THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA

PRESENTATION
ON LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

2023

Department of Legislative Drafting and Law Revision

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

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Introduction

This presentation discusses the process and procedures which

are involved in developing an Act of Parliament and a
statutory instrument. The presentation outlines the roles and
responsibilities of the various participants in the legislative
process.

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Laws applicable to Legislative Process

Governed by
• the Constitution of Zambia, Cap. 1,
• the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, Cap. 2,
• the Acts of Parliament Act, Cap. 3,
• the Statutory Functions Act, Cap. 4,
• the Cabinet Handbook which sets out Cabinet Procedures and
• the Standing Orders of the National Assembly which set out the rules of
procedure of the National Assembly also apply to the process.
Article 62 of the Constitution vests the legislative power of the Republic of
Zambia in Parliament
Article 63(1) provides that the legislative power of the Parliament shall be
exercised by Bills passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the
President.

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Who has responsibility for which legislation?

Statutory Functions Act, Cap. 4,

The President assigns statutory functions to Cabinet
Ministers
Gazette notice No. 1123 of 2021 sets out the matters dealt
with by each Ministry and the legislation administered by the
Cabinet Minister.
The Gazette notice contains a schedule setting out the Acts
comprising the written laws of Zambia and the person at the
time vested with the functions under each Act.
proposals for enactment of legislation are initiated by the
Minister who is responsible for the subject matter of the bill
as allocated by the President and not the Ministry of Justice.

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Consultation when developing legislation

Consultation must occur with relevant parties within

Government and, where appropriate, with interested parties
outside Government.
Article 177 (1) - appointment of the Attorney-General
Article 177 (5) - the Attorney-General to cause the drafting
of, and sign, all Government Bills to National Assembly.
The Cabinet Handbook emphasises that the Attorney-
General’s Chambers must be consulted
The responsibility for undertaking consultation rests mainly
with the Ministry initiating the legislation.

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Cabinet Approval in principle

Cabinet approves and causes implementation of Government

policy . (Article 113)
 Cabinet approves Government Bills for introduction to the
National Assembly. (Article 114)
Cabinet approval must be obtained for all proposed legislation
through a Cabinet Memorandum.
Cabinet Memorandum seeking approval in principle to introduce
the legislation in National Assembly to be prepared by initiating
Ministry.
The Ministry intiating legislation should provide Cabinet with the
rationale for the proposed legislation

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ROLE OF MINISTERS IN LEGISLATION

Section 4 of the Ministers (Prescribed Number and

Responsibilities) Act No. 26 of 2016 provides that a Minister is
responsible for –
 the business of Government in the National Assembly
relating to the Minister’s statutory functions or control as
assigned
 the introduction and implementation of legislation as
assigned

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATION – Client Ministry (Permanent Secretary)
 The Permanent Secretary
• Shall where the proposed Bill intends to regulate business activity
obtain prior approval from the Business Regulatory Review Agency
(Section 6 of the Business Regulatory Act)
• Must assign a suitable person to provide good and clear drafting
instructions (Instructing Officer) to the Ministry of Justice.
 The Instructing Officer of the Client Ministry should -
(a) be of sufficient seniority and have sufficient authority to make decisions
(b) have sufficient knowledge and experience and be familiar with issues
concerned
(c ) be directly involved in the policy development work within the ministry
and be a person who has played a major role in preparing drafting
instructions;
(d) be the channel of communication between the drafter and the client
ministry.

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATION – Form of Instructions

Instructions should be in writing and in the form of a

narrative statement.

 layman's draft is not a substitute for proper instructions.

