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New Constitution comes into force today
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In implementing as from today the new Constitution, the Gibraltar Constitution Order 1969, which established the previous constitution, is revoked.
There are transitional arrangements which now come into effect. The Financial and Development Secretary, and the Attorney General, now cease to be members of the new parliament, even though an election under it has not taken place.
It follows that any person (except the Financial and Development Secretary, and the Attorney-General) who immediately before the appointed day is a member of the House of Assembly shall on that day become a Member of the Parliament and shall be deemed to have complied with section 40 of the Constitution and shall hold his seat in accordance with the Constitution.
The Governor shall dissolve the Parliament not later than the expiration of four years from the date when the House of Assembly first met after the last general election before the appointed day.
The Legislature shall enact a law providing for the election of seventeen or more Elected Members of the Parliament at the next general election after the appointed day, and until that election section 25(2) (b) of the Constitution shall have
effect as it the reference therein to seventeen Elected Members were a reference to fifteen Elected Members.
In this section "the House of Assembly" means the House of Assembly established by the existing Order, and "the Parliament" means the Gibraltar Parliament established by the Constitution.
Procedure of Gibraltar Parliament
The rules and orders of the House of Assembly established by the existing Order, as those rules and orders were in force immediately before the appointed day, shall, except as may be otherwise provided
under section 39 of the Constitution, have effect on and after the appointed day as if they had been made under that section but shall be construed with such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as maybe necessary to bring them into conformity with the Constitution.
While transitional arrangements now come in with the implementation of the new Constitution, it is obvious that the sooner the new permanent arrangements come into force the better it will be for the sake of good government being seen as such.
For example, Gibraltar will now have 15 members in the legislature as if it had 17, and other such developments flowing into other aspects of public life. Hence, the sooner a general election takes place, and the new Constitution comes into effect as of right in every respect, the better it will be for Gibraltar. An early election is therefore called for.
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