The Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition by Law Association of Zambia -LAZ and Chapter One Foundation Limited to have the Constitution Amendment Bill number ten of 2019 withdrawn from Parliament.
The Court has ruled that the petition by LAZ and Chapter One Foundation lacked merit because they did not show how Justice Minister Given Lubinda breached constitutional procedure when presenting Bill 10 to Parliament.
This is according to a final majority judgement delivered by Constitutional Court Judge Enock Mulembe on behalf of five others.
Judge Mulembe said the Constitutional Court can not intervene in the matter as the arguments by LAZ and Chapter One do not show how the mandatory formalities as prescribed in Article 79 of the constitution, where offended by Bill 10.
He said the petitioners also rushed to seek the Constitutional Court’s intervention as they would have waited for the Bill to pass its third Reading.
In this matter, Chapter One Foundation Limited had petitioned the Constitutional Court for an order that Minister of Justice Given Lubinda withdraws Bill 10.
LAZ was seeking a declaration that government’s decision to amend the Constitution in the manner set in Bill Number 10 of 2019, is illegal because it contravenes several Articles of the constitution including 1, 8, 9, 61, and 79 among others.