
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 Committee System (3)
• Portfolio Committees > estanblished and strutured to mirror as
much as possible portfolie of ministries, departments and agencies
of government so that scrutiny and oversight is ecxtended to all
government functions; Examples of these include the following as
provided under Order 157 (2) of the Standing Orders of National
Assembly:
• Committee on Agriculture, Lands and Natural Resources
• Committee on Media Information and Communication Technologies
• Committee on Education, Science and Technology
• Committee on Local Government Accounts
• Committee on National Security and Foreign Affairs etc. ...
(see https://www.parliament.gov.zm/committees)
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 Powers and Privileges (1)

• Article 76 (2) of the Constitution (read it!) > makes reference to the
National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act
• Parliamentary immunity
• Is a legal protection which is given to Parliament and members
in order to protect them from prosecution under both civil and
criminal law
• This protection acts as a shield from prosecution arising from
the discharge of their duties as members of parliament
• See Secition 4 and 5 of the aformentioned Act

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 Powers and Privileges (2)

• Parliamentary privilege
• Article 76 (1) protects the freedom of speech for members of
Parliament who enjoy the privilege to speak whilst in the House
> it also grats immunity for members who cannot be sued in
tort or criminal law for anything saod whilst on the floor of the
House
• See Section 3 and 6 of the aforementiond Act

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 Powers and Privileges (3)
• Parliamentary power
• Article 61 provides: The legislative authority of the Republic
derives from the people of Zambia and shall be exercised in a
manner that protects this Constitution and promotes the
democratic governance of the Republic.
• Article 62 provides: (2) The legislative authority of the Republic
is vested in and exercised by Parliament. (3) A person or body,
other than Parliament, shall not have power to enact
legislation, except conferred by this Constitution.
> Thus, from the above and in deriving authority from the people
of Zambia, Parliament (and not the National Assembly) has the
power to make laws.
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 Powers and Privileges (4)
• National Assembly has the powers to:
• Oversee the perfromance of executive functions (Art. 63)
• Decide its own procedure and make standing orders for the conduct of its
business (Art. 77)
• Impeach the President (Art. 108)
• Remove the Speaker of the National Assembly from office (Art. 83)
• Remove the Clerk of the National Assembly from office [Art.84 (5)]
• Censure a Minister and Provincial Minister (Art.87)
• Conduct enquiries
• Discipline its members [Sec.28 of the National Assembly (Powers and
Privileges) (Amendment) Act] etc.
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 Controls on Administrative Actions
• National Assembly has the powers to oversee policy
implementation by the executive branch > see and read Article 63
(2)
• In this regard, other than through the Committee system, the
National Assembly exerts controls on the executive in the
following ways:
• The control of Government‘s financial administration
• The control of Presidential appointments to constitutional
offices
• The control of delegated legislation
• The control of Government policies through debates
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