Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 499689,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/499689/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 237,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "DESIROUS that there should be a conclusive determination on the manner in which legislation should be processed between the two Houses and on the concurrence process under Article 110(3) of the Constitution, including the procedure to be observed where there is no concurrence between the two Speakers; NOTING ALSO that the intervention of the courts has on several occasions been sought by various parties on matters that are actively before the Senate and which are within the constitutional jurisdiction of the Senate; OBSERVING that where such intervention has been sought, the courts have proceeded to issue orders whose effect has been to stop the Senate from executing its constitutional mandate; AND NOTING that similar court orders have also been sought and issued against a number of county assemblies resulting, in some cases, in a situation where the affected county assemblies have been unable to hold their sittings thus affecting the execution of the functions and powers of the entire County Governments; CONCERNED that the issuance of such Court orders has the potential of crippling the legislative arm of Government both at the national and county levels; further undermining the implementation of the devolved system of Government; NOW THEREFORE THE SENATE RESOLVES to immediately seek an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court on, among others, the following matters- (4) the constitutional status of Acts of Parliament which have been passed by one House of Parliament and assented to in contravention of Article 110(3) of the Constitution; (5) the appropriate way forward when there is a lack of concurrence by the two Speakers of Parliament on any particular Bill; (6) the appropriate jurisdiction of the courts over the Senate and the national Parliament in general as well as over the county legislative assemblies when these are exercising the constitutional mandates; AND CONSEQUENTLY FURTHER RESOLVES that the necessary administrative measures be put in place to ensure that the Senate is appropriately represented in this matter at the Supreme Court. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think I have just concluded reading one of the longest if not the longest Motion in the history of the Parliament of Kenya. I am saying that it is one of the longest because I have not had time to research on the length of all the Motions that have been moved before the Parliament of Kenya since 1963. However, I am prepared to argue unless I get contrary information that this Motion could as well be the longest, not just in Kenya, perhaps in the Commonwealth or even in the whole world. The length of this Motion is not accidental. The length of this Motion is caused by a number of factors; first, the gravity of the issue that this Motion is confronting. Second is the history behind the matters that this Motion speaks to; and third, the comprehensive nature of the results which this Motion seeks to obtain. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}