CHAPTER X
Miscellaneous
118. The integrity Commission
119. Declaration of assets
120. Supreme law
121. Functions of Governor General
122. Resignations
123. Re-appointment and concurrent appointments
124. Interpretation
118. The integrity Commission
(1) There shall be an Integrity Commission for Saint Lucia (hereinafter in this section referred to as the Commission) which shall consist of a chairperson and not less than 2 nor more than 4 other members, who shall be appointed by the Governor General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister:
Provided that the Prime Minister shall consult the Leader of the Opposition before tendering any advice to the Governor General for the purposes of this subsection.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a member of the Commission if—
(a) he or she is a Senator or a member of the House;
(b) he or she is, or has at any time during the 3 years preceding his or her appointment been, a judge of the Supreme Court or a public officer.
(3) A member of the Commission shall not, within the period of 3 years commencing with the day on which he or she last held or acted in the office of member of the Commission, be eligible for appointment to or to act in any public office.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this section, the office of a member of the Commission shall become vacant—
(a) at the expiration of 3 years from the date of his or her appointment or
(b) if any circumstances arise that, if he or she were not a member of the Commission, would cause him or her to be disqualified to be appointed as such under subsection (2).
(5) A member of the Commission may be removed from office only for inability to exercise the functions of his or her office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause) or for misbehaviour and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(6) A member of the Commission shall be removed from office by the Governor General if the question of his or her removal from office has been referred to a tribunal appointed under subsection (7) and the tribunal has recommended to the Governor General that he or she ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour.
(7) If the Prime Minister represents to the Governor General that the question of removing a member of the Commission under this section ought to be investigated, then—
(a) the Governor General shall appoint a tribunal which shall consist of a chairperson and not less than 2 other members, selected by the Chief Justice from among persons who hold or have held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from such a court; and
(b) the tribunal shall enquire into the matter and report on the facts thereof to the Governor General and recommend to him or her whether the member ought to be removed under this section.
(8) If the question of removing a member of the Commission has been referred to a tribunal under this section, the Governor General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, may suspend that member from the exercise of the functions of his or her office and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor General, acting in accordance with such advice as aforesaid, and shall in any case cease to have effect if the tribunal recommends to the Governor General that that member should not be removed.
(9) If the office of chairperson of the Commission is vacant or if the holder of that office is for any reason unable to exercise the functions of his or her office, then, until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office or until the person holding that office has resumed those functions, as the case may be, they shall be exercised by such other member of the Commission as may be designated by the Governor General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister.
(10) If at any time there are less than 2 members of the Commission besides the chairperson or if any such member is acting as chairperson or is for any reason unable to exercise the functions of his or her office, the Governor General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, may appoint a person who is qualified to be appointed as a member of the Commission to act as a member, and any person so appointed shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (4), continue to act until the office in which he or she is acting has been filled or, as the case may be, until the holder thereof has resumed his or her functions or until his or her appointment to act has been revoked by the Governor General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister.
(11) A member of the Commission shall not enter upon the duties of his or her office until he or she has taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance and the oath of office.
(12) The Commission shall, in the exercise of its functions under this Constitution, not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
(13) The Commission may by regulation or otherwise regulate its own procedure and, with the consent of the Prime Minister, may confer powers or impose duties on any public officer or on any authority of the Government for the purpose of the exercise of its functions.
(14) The Commission may, subject to its rules of procedure, act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership or the absence of any member and its proceedings shall not be invalidated by the presence or participation of any person not entitled to be present at or to participate in those proceedings:
Provided that any decision of the Commission shall require the concurrence of a majority of all its members.
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119. Declaration of assets
(1) The Integrity Commission shall obtain declarations in writing from time to time of their assets, liabilities and income from Senators and members of the House (including Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries) and from the holders of such other offices as Parliament may prescribe.
(2) There shall be such provision as may be made by Parliament in relation to the due performance by the Commission of its functions under this section, including its powers, privileges, immunities and procedure and the security and confidentiality of the information it receives.
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120. Supreme law
This Constitution is the supreme law of Saint Lucia and, subject to the provisions of section 41, if any other law is inconsistent with this Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail and the other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
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121. Functions of Governor General
(1) Any reference in this Constitution to the functions of the Governor General shall be construed as a reference to his or her powers and duties in the exercise of the executive authority of Saint Lucia and to any other powers and duties conferred or imposed on him or her as Governor General by or under this Constitution or any other law.
