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In Mauritius, law is enacted by Parliament which as per Section 31 of the Constitution consists of the President and a National Assembly. Describe the process whereby the idea emerges and up to time it becomes law.

Introduction

Subject to the article 45(1) of the Constitution, one of the functions of the Parliament is to make

laws for the peace, order and good government of Mauritius”

A Bill is a proposed law which is introduced into Parliament. Once a Bill has been debated and

then approved by the Parliament, and has received Presidential Assent, it becomes law and is

known as an Act.

Bills and Acts are often referred to as primary legislation. An Act may delegate power to a

government minister to make orders, regulations or rules. These are known as secondary (or

subordinate) legislation.

Any Member of Parliament can introduce a Bill. Some Bills represent agreed government policy,

and these are introduced into Parliament by ministers. Other Bills are known as Private

Member’s Bills.

A Bill is a draft piece of legislation embodying:

The policy of a Minister

The idea of a government backbencher

The need of a private company or public corporation

The recommendation of senior government officials

Public - Relates to matters of public policy.

Bills

Private - Interests of any person, association or corporate body.

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Law-making is regarded as one of the most significant tasks of Parliament. It is therefore not

surprising that the legislative process takes up a major portion of Parliament's time. The

parliamentary stages described here are the culmination of a much longer process that starts

with the proposal, formulation and drafting of a bill.

The Legislative process in Mauritius goes through a few stages. In simple words, the stages

are, namely, first reading, second reading, committee stage, voting stage, third reading and

finally, the presidential assent.

Steps in preparation of Bills

1. The Policy should be determined and once it is so, the approval of the Minister should be

sought.

- At times that of Cabinet may be necessary.

2. The bill is drafted at the level of the Ministry by stating its objectives, its mode of operation,

applicability, penalties and so on.

3. The report is referred to the State Law Office for the drafting in its legal form. The State Law

Office has the responsibility for the technical form and wording of the bill, for example, fitting

the clauses of the bill into structure which facilitate parliamentary scrutiny of its provisions.

4. Once the draft bill is finalised, and meet the satisfaction of the Minister, it goes to Cabinet by

way of a Cabinet Memorandum. In the Memorandum, a clear and simple language is used

to explain the objects and general principles of the bill.

5. When approved by Cabinet, it is sent to the Clerk of the National Assembly for introduction

in Parliament.

- Should be published in government gazette 15 days before being read for the first time.

- Must be distributed to all Members of the National Assembly. Bill can be introduced in

National Assembly with a certificate of urgency if the Prime Minister so decides.

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In the Parliament of Mauritius, as in all legislative assemblies based on the British model, there

is a clearly defined method for enacting legislation. A bill must go through a number of specific

stages before it becomes law.

Parliamentary Stages

Normally the public bills are prepared or written by the ministries, it is a law that is created to

reflect the idea of the ministers. In September 2000, the new government voted, for a while the

board of investment bill. Most of the time, other bill are ‘amendment bill’ that is used often

prompted by the senior civil servant who directly or indirectly, through junior staff.

First reading

Mauritius has a unicameral system of parliament that means it has only one house of

parliament. Whereas, in United Kingdom it is a bi-cameral system of parliament. For example,

there are the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The first real stage in the legislative process is the introduction and first reading of the bill in the

House of Commons. Once the notice period has passed, the Member or Minister seeks leave to

introduce his or her bill when the item "Introduction of Government Bills" or "Introduction of

Private Members' Bills" is called during Routine Proceedings.

A Member normally provides a brief summary of the bill he or she is introducing. A Minister

rarely provides any explanation when requesting leave to introduce a bill, but is permitted to and

often does so later, under "Statements by Ministers", during Routine Proceedings.

The first reading is known when the bill is being introduced for the first time.

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Second reading

There is a formal motion for the second reading, following that motion, a debate will follow. For

the second reading, the speaker, after consultation with the chief whip of the political parties.

The speakers debate on the general principle and amendments that is the speech should not be

irrelevant.

