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Law Revision and Consolidation Act 2019

REPUBLIC OF NAURU

LAW REVISION AND CONSOLIDATION ACT 2019

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No. 10 of 2019
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An Act to provide for the revision and consolidation of the written laws of the Republic, for the establishment of the Office of the Law Revision Commission and for the authorised publication and distribution of the revised and consolidated laws in print and electronic formats and for related purposes.

Certified: 11^th June 2019

Table of Contents

PART 1 – PRELIMINARY

1 Short Title

2 Commencement

3 Definitions

PART 2 – LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING FUNCTION

4 Legislative drafting function vested with Department

PART 3 – POWER TO AUTHORISE REVISION AND CONSOLIDATION OF WRITTEN LAWS

5 Minister to authorise revision and consolidation

PART 4 – LAW REVISION COMMISSION

6 Establishment of Office of Law Revision Commission

7 Appointment of Commissioner

8 Functions of the Commission

9 Powers of Commission

10 Amendments not authorised

PART 5 – REVISED AND CONSOLIDATED WRITTEN LAWS

11 Contents of Revised Edition

12 Format and marking of revised edition

13 Enactment of revised and consolidated written laws

14 Publication and distribution of revised edition

15 Effect of revised edition

16 Updating of revised edition

17 Correction of minor errors and omissions

18 Keeping of laws passed or made

19 Judicial notice to be taken of revised and consolidated written laws

20 Citation of revised and consolidated written laws

PART 6 – MISCELLANEOUS

21 Offence

22 Regulations

23 Repeal

SCHEDULE

Enacted by the Parliament of Nauru as follows:

PART 1 – PRELIMINARY

1. Short Title

This Act may be cited as the Law Revision and Consolidation Act 2019.

2. Commencement

This Act commences upon certification by the Speaker.

3. Definitions

In this Act:

‘Act’ means an Act of the Parliament of Nauru;

‘Commissioner’ means the person appointed under section 7;

‘Department’ means the Department for Justice;

‘effective date’ means the date that the revised editions are brought into force under this Act;

‘loose-leaf’ means a collection of the written laws not bound but available on a continuous roll in a ring binder which is capable of being updated by insertion;

‘Minister’ means the Minister for Justice;

‘revision date’ in relation to a revised edition, is the date to which the written laws are updated and published;

‘revised edition’ means the revised and consolidated version or an update of an earlier revised edition of written laws in accordance with this Act;

‘subsidiary legislation’ includes regulations, proclamations, orders, rules and notices having legislative effect and any other form of subordinate legislation;

‘written law’ includes the Constitution, Acts of Parliament, an adopted Act and subsidiary legislation.

PART 2 – LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING FUNCTION

4. Legislative drafting function vested with Department

The Department is vested with the following functions:

(a) to draft Bills;

(b) to draft subsidiary legislation;

(c) to educate and disseminate information pertaining to Bills or written laws to the public;

(d) to provide explanation or information to the Cabinet or the Members of Parliament in relation to any Bill or written law;

(e) to publish written laws including Bills for the purposes of updating and maintaining RONLAW or any other website;

(f) to perform functions under this Act as directed by the Minister; and

(g) to cause the gazettal of written laws after certification by the Speaker or approval by the Cabinet or any other person.

PART 3 – POWER TO AUTHORISE REVISION AND CONSOLIDATION OF WRITTEN LAWS

5. Minister to authorise revision and consolidation
   • (1) The Minister in consultation with the Cabinet may from time to time authorise the revision and consolidation of the written laws in accordance with this Act.
     
   • (2) The Minister in authorising under subsection (1) shall:
     
     • (a) prescribe the period for the consolidation and the effective date on which the revised edition of the written laws is to be brought into force;
       
     • (b) direct the form and manner and frequency of the publication and distribution of the revised edition of the written laws;
       
     • (c) require a reprint of the Constitution; and
       
     • (d) require that a notation be made to indicate the Department or agency which is vested with the responsibility of administering a particular written law under the Administrative Arrangements Act 2011.
       
