The Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2023
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Seven-Day Ultimatum for Late Regulations
If a regulation-making authority fails to submit a statutory instrument to Parliament within the required seven sitting days of publication under Section 11(1), the Committee on Delegated Legislation will require the authority to submit it within seven days from the date of the Committee's resolution.
Mandatory Newspaper Warning for Void Rules
Where a statutory instrument ceases to have effect because it was not laid before Parliament in time, Parliament may notify the public in two newspapers of wide circulation that the regulation is a nullity.
Enhanced Parliamentary Oversight
The amendment closes a compliance gap in the Statutory Instruments Act, 2013, by giving the House Committee explicit powers to actively track and demand outstanding regulatory instruments rather than allowing them to expire silently.
Bill No.
No. 2 of 2023
Gazette No.
Supplement No. 14 of 2023
Sponsor
Samuel Chepkong'a
Background
Under Section 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act, 2013 (No. 23 of 2013), every regulation-making authority (such as a Cabinet Secretary) is required to submit published statutory instruments to Parliament within seven sitting days of publication. If an authority fails to do so, the statutory instrument automatically ceases to have effect. However, there has been no proactive mechanism for Parliament to demand these missing regulations or to formally notify the general public when a regulation becomes void due to non-submission.
Key Amendments
Amendment of Section 11 of No. 23 of 2013
The Bill introduces two new subsections immediately after subsection (4):
- New Subsection (5): Empowers the Committee on Delegated Legislation to officially demand that a defaulting regulation-making authority submit the statutory instrument to Parliament within seven days of the Committee's resolution.
- New Subsection (6): Directs Parliament to notify the general public via two newspapers of wide circulation that a statutory instrument has ceased to have effect and is a nullity, ensuring citizens are not subjected to invalid regulations.
New Obligations
- Regulation-Making Authorities: Must comply with a seven-day deadline to submit outstanding statutory instruments once a resolution is passed by the Committee on Delegated Legislation.
- Parliament: Must proactively publish declarations of nullity in at least two national newspapers to inform the public when a published regulation has expired and is legally void.
No updates tracked yet
Updates will be visible here once they are approved and applied to this bill.