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATION – Contents of Drafting Instructions
Good drafting instructions should -
• contain sufficient background information
• set out comprehensively the objectives
• set out how the objectives are to be achieved
• describe foreseeable implications and difficulties;
• if any matters are unresolved, indicate what they are and
when they will be resolved;
• refer to the experience and legislation in other jurisdictions;
• indicate any other statutes or regulations that might need to
be amended as a result;

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATION –Contents of Instructions Cont’d

• if the proposed law will take the form of amending legislation indicate the
sections that must be amended, where known;
• if another ministry is affected, indicate whether that other ministry has
been consulted;
• if the legislation contains financial provisions, indicate whether the
Ministry of Finance has been consulted;
• suggest penalties for any offences created and indicate any other
enforcement provisions required, for example, administrative penalties,
licence suspensions, etc.;
• indicate when the legislation is to come into force and how; on presidential
assent, by statutory or on a specific date? An Act comes into operation as
specified in the Act and where no date is provided, the date of its
publication as notified in the Gazette – Section 10, Cap. 3
Is there any need to make the legislation retrospective?
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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATION –The Legislative Drafting Department

Responsible for drafting all Government Bills and statutory

instrument in Zambia.

The Permanent Secretary will submit the drafting

instructions to the Ministry of Justice and on receipt of
drafting instructions from the initiating Ministry, the
Drafting Department drafts the Bill in collaboration with the
initiating Ministry

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATION –Role of the Drafter
The drafter decides, in collaboration with the initiating ministry
(client), on the best structural framework for the law.
Helps the client to fill in the details of the proposal
Provides advice on how matters have been handled in other Acts;
Ensures that the proposed law is worded consistently with other
laws, is not in conflict with other laws;
Advises on potential problem areas
Assists the client ministry to think through enforcement issues
Helps the client ministry decide on how the proposed law can
best be enforced, usually with reference to enforcement
provisions in other Acts.
Ensures that proposals do not unduly trespass on personal rights
and liberties or raise other constitutional issues.

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATION – Role of the Drafter Cont’d
Advises the client Ministry to consult with other Government
ministries that will be affected by the proposed law.
Identifies financial provisions which the Ministry of Finance
would wish to be consulted
Raises transitional issues

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATION – Drafting of bill

After obtaining clarification over the questions posed above

the drafter drafts the bill and confers with instructing
officer through out process to ensure draft bill conforms to
instructions;
When a draft bill is agreed, the drafter sends a copy of the
agreed draft to the Permanent Secretary of the client
Ministry with request for confirmation that draft bill meets
requirements;
Upon receipt of confirmation that draft bill has been
correctly prepared, the bill will be subjected to the Internal
Legislation Committee meeting, Cabinet Legislation
Committee and Cabinet for approval for publication and
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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

• Legislation is law enacted by parliament and it consists of Acts

of Parliament (substantive legislation) and subordinate
legislation (statutory instruments/delegated or subsidiary
legislation)
• Subsidiary legislation cannot be made unless under an
appropriate enabling provision in an Act of Parliament and it
must be consistent with the terms, content and purpose of an Act
of Parliament
• The draftsperson drafts the statutory instrument within the
parameters set in the principal legislation and the statutory
instrument is thereafter sent to the initiating ministry for
validation.
• On validation, the statutory instrument is approved and stamped
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for publication and sent to the initiating ministry.
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What then is the role of the initiating Ministry?

• To ensure that legislation is only initiated when it has been

established that legislation is required to address a particular
issue.
• To ensure that the necessary approvals are obtained before
submitting instructions to the Ministry of Justice (Cabinet
approval and BRRA).
• To assign a suitable instructing officer to work closely with
Ministry of Justice.
• To provide adequate and timely drafting instructions to the
Ministry of Justice (taking into consideration international best
practice and other existing pieces of legislation).
• Statutory instruments: to ensure that there is an enabling
provision in the principal legislation on which the statutory
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instrument is anchored.
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What then is the role of the initiating Ministry?

• To assist in providing technical advice during drafting

legislation.
• To cause the conduct of stakeholder consultation.
• The Minister initiating the legislation must understand the
proposed legislation adequately so that the Minister can debate
the Bill adequately in Parliament and defend the Bill before the
select committee of Parliament.
• To respond to all the queries that may arise from the
stakeholders at the Internal Legislation Committee meeting and
Cabinet Legislation Committee relating to the proposed
legislation.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION!

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