   • (3) The official language for the revision and consolidation of the written laws shall be in English unless the Minister approves another version to be in the Nauruan language.

PART 4 – LAW REVISION COMMISSION

6. Establishment of Office of Law Revision Commission
   • (1) There shall be established an Office of the Law Revision Commission.
     
   • (2) Subject to subsection (3), a Law Revision Commissioner may constitute the Office of the Law Revision Commission and may be appointed from time to time for the purposes of the revision and consolidation of the written laws.
     
   • (3) In the absence of a Law Revision Commissioner under subsection (2), the Minister may establish a Law Revision Commission consisting of the:
     
     • (a) Secretary for Justice;
       
     • (b) Clerk of Parliament;
       
     • (c) Solicitor General; and
       
     • (d) Principal Legislative Drafter.
       

(4) The Commission in subsection (3) shall have the same powers as the Law Revision Commissioner in subsection (2).

• (5) The Commission shall, under the direction of the Minister, perform the duties imposed on the Commission under this Act.
  
• (6) The Minister may in consultation with the Cabinet appoint such other persons to assist the Commission in the discharge of its functions.

7. Appointment of Commissioner

For the purposes of section 6(2), the President in consultation with the Cabinet may from time to time appoint a Law Revision Commissioner for the revision and consolidation of the written laws.

8. Functions of the Commission

The functions of the Commission shall include:

(a) collating, recording and storing of current and historical legislation;

(b) revising the written laws;

(c) consolidating the written laws;

(d) in consolidating the written laws, to collate and compile the written laws in electronic and print form;

(e) preparing a complete revised edition in the English language unless required in the Nauruan language;

(f) updating the revised edition periodically or annually; and

(g) ensuring written laws are properly gazetted.

9. Powers of Commission
   
   • (1) The Commission shall have all such powers as may be necessary to carry out its functions under this Act.
     
   • (2) In the exercise of its powers under this section, the Commission may not make any amendment to a written law so as to affect the substance or meaning of any of its provisions.
     
   • (3) The Commission shall have the power to omit:
     
     • (a) Appropriation Acts;
       
     • (b) laws of a temporary nature, limited application or under revision;
       
     • (c) laws which are no longer in effect;
       
     • (d) laws according acts of incorporation or converting trusts to public trusts;
       
     • (e) subordinate legislation made under an Act omitted under paragraphs (a) to (d);
       
     • (f) any law passed or made or any part of such a law which has been expressly and specifically repealed or which has expired or has become spent or is complete;
       
     • (g) any repealing provision contained in a law passed or made and any table or list of repealed laws;
       
     • (h) the preamble to any law passed or made where such omission may, in the opinion of the Commission, conveniently be made;
       
     • (i) subordinate legislation of temporary effect or which does not appear to the Commission to be of sufficient importance to be included;
       
     • (j) any law passed or made or any provision of such a law bringing a law or provision of a law into operation where, in the opinion of the Commission, such omission may conveniently be made;
       
     • (k) any amending law passed or made or any provision of such a law, where the amendments effected by it have been embodied by the Commission in the law to which they relate;
       
     • (l) laws omitted from an earlier revised edition;
       
     • (m) any words of enactment; and
       
     • (n) in respect of the Custom and Adopted Laws Act 1971:
       
       • (i) exclude such laws which are no longer applicable; and
         
       • (ii) list such laws where they continue to apply.
         
   • (4) In preparing a revised edition, the Commission shall have power in respect of any written law to:
     
     • (a) arrange the laws in such order or manner and in such groups as the Commission may determine;
       
     • (b) add a short title to a law which does not have one, alter the long or short title of any law or alter the title of any law;
       
     • (c) consolidate with all consequential changes or split laws or move a provision from one law to another such law in which the provision more properly belongs;
       
     • (d) rearrange the provisions of any law or any list in a provision of a law;
       
     • (e) add a table of contents or destinations to a law;
       
     • (f) add a heading to a provision of a law that does not have one and alter any heading to a provision or part of a law;
       
