Saint Kitts and Nevis 1983 Constitution

Chapter V. The Executive)

56. Exercise of Governor-General’s functions

1. During any period in which there is a vacancy in the office of Leader of the Opposition by reason of the fact that no person is both qualified for appointment to that office in accordance with section 58 and willing to accept appointment or if the Governor-General, acting in his own deliberate judgment, considers that it is not practicable for him to obtain the advice of, or to consult, the Leader of the Opposition within the time which it may be necessary for him to act, he may act without that advice and in his own deliberate judgment or, as the case may be, without such consultation, in the exercise of any power conferred upon him by this Constitution in respect of which it is provided that he shall act on the advice of, or after consultation with, the Leader of the Opposition.

58. Oath

1. There shall (except at times when no elected member of the Assembly is eligible for appointment) be a Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly who shall be appointed by the Governor-General.
2. Whenever there is occasion for the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition the Governor-General shall appoint the elected member of the Assembly who appears to him most likely to command the support of a majority of the elected members of the Assembly who do not support the Administration or, if no elected member appears to him to command such support, the elected member who appears to him to command the support of the largest single group of elected members of the Assembly who do not support the Administration:Provided that no elected member shall be eligible for appointment unless it appears to the Governor-General that the elected member commands the support of at least one other elected member.
3. If occasion arises to appoint a Leader of the Opposition during the period between a dissolution of the Legislature and the day on which the ensuing election of members of the Assembly is held, an appointment may be made as if the Legislature had not been dissolved.
4. The office of Leader of the Opposition shall become vacant
   1. if he ceases to be a member of the Assembly otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of the Legislature;
   2. if, when the Assembly first meets after a dissolution of the Legislature, he is not then an elected member of the Assembly;
   3. if, by virtue of section 31(4), he is required to cease to perform his functions as a member of the Assembly; or
   4. if he is removed from office by the Governor-General under the provisions of subsection (5).
5. If it appears to the Governor-General that the Leader of the Opposition is no longer able to command the support of a majority of the elected members of the Assembly who do not support the Administration or (if no elected member appears to him to be able to command such support) the support of the largest single group of elected members of the Assembly who do not support the Administration, he shall remove the Leader of the Opposition from office.
6. The powers of the Governor-General under this section shall be exercised by him in his own deliberate judgment.

Chapter VII. The Public Service)

Part 1. The Public Service Commission)

78. Appointment etc. of public officers

1. Before the Public Service Commission makes any recommendation in relation to the Clerk of the Nevis Island Assembly or a member of his staff for the purposes of subsection (1) or (2) and before any other person or authority exercises in relation to the Clerk of the Nevis Island Assembly or a member of his staff any power delegated to him under subsection (2), the Commission or that person or authority shall consult the president of the Assembly.

Part 5. Pensions)

88. Pensions laws and protection of pension rights

1. In this section “pensions benefits” means any pensions, compensation, gratuities or other like allowances for persons in respect of their service as members of the Assembly or for the widows, children, dependants or personal representatives in respect of such service.

Chapter XI. Miscellaneous)

117. Resignations

1. A member of the Assembly may resign his seat by writing under his hand addressed to the president of the Assembly and the resignation shall take effect, and the seat shall accordingly become vacant, when the writing is received, as the case may be, by
   1. the president; or
   2. if the office of president is vacant or the president is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office and no other person is performing them, the Clerk of the Nevis Island Assembly.
2. The president of the Assembly may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Assembly and the resignation shall take effect, and the office shall accordingly become vacant, when the writing is received by the Clerk of the Nevis Island Assembly.

Schedule 2. Rules for Delimitation of Electoral Districts)

1. There shall be not less than five electoral districts in the island of Nevis.
2. All electoral districts shall contain as nearly equal numbers of inhabitants as appears to the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission to be reasonably practicable but the Commission may depart from this rule to such extent as it considers expedient to take account of the following factors, that is to say
   1. the need to ensure adequate representation of sparsely populated rural areas;
   2. the means of communication;
   3. geographical features; and
   4. existing administrative boundaries.

