“The emergency orders remain in place because the prime minister remains prime minister”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Attorney General Carl Bethel yesterday affirmed that the public state of emergency and ongoing emergency orders continue unimpeded by the proroguing of Parliament.
He noted that the emergency orders are a constitutional function that continue irrespective of Parliament dissolving and even changes in government.
When asked if the emergency orders were still in place, Bethel said: “Yes, they are still in place.
“That is a function of the Constitution, not under.
“Now, the proroguing of the House and all that sort of stuff is under the Constitution, but the emergency orders are part of the constitutional order in a sense that they don’t depend on particular things.
“The prime minister remains the prime minister.
“The emergency orders are constitutional in nature; they flow directly from the Constitution.
“They are not the same as subordinate things like proroguing or dissolving or anything like that.
“The prime minister remains the prime minister when the House is prorogued.
“He remains prime minister when and if the House is dissolved, so whether the House is prorogued or whether the House is dissolved, the emergency orders remain in place because the prime minister remains prime minister.
“Until such time as the election is held, and if he wins, he continues as prime minister.
“If he loses, someone else is sworn in as prime minister and the orders will continue under some other prime minister, if that’s how the elections go.
“The holder of the office does not matter; the office continues.
“The fact that the House is prorogued, everything is still the same, as if the House had just adjourned to a fixed date. That’s the reality.”
Parliament was prorogued yesterday until September 22, the original adjournment date set earlier this year when Parliament broke.
On the steps of the House of Assembly at 9.30am, Police Commissioner Paul Rolle, serving as provost marshal, read a proclamation from the governor general proroguing Parliament.
He returned four and a half hours later and announced a new session of Parliament would begin on September 22.
The announcement came as dozens gathered for “open Parliament”, a concept devised by House Speaker Halson Moultrie for what he called democratic exchange between the Bahamian people and the legislative branch.
The speaker has made a strong push for the autonomy of the legislative branch for numerous months, including having an independent budget.
Notwithstanding the adjournment earlier this month, Parliament resumed to table and debate a resolution to extend the emergency orders to the end of November.
When Parliament met, the government also tabled the Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Management Bill, 2021, for public consultation.
The draft legislation would create a new statutory framework for public health crises such as the ongoing pandemic and replace the constitutional emergency orders, which have been in place since mid-March 2020.
