Section 131: Acts of Parliament and procedure for their enactment

(1) Parliament’s legislative authority is exercised through the enactment of Acts of Parliament.

(2) An Act of Parliament is a Bill which has been—

    (a) presented in and passed by both Houses of Parliament; and

    (b) assented to and signed by the President; in accordance with this Constitution.

(3) The words of enactment in Acts of Parliament are “Enacted by the Parliament and the President of Zimbabwe”, or words to that effect.

(4) The procedure to be followed by the National Assembly and the Senate with regard to Bills is set out in the Fifth Schedule.

(5) After a Bill has been passed by both Houses in accordance with the Fifth Schedule, the President of the Senate or the Speaker, as the case may be, must without delay—

    (a) cause it to be presented to the President for assent and signature, together with any

certificate which is required by this Constitution to accompany the Bill; and

    (b) give public notice of the date on which the Bill was sent to the President.

(6) When a Bill is presented to the President for assent and signature, he or she must, within twenty-one days, either—

    (a) assent to it and sign it, and then cause it to be published in Gazette without delay; or

    (b) if he or she considers it to be unconstitutional or has any other reservations about it,

refer the Bill back to Parliament through the Clerk of Parliament, together with

detailed written reasons for those reservations and a request that the Bill be

reconsidered.

(7) Where a Bill has been referred back to Parliament in terms of subsection (6)(b), the Speaker must without delay convene a sitting of the National Assembly, which must—

    (a) reconsider the Bill and fully accommodate the President’s reservations; or

    (b) pass the Bill, with or without amendments, by a two-thirds majority of the total

membership of the National Assembly; and in either case the Speaker must cause the Bill to be presented to the President without delay for assent and signature and must give public notice of the date on which the Bill was sent to the President.

(8) If a Bill that has been presented to the President in terms of subsection (7) fully accommodates the President’s reservations, the President must assent to the Bill and sign it within twenty-one days and then cause it to be published in the Gazette without delay, but if the President still has reservations about the Bill, he or she must within that period either—

    (a) assent to the Bill and sign it, despite those reservations; or

    (b) refer the Bill to the Constitutional Court for advice on its constitutionality.

(9) If on a reference under subsection (8) the Constitutional Court advises that the Bill is constitutional, the President must assent to it and sign it immediately and cause it to be published in the Gazette without delay.

(10) If a Bill is presented to the President for assent and signature and it is not accompanied by a certificate which is required by any provision of this Constitution, the President must not assent to the Bill or sign it until the certificate is produced but must cause the Clerk of Parliament to be notified, immediately and in writing, that the certificate was not sent with the Bill.