(2) Where by this Constitution the Governor General is required to perform any function after consultation with any person or authority he or she shall not be obliged to exercise that function in accordance with the advice of that person or authority.
(3) Where by this Constitution the Governor General is required to perform any function in accordance with the advice of, or after consultation with, any person or authority, the question whether the Governor General has so exercised that function shall not be enquired into in any court of law.
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122. Resignations
(1) A Senator or a member of the House may resign his or her seat by writing under his or her hand addressed to the President or the Speaker, as the case may be, and the resignation shall take effect, and the seat shall accordingly become vacant, when the writing is received, as the case may be, by—
(a) the President or Speaker;
(b) if the office of President or Speaker is vacant or the President or Speaker is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his or her office and no other person is performing them, the Deputy President or Deputy Speaker; or
(c) if the office of Deputy President or Deputy Speaker is vacant or the Deputy President or Deputy Speaker is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his or her office and no other person is performing them, the Clerk of the Senate or Clerk of the House.
(2) The President or the Deputy President or the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker may resign his or her office by writing under his or her hand addressed to the Senate or the House, as the case may be, and the resignation shall take effect, and the office shall accordingly become vacant, when the writing is received, as the case may be, by the Clerk of the Senate or Clerk of the House.
(3) Any person who has been appointed to an office established by this Constitution (other than an office to which subsection (1) or (2) applies) or any office of Minister established under this Constitution may resign that office by writing under his or her hand addressed to the person or authority by whom he or she was appointed and the resignation shall take effect, and the office shall accordingly become vacant—
(a) at such time or on such date (if any) as may be specified in the writing; or
(b) when the writing is received by the person or authority to whom it is addressed or by such other person as may be authorised to receive it, whichever is the later:
Provided that the resignation may be withdrawn before it takes effect if the person or authority to whom the resignation is addressed consents to its withdrawal.
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123. Re-appointment and concurrent appointments
(1) Where any person has vacated any office established by this Constitution or any office of Minister established under this Constitution, he or she may, if qualified, again be appointed or elected to hold that office in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
(2) Where this Constitution vests in any person or authority the power to make any appointment to any office, a person may be appointed to that office, notwithstanding that some other person may be holding that office, when that other person is on leave of absence pending the relinquishment of the office; and where 2 or more persons are holding the same office by reason of an appointment made in pursuance of this subsection, then, for the purposes of any function conferred upon the holder of that office, the person last appointed shall be deemed to be the sole holder of the office.
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124. Interpretation
(1) In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires—
“citizen” means a citizen of Saint Lucia and “citizenship” shall be construed accordingly;
“Commonwealth citizen” has such meaning as Parliament may prescribe;
“dollars” means dollars in the currency of Saint Lucia;
“financial year” means any period of 12 months beginning on 1 January in any year or such other date as may be prescribed by law;
“the Government” means the Government of Saint Lucia;
“the House” means the House of Assembly;
“law” means any law in force in Saint Lucia or any part thereof, including any instrument having the force of law and any unwritten rule of law and “lawful” and “lawfully” shall be construed accordingly;
“Minister” means a Minister of the Government and includes a temporary Minister;
“Parliament” means the Parliament of Saint Lucia;
“oath” includes affirmation;
“oath of allegiance” means such oath of allegiance as may be prescribed by law;
“oath of office” means, in relation to any office, such oath for the due execution of that office as may be prescribed by law;
“oath of secrecy” means such oath of secrecy as may be prescribed by law;
“the Police Force” means the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and includes any other police force established to succeed to the functions of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force;
“President” and “Deputy President” mean the respective persons holding office as President and Deputy President of the Senate;
“public office” means any office of emolument in the public service;
“public officer” means a person holding or acting in any public office;
“the public service” means, subject to the provisions of this section, the service in a civil capacity of the Government;
“session” means, in relation to the Senate or the House, the period beginning when it first meets after Parliament has at any time been prorogued or dissolved and ending when Parliament is prorogued or when Parliament is dissolved without having been prorogued;
“sitting” means, in relation to the Senate or the House, the period during which it is sitting continuously without adjournment and includes any period during which it is in committee;
“Speaker” and “Deputy Speaker” means the respective persons holding office as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House.