     • (g) omit any Schedule, map, picture, drawing, diagram or other object;
       
     • (h) change any reference to a person, office, body, place or thing to reflect a change of name, transfer of function or provision for construction of the reference;
       
     • (i) make such adaptations and amendments as may appear necessary or proper as a consequence of constitutional or other changes in the Republic;
       
     • (j) change any words to make them gender neutral;
       
     • (k) change any reference to an office established by law to make it gender neutral;
       
     • (l) correct any typographical, grammatical and similar errors or other error of spelling, punctuation, grammar or layout and for that purpose, make additions, omissions or alterations;
       
     • (m) change spelling, punctuation and layout;
       
     • (n) change expressions of date, money, number, time and units of measurement;
       
     • (o) change conjunctives and disjunctives at the end of a provision of a law;
       
     • (p) omit any obsolete or redundant words;
       
     • (q) alter any words to secure uniformity of expression in a law;
       
     • (r) shorten or simplify any phrase or sentence;
       
     • (s) add numbering where there is none and change numbering to correct an error or reflect any other change made under this section;
       
     • (t) alter the order of sections, subsections, paragraphs or subparagraphs;
       
     • (u) renumber sections, subsections, paragraphs or subparagraphs;
       
     • (v) substitute for a reference to a law or provision of a law which has been re-enacted or replaced, whether with or without modifications, a reference to the law or provision re-enacting or replacing it;
       
     • (w) amend a cross reference to a law or provision of a law to correct an error or reflect any other change made under this section;
       
     • (x) include examples, notes, annotations, references to case law and other similar material designed to better explain and present the law; and
       
     • (y) do all other things which appear to the Commission to be necessary to render the revised edition consistent with the Constitution, current written laws and drafting practices.
       
   • (5) A list of any written laws omitted under subsection (3) shall be published together with the revised edition.
     
   • (6) Any changes to the written laws under subsection (4) shall be referenced or footnoted in the respective written laws.
     
   • (7) Where words or phrases are defined in a particular written law which such words or phrases are also defined in the Interpretation Act 2011, the definitions shall be rectified for consistency unless the words or phrases in such written law have specific meaning and purpose.
     
   • (8) Words and phrases appearing in many different written laws which are capable of being defined shall be in the Interpretation Act 2011.
     
   • (9) The powers of the Commission under this section may be amended by the Cabinet by regulations.
     
10. Amendments not authorised
    • (1) Where the Commission deems it necessary that in the preparation of the revised edition there should be amendments to any written law other than those authorised by section 9, the Commission may draft a Bill setting forth the amendments.
      
    • (2) A Bill under subsection (1) may have references to more than one written law although such written laws may not be on the same subject matter.
      
    • (3) Where a Bill under subsection (1) is enacted, the Commission may, in preparing the revised edition, give effect to the provisions of that Act as if they have been authorised under section 9.
      

PART 5 – REVISED AND CONSOLIDATED WRITTEN LAWS

11. Contents of Revised Edition
    • (1) A revised and consolidated edition of the written laws shall be in electronic and print form including:
      
      • (a) a booklet format of the Constitution;
        
      • (b) a consolidated index of the written laws in alphabetical order;
        
      • (c) bound copy in booklet or loose-leaf format;
        
      • (d) all laws that are in force on the revision date and that are not omitted under section 9(3);
        
      • (e) a reference to the amending written law by which each amendment was made to the original written laws;
        
      • (f) the history of each provision in the written laws as amended by all amending written laws;
        
      • (g) the date of certification by the Speaker of the original written law;
        
      • (h) the date or dates of certification by the Speaker of the amendments to the original written laws; and
        
      • (i) such introductory and explanatory material and such tables as the Commission deems fit.
        
    • (2) Where a revised edition contains a law adopting or applying a treaty or convention or protocol, the footnoting or references shall be made to the respective treaty, convention, protocol or any specific provisions or part of the same.
      