PART 2. Provisions applied by section 104(4)

Chapter V. The Executive)

52. Members of the Administration

1. If occasion arises for making an appointment to the office of Premier or any other member of the Administration while the Legislature is dissolved, then, notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (2) and (4), a person who was an elected member of the Assembly immediately before the dissolution may be appointed as Premier and a person who was an elected or nominated member of the Assembly immediately before the dissolution may be appointed as a member of the Administration other than the Premier.
2. The Governor-General shall remove the Premier from office if a resolution of no confidence in the Administration is passed by the Assembly and the Premier does not within three days either resign from his office or advise the Governor-General to dissolve the Legislature.
3. If, at any time between the holding of a general election of members of the Assembly and the first meeting of the Assembly thereafter, the Governor-General considers that in consequence of changes in the membership of the Assembly resulting from that election the Premier will not be able to command the support of the majority of the elected members of the Assembly, the Governor-General may remove the Premier from office.
4. The office of any Minister shall become vacant
   1. if the holder of the office ceases to be a member of the Assembly otherwise than by reason of the dissolution of the Legislature;
   2. in the case of the Premier, if, the Assembly first meets after any dissolution of the Legislature, he is not then an elected member of the Assembly;
   3. in the case of any other member of the Administration, if, when the Assembly first meets after any dissolution of the Legislature, he is not then an elected member of the Assembly; or
   4. if, by virtue of section (31)4 of the Constitution, he is required to cease to perform his functions as a member of the Assembly.
5. The office of a member of the Administration other than the Premier shall become vacant
   1. if the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Premier, so directs;
   2. if the Premier resigns from office within three days after a resolution of no confidence in the Administration has been passed by the Assembly or is removed from office under subsection (6) or (7); or
   3. on the appointment of any person to the office of Premier.

54. Allocation of portfolios

The Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Premier, may, by directions in writing, assign to the Premier or any other member of the Administration, responsibility for any business of the Administration, including the administration of any department of the Administration.

55. Absence or illness of Premier

1. Whenever the Premier is absent from Saint Christopher and Nevis or by any reason of illness is unable to perform the functions conferred upon him by this Constitution, the Governor-General may authorise some other member of the Administration to perform those functions (other than the functions conferred by this section) and that member may perform those functions until his authority is revoked by the Governor-General.
2. The powers of the Governor-General under this section shall be exercised by him in accordance with the advice of the Premier.Provided that if the Governor-General, acting in his own deliberate judgement, considers that is impracticable to obtain the advice of the Premier owing to his absence or illness he may exercise those powers without that advice and in his own deliberate judgement.

57. Governor-General to be kept informed

The Premier shall keep the Governor-General fully informed concerning the general conduct of the Administration and shall furnish the Governor-General with such information as he may request with respect to any particular matter for which the Administration is responsible.

60. Oaths

A member of the Administration shall not enter upon the duties of his office unless he has taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance, the oath of office and the oath of secrecy.

61. Permanent secretaries

Where any member of the Administration has been charged with responsibility for any department of the Administration, he shall exercise general direction and control over the department; and, subject to such direction and control, every department of the Administration shall be under the supervision of a permanent secretary whose office shall be a public office:

Provided that two or more departments may be placed under the supervision of one permanent secretary.

62. Secretary to Administration

1. There shall be a Secretary to the Administration whose office shall be a public office.
2. The Secretary to the Administration, who shall have charge of the Administration Office, shall be responsible, in accordance with such instructions as may be given to him by the Premier, for arranging the business for, and keeping the minutes of, the Administration and for conveying the decisions of the Administration to the appropriate person or authority and shall have such other functions as the Premier may direct.

PART 3. Provisions applied by section 108(2)

Chapter VI. Finance)

70. Withdrawals form Consolidated Fund or other public funds

1. No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except
   1. to meet the expenditure that is charged upon the Fund by any Law enacted by the Legislature; or
   2. where the issue of those moneys has been authorised by an appropriation law or by a law made in pursuance of section 72.
2. Where any moneys are charged by any law enacted by the Legislature upon the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund of the Administration, they shall be paid out of that fund by the Administration to the person or authority to whom payment is due.
3. No moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund other than the Consolidated Fund unless the issue of those moneys has been authorised by or under any law.
4. There shall be such provision as may be made the Legislature prescribing the manner in which withdrawals may be made from the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund of the Administration.
5. The investment of moneys forming part of the Consolidated Fund shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by or under a law enacted by the Legislature.
6. Notwithstanding subsection (1), provisions may be made by or under a law enacted by the Legislature authorising withdrawals to be made from the Consolidated Fund, in such circumstances and to such extent as may be prescribed by or under a law enacted by the Legislature, for the purpose of making repayable advances.

