Constitution

Lesotho 1993 Constitution (reviewed 2018)

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Table of Contents

CHAPTER XIV. MISCELLANEOUS

152. Resignations

  1. Any person who is appointed, elected or otherwise selected to any office established by this Constitution or any office of Minister or Deputy Minister established under this Constitution may resign from that office by writing under his hand addressed to the person or authority by whom he was appointed, elected or otherwise selected:Provided that–
    1. the resignation of a person from the office of President or Speaker or Vice-President or Deputy Speaker of either House of Parliament shall be addressed to that House; and
    2. the resignation of any person from the office of member of either House of Parliament shall be addressed to the President or Speaker of that House.
  2. The resignation of any person from any such office as aforesaid shall take effect when the writing signifying the resignation is received by the person or authority to whom it is addressed or any person authorised by that person or authority to receive it.

153. Re-appointments and concurrent appointments

  1. Where any person has vacated any office established by this Constitution or any office of Minister or Deputy Minister established under this Constitution, he may, if qualified, again be appointed, elected or otherwise selected 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 two 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 functions conferred upon the holder of that office, the person last appointed shall be deemed to be the sole holder of the office.

154. Interpretation

  1. In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires:
    • “Chief” does not include the King but includes Principal Chief, and Headman and any other chief whose office is recognised by section 103(1) of this Constitution, and references to a Chief are references to the person who, under the law for the time being in force in that behalf, is recognised as entitled to exercise the functions of the office of that Chief;
      “Commonwealth” means Lesotho and any country recognised by the Commonwealth Secretariat situated in London as a member of the Commonwealth and any dependency of any such country;

      “court-martial” means any court-martial established by Parliament under section 127 of this Constitution;

      “customary law” means the customary law of Lesotho for the time being in force subject to any modification or other provision made in respect thereof by any Act of Parliament;

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      “financial year” means the period of twelve months ending on 31st March in any year or on such other day as Parliament may prescribe;

      “high judicial office” means the office of a judge of a court of unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or in any country outside the Commonwealth that may be prescribed by Parliament or the office of a judge of a court having jurisdiction in appeals from such a court;

      “Gazette” means the Lesotho Government Gazette;

      “law includes–

      1. any instrument having the force of law made in exercise of a power conferred by a law; and
      2. the customary law of Lesotho and any other unwritten rule of lawand “lawful” and “lawfully” shall be construed accordingly;
      “local authority” means a person or body of persons established by law, responsible for the administration of local government or of local affairs, and shall include a chief;

      “oath” includes affirmation;

      “oath of allegiance” means the oath of allegiance set out in Schedule 3 to this Constitution or such other oath as may be prescribed by Parliament;

      “Principal Chief” means a chief whose office is among those set out in Schedule 2 to this Constitution;

      “public office” means any office of emolument in the public service;

      “public officer” means a person holding or acting in any public office;

      “public service” means, subject to the provisions of this section, the service of the King in respect of the government of Lesotho;

      “session” means the period beginning when the two Houses of Parliament first meet after the coming into operation of this Constitution or 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 a House of Parliament, the period during which that House is sitting continuously without adjournment and includes any period during which it is in committee;

      “subordinate court” means any court of law established for Lesotho other than–

      1. the Court of Appeal;
      2. the High Court;
      3. a court-martial; and
      4. a tribunal exercising a judicial function.
  2. Unless otherwise indicated, any reference in this Constitution to–
    1. a section, Chapter or Schedule shall be read and construed as a reference to a section or Chapter of or Schedule to this Constitution;
    2. a subsection shall be read and construed as a reference to a subsection of the section in which the reference is made;
    3. a paragraph shall be read and construed as a reference to a paragraph of the Schedule, subsection or definition in which the reference is made.
  3. In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires, references to an office in the public service shall be construed as including references to the office of a judge of Court of Appeal, of a Judge of the High Court and the office of a member of any subordinate court or tribunal (being an office the emoluments attaching to which, or any part of the emoluments attaching to which, are paid directly out of the monies provided by Parliament) but shall not be construed as including references to the office of assessor in any court.
  4. In this Constitution references to a public office shall not be construed as including–
    1. references to the office of King, the Regent, the President or Speaker or the Vice-President or Deputy Speaker of either House of Parliament, the Prime Minister or any other Minister, a Deputy Minister or a member of either House of Parliament; or
    2. references to the office of a member of the Public Service Commission or the Judicial Service Commission, a member of the Council of State, a Chief or a member of the College of Chiefs; or
    3. 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.
  5. In this Constitution unless the context otherwise requires,
    1. words and expressions importing the masculine gender include the feminine;
    2. words and expressions in the singular include the plural and words and expressions in the plural include the singular;
    3. where a period of time is expressed–
      1. to begin on or to be reckoned from a particular day, that day shall not be included in the period;
      2. to end or to be reckoned to a particular day, that day shall be included in the period;
    4. where the time limited for the doing of any thing expires or falls upon a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the time so limited shall extend to and the thing may be done on the first following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.

155. Construction of Constitution

  1. For the purposes of this Constitution, a person shall not be regarded as holding an office by reason only of the fact that he is in receipt of a pension or other like allowance.
  2. In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to the holder of an office by the term designating his office shall be construed as including, to the extent of his authority, a reference to any person for the time being authorised to exercise the functions of that office.
  3. 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 for the time being be designated in that behalf by some specified person or authority, no person may, without his consent, be nominated for election to any such office or be appointed to or act therein or otherwise be selected therefor.
  4. References in this Constitution to the power to remove a public officer from his 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–
    1. nothing in this subsection shall be construed as conferring on any person or authority the power to require a judge of the Court of Appeal or a judge of the High Court or the Attorney-General or Director of Public Prosecutions or the Ombudsman or the Auditor-General to retire from the public service; and
    2. 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.
  5. Any provision in this Constitution that vests in any person or authority the power to remove any public officer from his 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 officers on attaining an age specified by or under that law.
  6. 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 (or any other person having a prior right to exercise those functions) is himself unable to exercise those functions, no such appointment shall be called in question on the ground that the holder of the office (or that other person) was not unable to exercise those functions.
  7. 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 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.
  8. Where, under any provision of this Constitution, any person or authority is authorised or required to exercise any function after consultation with some other person or authority, the person or authority first referred to shall not be required to act in accordance with the advice of the other person or authority and the question whether such consultation was made shall not be enquired into in any court.
  9. Any reference in this Constitution to a law made before the day on which this Constitution came into operation shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that law as it had effect immediately before that day.
  10. Any reference in this Constitution to a law that amends or replaces any other law or any provision of any other law shall be construed as including a reference to a law that modifies, re-enacts, with or without amendment or modification, suspends, repeals, adds new provisions to or makes different provision in lieu of that other law or that provision.
  11. Save as otherwise provided, where under the provisions of this Constitution a person is required to take and subscribe an oath, that person shall be permitted, if he so desires, to comply with that requirement by taking and subscribing an affirmation.

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