12. Format and marking of revised edition
    
    • (1) A revised edition may be contained in one or more of the following formats:
      
      • (a) bound books;
        
      • (b) a collection of booklets;
        
      • (c) loose-leaf; or
        
      • (d) electronic form.
        
    • (2) The revision date of a revised edition shall be:
      
      • (a) marked on every separate written law; or
        
      • (b) capable of being published on RONLAW or in any other electronic medium.

13. Enactment of revised and consolidated written laws

The Minister shall cause to be drafted and tabled in Parliament a Bill as set out in the Schedule for Parliament endorsement of the revised and consolidated laws.

14. Publication and distribution of revised edition
    • (1) When a revised edition is brought into force under section 13, the Minister may in consultation with the Cabinet authorise the publication and distribution of the revised edition free of any charge to such persons as he or she may deem fit.
      
    • (2) The Minister may authorise the publisher of the revised edition or the Department to offer for sale print copies of a revised edition or subscription for electronic copies.
      
    • (3) Where a revised edition is published on RONLAW, the Minister may prescribe the requirements for a person to access RONLAW with or without any fees.
      
15. Effect of revised edition
    • (1) The revised and consolidated written laws shall not operate as new law.
      
    • (2) Every copy of a revised and consolidated written law published under the authority of the Minister under this Act either in print or electronic form is evidence of that written law and its contents and every copy purporting to be published is deemed to be so published, unless the contrary is shown.
      
    • (3) Where there is inconsistency or inconsistencies between a consolidated written law to that of the original or any amendments to the original written law as certified by the Speaker, the original or the amended written law prevails to the extent of the inconsistency or inconsistencies.
      
    • (4) This section shall not affect the operation of any law which comes into force after the revision date and which repeals, alters or amends any law included in the revised edition.
      
    • (5) The effective date of the coming into effect of the revised written laws shall not affect the date on which each of the respective written laws initially had come into effect.
      
    • (6) No written law omitted under the authority of section 9(3) from the revised edition shall be deemed to be without force and validity by reason only of the fact that it is so omitted.
      
16. Updating of revised edition
    • (1) A current revised edition may be updated to include any written laws coming into effect after the revision date.
      
    • (2) A revised edition in the form of a bound booklet or electronic storage may be updated by a reprint.
      
    • (3) A revised edition in loose-leaf format may be updated by:
      
      • (a) inserting or interfiling the amended written laws in the original form;
        
      • (b) removing superseding pages where the written law is repealed or repealed and replaced in its entirety; or
        
      • (c) editing parts of a section and inserting the amended version of the section.
        
    • (4) An electronic version of the revised edition on RONLAW may be updated by:
      
      • (a) editing the relevant part or parts of a written law; and
        
      • (b) any such editing shall require a footnote or reference to be made to the relevant laws removed or included.
        
17. Correction of minor errors and omissions
    • (1) Where any clerical or printing errors or omissions are found in the revised edition, the Commission:
      
      • (a) may correct the same in such manner as may be consistent with the powers of revision under section 9(4); and
        
      • (b) shall give notice in the Gazette of any corrections so made.
        
    • (2) No error or omission in a revised edition shall affect the validity or lawfulness of any act or omission by any person which would otherwise have been valid or lawful.
      
18. Keeping of laws passed or made

The Department under section 4 shall maintain:

(a) in electronic form copies of all written laws, Bills, Explanatory Memoranda and subsidiary legislation;

(b) the certificates of the Speaker certifying the written laws;

(c) the approval of the Cabinet for subsidiary legislation;

(d) the print copies of the Bills, Explanatory Memoranda and subsidiary legislation; and

(a) the gazette notices notifying the subsidiary legislation.

19. Judicial notice to be taken of revised and consolidated written laws
    

The courts or persons exercising judicial power shall take judicial notice of the written laws which are revised and consolidated under this Act.

20. Citation of revised and consolidated written laws
    

Any written law may be cited and referred to in any Act or subsidiary legislation either by its short or long title by using the expression ‘Revised Written Laws of the Republic of Nauru’ or in the abbreviated form ‘RWL’.