71. Authorisation of expenditure from Consolidated Fund by the appropriation law

1. The member of the Administration for the time being responsible for finance shall cause to be prepared and laid before the Assembly before, or not later than sixty days after, the commencement of each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Administration for that financial year. (2) When the estimates of expenditure (other than expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund by any law enacted by the Legislature) have been approved by the Assembly, a bill, known as an appropriation bill, shall be introduced in the Assembly providing for the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the sums necessary to meet that expenditure and the appropriation of those sums, under separate votes for the several services required, to the purposes specified therein.
2. If in respect of any financial year it is found
   1. that the amount appropriated by the appropriation law, to any purpose is insufficient or that a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose to which no amount has been appropriated by that law; or
   2. that any moneys have been expended for any purpose in excess of the amount appropriated to that purpose by the appropriation law or for a purpose to which no amount has been appropriated by that law,

   a supplementary estimate showing the sums required or spent shall be laid before the Assembly and, when the supplementary estimate has been approved by the Assembly, a supplementary appropriation bill shall be introduced in the Assembly providing for the issue of such sums from the Consolidated Fund and appropriating them to the purposes specified therein.

72. Authorisation of expenditure in advance of appropriation

There shall be such provision as may be made by the Legislature under which, if the appropriation law in respect of any financial year has not come into operation by the beginning of that financial year, the member of the Administration for the time being responsible for finance may authorize the withdrawal of moneys from the Consolidated Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Administration until the expiration of four months from the beginning of that financial year or the coming into operation of the law, whichever is the earlier.

73. Warrants for unforeseen expenditure

1. If it appears to the member of the Administration for the time being responsible for finance that
   1. there is an urgent need to incur expenditure;
   2. no provision exists for that expenditure in any appropriation law or other law; and
   3. it would not be in the public interest to delay the authorization of that expenditure until such time as a supplementary estimate can be laid before the Assembly,

   the members may, by special warrant, authorise the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the moneys required to meet the expenditure:

   Provided that the total sum for the time being authorised to be issued under this subsection, for which no provisions has been made by an appropriation law, shall not exceed such amounts as may be prescribed by the Legislature.

2. Where in any financial year the expenditure has been authorised by special warrant under subsection (1) the member of the Administration for the time being responsible for finance shall cause a supplementary estimate relating to that expenditure to be laid before the Assembly at the first sitting of the Assembly occurring after the expiration of the fourteen days from the date of the warrant and a supplementary appropriation bill shall be introduced in the Assembly providing for the issue of the sums authorised to be spent and appropriating them to the purposes specified therein.

75. Public debt

1. All debt charges for which the Administration is liable shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.
2. For the purposes of this section debt charges include interest, sinking fund charges, the repayment or amortization of debt and all expenditure in connection with the raising of loans on the security of the Consolidated Fund and the service and redemption of the debt created thereby.

76. Audit of public accounts etc

1. The Director of Audit shall
   1. satisfy himself that all moneys that have been appropriated by the Legislature and disbursed have been applied to the purposes to which they were so appropriated and that the expenditure shall conform to the authority that governs it and
   2. at least once in every year audit and report on the public accounts of the Administration, the accounts of all officers and authorities of the Administration and the accounts of the Clerk of the Assembly.
2. The Director of Audit and any officer authorised by him shall have access to all books, records, returns, reports and other documents that in his opinion relate to any of the accounts referred to in subsection (2).
3. The Director of Audit shall submit every report made by him in pursuance of subsection (2) to the member of the Administration for the time being responsible for finance who shall, not later than seven days after the Assembly first meets after he has received the report, lay before the Assembly.
4. If the member of the Administration fails to lay a report before the Assembly in accordance with subsection (4) the Director of Audit shall transmit copies of that report to the president of the Assembly who shall, as soon as practicable, present them to the Assembly.
5. The Director of Audit shall exercise such other functions in relation to the accounts of the Administration or the accounts of other authorities or bodies established by law for public purposes as may be prescribed by or under any law enacted by the Legislature.
6. In the exercise of his functions under subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5), the Director of Audit shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

PART 4. Interpretation

In this schedule, unless the context otherwise requires

• “the Administration” means the Nevis Island Administration;
  
  “the Assembly” means the Nevis Island Assembly;

  “the Consolidated Fund” means the Nevis Island Consolidated Fund;

  “Leader of the Opposition” means the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly;

  “the Legislature” means the Nevis Island Legislature;