? The 1964 Constitution Is In Fact A Replica Of The 1961 Fundamental law With Sovereignty Added On. ? To What Extent Is This Statement Correct? Essay, Research Paper

The Independence Constitution of Malta of 1964 established Malta as a broad parliamentary democracy. It safeguarded the cardinal human rights of citizens, and promised a separation between the executive, judicial and legislative powers, with regular elections founded on cosmopolitan right to vote. Malta still had the three variety meats of the State even before independency. The present fundamental law was developed through constitutional history and its development.

The fundamental laws of Malta fell under three chief classs. These were:

a ) those over which the British possessed entire power ;

B ) the intermediate genres of fundamental laws ( 1921-1947 ) , where we had self-determination ( the 1961 fundamental law was really similar to these fundamental laws ) ;

degree Celsius ) the Independence Constitution of 1964.

On the 27th July 1960 the Secretary of State for the Colonies declared to the House of Commons the want of Her Majesty? s Government to reinstate representative authorities in Malta and declare that it was now clip to work out a new fundamental law where elections could be held every bit shortly as it was established. He besides notified the House of the assignment of a Constitutional Commission, under the chairmanship of Sir Hilary Blood, to invent thorough constitutional strategies after audience with representatives of the Maltese people and local involvements. The Commissioners presented their study on the fifth twenty-four hours of December 1960. The study was published on the 8th twenty-four hours of March 1961. That same twenty-four hours, the Secretary of State declared to the House of Commons that Her Majesty? s Government had taken a determination. The Commissioner? s constitutional recommendations to be the footing for the subsequent Malta fundamental law were to be granted.

The 1961 Constitution was besides known as the Blood fundamental law. It was enclosed in the Malta ( Constitution ) Order in Council 1961 and it was completed on the twenty-fourth twenty-four hours of October of that same twelvemonth. This fundamental law is found within the publication of the Supplement of the Government Gazette of the 31st October 1961 ( No. 11,346 ) . The statement that the Order makes proviso for a new fundamental law where Malta is given self-government is found on the concluding page of the Order in Council.

The 1961 fundamental law provided the anchor for our Independence Constitution. A day of the month was provided to vouch this legal continuity. An indispensable feature of this fundamental law is the permutation of the diarchic system, which was no longer operable, by system of merely one Government, the Government of Malta, with full legislative and executive powers.

At that clip Malta was still a settlement and duty for defense mechanism and external personal businesss were referred to Her Majesty? s Government. There was a clear indicant that the route towards independency continued and now was at a extremely developed phase. The position of independency was approaching. It is imperative to recognize that this fundamental law established most of the characteristics of the 1964 Constitution. The British recognized Malta as a State ( Section 2: 1961 Fundamental law ) ? ? The State of Malta? .

Another of import feature of this fundamental law is an advanced debut of a chapter covering the safeguarding of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual which can be located in Articles 5-17 of the 1961 Constitution. This is reasonably important because Fundamental Human Rights are a protection for the person from the State. In the 1961 Constitution, Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms are found in Chapter 4. The protection of freedom of motion was introduced merely in the 1964 fundamental law. The declaration of rights of the dwellers of the island of Malta and Gozo dated 15th June 1802 gives a corporate declaration of rights.

The 1961 Constitution gave birth to what is recognised as Parliament in the 1964 Independence Constitution. The Cabinet had the general way and direction of the Government of Malta. It consisted of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister entirely might cite it and he presided over it. Not more than 7 other curates were members of the Legislative Assembly and they were jointly responsible to it. This was one of the efforts to repeat some of the more of import British Constitutional Conventions in the fundamental law. In the exercising of his powers, the Governor was to move on the advice of the Cabinet, except where he was directed to move in his discretion or on the recommendation or advice of a individual other than the Cabinet.

Three elections of the announcement of the 1961 Constitution existed and this is shown in Article 45 of the 1961 Constitution. This fundamental law included the presence of a Cabinet for the first clip in Malta. The legislative assembly was unicameral. The Legislative Assembly? s normal life span was of four old ages. It consisted of 50 members and they were elected by cosmopolitan right to vote from 10 electoral divisions on the system of relative representation by the individual movable ballot.

The 1961 Constitution constructed a house foundation for a future accomplishment of independency. When in 1964 Malta did in fact become independent, owing to the fact that the Government chose to avoid interrupting all ties with the United Kingdom, we had legal continuity. As a consequence, the statute law of our Parliament remained functional. To a certain extent the same state of affairs existed as respects to the statute law by the British Parliament for Malta.

The Malta Independence Order itself developed into the topic of an intrenchment. In article 50 of the Order, it is declared that this evolved into an extension to the 1961 Constitution even in the sense of an amendment. Even though we acquired independency we achieved rather a batch of continuity. One of them is the monarchy pre -1964 and anterior 1964.

The Malta Independence Order 1964 was capable to the Malta Independence Act of that same twelvemonth and it is a papers which holds the main ordinances which govern the fundamental law of a State. This papers is supreme over each and every other papers and all statute law is capable to it. Throughout our constitutional history we have acquired our ain fundamental law, and to a certain extent, the Independence Constitution is made up of certain rules that arose for the first clip in old fundamental laws. It can be said that the Independence Constitution has evolved from the fundamental law which preceded it. But we must non disregard the fact that alterations have taken topographic point in this procedure of development.

The statement that the 1964 fundamental law is in fact a reproduction of the 1961 fundamental law with sovereignty added might be criticised by stating that some factors differ between the two fundamental laws. The statement is reasonably right and this is proven above. The 1964 fundamental law is non simply what can be defined as an betterment. It is more like another stepping-stone in constitutional history being the concluding measure in the once mentioned. In fact, even though it may look that some commissariats were altered from the 1961 fundamental law to the 1964 fundamental law, some of those commissariats remained unchanged until the amendments of the 1964 fundamental law were made.

Furthermore, it is obviously noticed that the 1964 fundamental law is created through the development of earlier fundamental laws. Therefore it is non merely the 1961 fundamental law with sovereignty added to it. This endured a long and elaborate procedure and that is how it has reached the terminal consequence.

Bibliography

J.J. Cremona & # 8211 ; THE MALTESE CONSTITUTION AND

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY SINCE 1813

( Publishers Enterprises Group Ltd ( PEG ) ? 1994 )

ISBN: 99909-0-086-8

THE LAWS OF MALTA