PART 6 – MISCELLANEOUS

21. Offence
    • (1) A person shall not make any alteration to a revised edition, with the intent to deceive any person as to the true text of the written laws.
      
    • (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and upon conviction is liable to a term of imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years and a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to both.
      
22. Regulations

The Cabinet may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by this Act or necessary for giving effect to this Act.

23. Repeal

The Legislation Publication Act 2011 is hereby repealed.

SCHEDULE

REPUBLIC OF NAURU
REVISED WRITTEN LAWS OF THE REPUBLIC BILL 20XX
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No. of 20XX
______________________________

A Bill for an Act to provide to bring into force the revised written laws of the Republic

Certified:

Table of Contents

1 Short title 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Commencement of revised written laws 2
4 Commencement of Acts to be notified 2
5 Regulation making power 2
6 Enactments repealed 2
7 Repealed law not to be revived 2
8 References to repealed written laws 3
9 Publication of this Act 3
10 Publication of appendices, etc 3
11 Supplements 3
12 Part of Revised Edition 3
13 Notes and tables 3

Enacted by the Parliament of Nauru as follows:

1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Revised Written Laws of the Republic Act 20XX.

2 Commencement

This Act commences upon certification by the Speaker.

3 Commencement of revised written laws

Subject to this Act, the revised written laws of the Republic ..... in this Act, called the Revised Written Laws 20XX, come into force as provided in this Act, on the ............ day of..................., 20XX.

4 Commencement of Acts to be notified

Where an Act included in the Revised Edition contains a provision stating that the Act or any portion thereof is to come into force on a day to be nominated by a Minister:

(a) that Act or that portion thereof shall not be deemed to be in force solely by reason of sections 2 and 3; and

(b) the Act or portion thereof comes into force only on the day nominated for the coming into force thereof or of that portion thereof, as provided in that Act.

5 Regulation making power

(1) Where a written law included in the Revised Edition or any provision thereof, confers power to make regulations or to use prescribed forms, that power, for the purpose of making the Act or the provisions effective at the date of its coming into force, may be exercised at any time after this Act comes into force.

(2) Any regulation or form so made or prescribed does not come into force or have effect until the Act conferring the power comes into force.

6 Enactments repealed

On the .......... day of ........................ 20XX, all the provisions in the written laws and parts of written laws are repealed to the extent contained in that Schedule.

7 Repealed law not to be revived

The repeal of any written law does not:

(a) revive such written law;

(b) affect any savings clause in the written laws so repealed; or

(c) prevent the application of any of those written laws formerly in force, to any transaction, matter or thing retrospective to the repeal.

8 References to repealed written laws

A reference in any written law enacted before the coming into force of the Revised Edition and remaining in force after that time or in any instrument or document, to any written law repealed under section 7, shall, after the Revised Edition take effect, be deemed in respect of any subsequent transaction, matter or thing, to be a reference to the enactment in the Revised Edition having the same effect as the repealed written law.

9 Publication of this Act

A copy of this Act may be included in the Revised Edition in addition to being printed and published with the written laws enacted at the session of Parliament in which this Act is passed.

10 Publication of appendices, etc

The Minister may cause to be printed and included in the Revised Edition:

(a) appendices prepared by the Commission containing the written laws and the Constitution; or

(b) schedules prepared by the Commission.

11 Supplements

(1) The Commission may, under the Law Revision and Consolidation Act 20XX, prepare supplements to the Revised Edition as amendments or additions to the Revised Edition.

• (2) This Act applies to or in respect of the Revised Edition apply, with such modifications as necessary in respect of those supplements.
  

12 Part of Revised Edition

(1) A supplement to the Revised Edition shall be deemed to be included in and form part of the Revised Edition.

(2) The citation of any written law in the Revised Edition under section 13 shall be deemed to include any amendments thereto contained in the supplements.

13 Notes and tables

Any explanatory notes and tables inserted by the Commission in the Revised Edition form no part of those written laws and shall be deemed to have been inserted for convenience only.