Advisory Commission on the Review of the Constitution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

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Date

1968-10

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Publisher

Her Majesty's Stationery Office

Abstract

We were appointed by the Governments of the United Kingdom, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland with the following terms of reference:- " To survey developments since Federation was inaugurated in 1953, in the economic, political and social spheres and, where possible and appropriate, to make suggestions and analyse the arguments for and against constitutional changes which may he desirable and practicable ", 2, We have discharged the first half of this task in our first Report, the "Survey of Developments since 1953 ", which was prepared in Salisbury in September- October 1959. This second Report, which summarises the results of discussions in London in November- December 1959, is devoted to an examination of suggestions for certain possible cbanges in the Federal Constitution and to an analysis of the main arguments for and against such changes. 3. Our terms of reference do not require us to make recommendations or to indicate any order of preference among the various constitutional adjustments which we have considered. We have therefore confined ourselves to an objective survey of a number of important modifications which may be thought to be possible and desirable within the general ambit of the Federal Constitution. We should perhaps emphasise, at the outset, that:- (a) In considering both the existing constitutional arrangements and possible changes in them we have restricted our examination to elements within the basic structure of the Constitution. In particular, our terms of reference do not extend to matters which are regulated by individual Acts of the Federal Legislature. except in so far as they amend the Constitution. (b) We have naturally not concerned ourselves with the political implications either of the existing Constitution or of the possible modifications of it which we have analysed in this Report. We must emphasise. therefore. that we arc not to be taken as in any way purporting to endorse any of the suggestions discussed in the later chapters of this Report, still less to evaluate their political validity.

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Heritage

Keywords

Review, Constitution, Commission, Rhodesia

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