(2) In this Constitution references to an office in the public service shall not be construed as including—
(a) references to the office of the President or Deputy President, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker, the Prime Minister or any other Minister, a Senator, a Parliamentary Secretary or a member of the House, the Parliamentary Commissioner or the Deputy Parliamentary Commissioner;
(b) references to the office of a member of any Commission established by this Constitution or a member of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy or a member of the Public Service Board of Appeal;
(c) references to the office of judge or officer of the Supreme Court;
(d) save in so far as may be provided by Parliament, references to the office of a member of any other council, board, panel, committee or other similar body (whether incorporated or not) established by or under any law.
(3) In this Constitution—
(a) references to the Supreme Court Order include references to any law in force in Saint Lucia altering that Order;
(b) references to the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission are references to the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission established by the Supreme Court Order;
(c) references to the Chief Justice have the same meaning as in the Supreme Court Order;
(d) references to a judge of the Supreme Court are references to a judge of the High Court or the Court of Appeal and, unless the context otherwise requires, include references to a judge of the former Supreme Court of the Windward Islands and Leeward Islands; and
(e) references to officers of the Supreme Court are references to the Chief Registrar and other officers of the Supreme Court appointed under the Supreme Court Order.
(4) In this Constitution “the specified qualifications” means the professional qualifications specified by or under any law, one of which must be held by any person before he or she may apply under that law to be admitted to practice as a barrister or a solicitor in Saint Lucia.
(5) For the purposes of this Constitution, a person shall not be regarded as holding an office by reason only of the fact that he or she is in receipt of a pension or other like allowance.
(6) In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to the holder of an office by the term designating his or her office shall be construed as including, to the extent of his or her authority, a reference to any person authorised to exercise the functions of that office.
(7) Except in the case where this Constitution provides for the holder of any office thereunder to be such person holding or acting in any other office as may be designated in that behalf by some other specified person or authority, no person may, without his or her consent, be nominated for election to any such office or be appointed to or to act therein or otherwise be selected therefor.
(8) References in this Constitution to the power to remove a public officer from his or her office shall be construed as including references to any power conferred by any law to require or permit that officer to retire from the public service:
Provided that—
(a) nothing in this subsection shall be construed as conferring on any person or authority the power to require the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Director of Audit or the Chief Elections Officer to retire from the public service; and
(b) any power conferred by any law to permit a person to retire from the public service shall, in the case of any public officer who may be removed from office by some person or authority other than a Commission established by this Constitution, vest in the Public Service Commission.
(9) Any provision in this Constitution that vests in any person or authority the power to remove any public officer from his or her office shall be without prejudice to the power of any person or authority to abolish any office or to any law providing for the compulsory retirement of public officers generally or any class of public officer on attaining an age specified by or under the law.
(10) Where this Constitution vests in any person or authority the power to appoint any person to act in or to exercise the functions of any office if the holder thereof is himself or herself unable to exercise those functions, no such appointment shall be called in question on the grounds that the holder of the office was not unable to exercise those functions.
(11) No provision of this Constitution that any person or authority shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority in the exercise of any functions under this Constitution shall be construed as precluding a court of law from exercising jurisdiction in relation to any question whether that person or authority has exercised those functions in accordance with this Constitution or any other law.
(12) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 32(3) of the Interpretation Act 1889 of the United Kingdom (as applied by subsection (14)), where any power is conferred by this Constitution to make any order, regulation or rule or give any direction or make any designation, the power shall be construed as including the power, exercisable in like manner and subject to the like conditions, if any, to amend or revoke any such order, regulation, rule, direction, or designation.
(13) In this Constitution references to altering this Constitution or any other law, or any provision thereof, include references—
(a) to revoking it, with or without re-enactment thereof or the making of different provision in lieu thereof;
(b) to modifying it whether by omitting or amending any of its provisions or inserting additional provisions in it or otherwise; and
(c) to suspending its operation for any period or terminating any such suspension.
(14) The Interpretation Act 1889 of the United Kingdom shall apply, with the necessary adaptations, for the purpose of interpreting this Constitution and otherwise in relation thereto as it applies for the purpose of interpreting and in relation to Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
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