Page:Republic of South Africa Constitution Act 1983 from Government Gazette.djvu/21

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Act No. 110, 1983

Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983

(b) If the Speaker is unable to designate an Acting Speaker under paragraph (a) or when the office of Speaker is vacant and there is no Acting Speaker so designated, the State President shall designate a member of a House to perform the functions of the Speaker during his absence or inability or, notwithstanding the provisions of section 7 (3) (c) as applied by subsection (2) of this section but subject to the provisions of paragraph (c) of this subsection, until a Speaker is elected.

(c) If the office of Speaker is vacant, the functions of that office may not during a session of Parliament be performed by an Acting Speaker for longer than a month unless it is the last session before a dissolution of Parliament, or a session contemplated in section 40.

Functions of Speaker.

59. (1) The Speaker of Parliament shall be the Speaker of each of the respective Houses and shall preside at a meeting of a House whenever he deems it necessary or desirable.

(2) The Speaker shall, when presiding at a meeting of a House, be vested with all the powers, duties and functions of the Chairman of the House in question, in so far as they are consistent with any functions assigned to the Speaker by rules and orders approved by all three Houses: Provided that the Speaker may only vote in the House of which he is a member.

Chairmen of Houses.

60. (1) Every House shall at its first meeting, before proceeding to the dispatch of any other business, elect a member to be the Chairman of the House, and, as often as the office becomes vacant, the House shall again elect a member to be the Chairman.

(2) The Chairman of a House shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a member of the House in question and may be removed from office by resolution of that House, and may resign his office or his seat by lodging his resignation in writing with the Speaker of Parliament.

(3) Before or during the absence of its Chairman, a House may elect a member to perform his functions during his absence.

Quorums.

61. To constitute a meeting of a House for the exercise of its powers, the presence shall be necessary of―

(a)

in the case of the House of Assembly, at least 50 members;

(b)

in the case of the House of Representatives, at least 25 members;

(c)

in the case of the House of Delegates, at least 13 members.

Voting in Houses.

62. All questions in a House shall be determined by a majority of votes of members present other than the Chairman or the presiding member, who shall, however, have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.

Rules of Procedure.

63. A House may make rules and orders in connection with the order and conduct of its business and proceedings.

Joint committees and rules and orders.

64. (1) In this section―

(a)

“joint committee” means a committee consisting of members of each of the Houses;

(b)

“joint rules and orders” means rules and orders approved by each of the Houses as joint rules and orders in connection with the order and conduct of―

(i)

the business and proceedings of each in connection with joint committees or a particular joint committee; or

(ii)

the business and proceedings of joint committees or a particular joint committee;