The second reading stage of the legislative process gives Members an opportunity to debate

the general scope of the bill. Unless a bill has been referred to committee prior to second

reading, debate at this stage must focus on the principle of the bill and, accordingly, the text of

the bill may not be amended before being read a second time and referred to committee.

This is a debate on the main principles of the Bill, held in the chamber. A Government minister

will open the debate by setting out the case for the Bill and explaining its provisions. The

Opposition will respond and then other members are free to discuss it. The Government will

close the debate by responding to the points made. No amendments can be made to the text of

the Bill at this stage, although members may give an idea of the changes they will be proposing

at later stages. At the end of the debate the House will vote on the Bill. If the vote is lost by the

Government, the Bill cannot proceed any further, though it is rare for a Government Bill to be

defeated at this stage.

Committee stage

After the debate, the bill stands is sent committed to a ‘committee’ of the whole assembly. The

amendments which ultimately may be either accepted or rejected, may be suggested.

Most bills are referred to the standing committee whose mandate most closely corresponds to

the bill's subject matter. However, the House may choose to refer a bill to a legislative

committee, a distinct type of committee created solely to undertake the consideration of

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A legislative committee is appointed by the House on an ad hoc basis to deal with a particular

bill and ceases to exist once it presents its report to the House. This type of committee may also

be created to prepare and bring a bill.

The role of the committee is to review the text of the bill and approve or modify it. It is at this

point that members may propose amendments to the bill. Each clause is considered separately.

Once all the parts of the bill have been considered and adopted, with or without amendment, the

committee votes on the bill as a whole.

Once the bill is adopted, the Chair asks the committee for leave to report the bill to the House.

Committees must report to the House on all bills referred to them. If numerous amendments

have been adopted, the committee may order that the bill be reprinted for the use of the

Members at report stage.

The amendments tabled may propose changes to the existing provisions of the Bill or may

involve adding wholly new material. However, there are limits to what can be added to a

particular Bill, as the amendments must be sufficiently close to its subject matter when

introduced.

Third reading

The third reading is the fact when it has already passed by the committee or a select committee.

Third reading is the final stage that a bill must pass in the Parliament. It is at this point that

Members must decide whether the bill should be adopted.

Third reading and passage of a bill are moved in the same motion. By the virtue of section 53 of

the constitution, the bill, just as other ordinary motions, should be voted by a majority of

members of the parliament present.

Once the motion for third reading has been adopted, the Clerk of the House certifies that the bill

has passed. The bill is then sent to the President with a message requesting that it consider the

bill, with his assent.

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Presidential Assent

The Presidential Assent is the stage that a bill must complete before officially becoming an Act

of Parliament. A bill will not be given Presidential Assent unless it has gone through all of the

stages of the legislative process and been passed by the Parliament.

The written procedure involves the Clerk of the Parliament or his or her Deputy, meeting with

the President, or his or her Deputy, to present the bills with a letter indicating that they have

been passed by the Parliament and requesting that the bills be assented to.

An Act that has been given Presidential Assent in written form is considered assented to on the

day on which the Parliament has been notified of the declaration.

Once a bill has been granted Presidential Assent, it becomes law, but it does not come to force.

The Publication in the Government Gazette

As mentioned in section 46(4) of the constitution, the law will become operational when it has

been published in the Government Gazette.

Coming Into Force

A distinction must be made between the date on which a legislative measure is enacted by

Parliament and the date on which it comes into force. A bill becomes law after it has been

passed by the Parliament; the resulting statute comes into force either when it receives

Presidential Assent, if no date of commencement is provided for in the Act, or on another date

provided for in the Act. Accordingly, an Act may come into force once same has been published

in the Government Gazette.

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References

http://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/mauritius-has-a-hybrid-legal-

system-administrative-law-essay.php

http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/House/compendium/web-content/c_g_legislativeprocess-e.htm

http://www.parl.gc.ca/procedure-book-livre/Document.aspx?sbdid=DA2AC62F-BB39-4E5F-

9F7D-90BA3496D0A6&sbpid=9315B6D6-6BEE-4823-9723-

425A74F9E290&Language=E&Mode=1

http://www.decisionmaker.co.nz/guide2003/hpw/billact.html

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