How laws are made in Parliament

What you need to know:

The process. When passed by Parliament and assented to by the President, a Bill becomes an
Act of Parliament. In our case, there are two types of Bills; Government Bills and Private
Members’ Bills. Therefore, an Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law,

Parliament is the supreme lawmaker of the land. Its supremacy is vastly rooted in the
Commonwealth practice.

Its supreme authority is derived from Article 79 of the 1995 Constitution which states that:
"79(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament shall have power to make
laws on any matter for peace, order, development and good governance of Uganda. “And
Article 79 (2) reads, "No person or body other than Parliament shall have power to make
provisions having the force of law in Uganda except under authority conferred by an Act of
Parliament."

Parliament has tributary functions such as reviewing and approving the national Budget,
oversight and demanding for accountability. However, its main function is to make laws. A
proposed law or a proposal to change an existing law that is presented for debate before
Parliament is called "a Bill".

When passed by Parliament and assented to by the President, the Bill becomes an Act of
Parliament. In our case, there are two types of Bills; Government Bills and Private Members'
Bills. Therefore, an Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law.

The process

One of the major players in the Parliamentary business is the Executive represented by the
Vice President and the Prime Minister/ the Leader of Government Business. During the
State-of-the-Nation address, the chief executive outlines his achievements and what they
intend to do in the next year, but also points out his legislative agenda, detailing the Bills his
or her government intends to bring in the coming year.

The Prime Minister, who is the Leader of Government Business, then ensures that the Bills
are presented to Parliament for consideration. Outlining the preliminary process of drafting
Bills, In this case, the sector minister with his or her technocrats write an essay, pointing out
in clear terms the extent of the problem, what they intend to do or cure and whatever
measures proposed to improve on the policy. The document that justifies the draft Bill is
called a Cabinet memorandum
 The sector minister is required to defend his or her memorandum in Cabinet, justifying the
principles of the proposed piece of legislation. Once Cabinet approves, the principles are
sent to Attorney General, the legal adviser to government .Specifically, There is an office
called the First Parliamentary Counsel (FPC) that is charged with the responsibility of drafting
Bills."

The FPC lawyers read the Cabinet memorandum or Whitepaper and seek amplification from
the user ministry until they come up with the draft Bill which they forward to the ministry.
Sometimes the ministry conducts wider consultations and even produce a "whitepaper" to
back the Bill.

Once that is done, the draft Bill is then taken back to Cabinet before the minister is
authorized to print the Bill. Where Cabinet gives authority, the draft Bill is taken to the
Government Printer. The draft Bill then is published in a Gazette for the public to read.
Sufficient copies of the Bill are then forwarded to Parliament for members.

The minister and members are notified by the Clerk to Parliament when the Bill is put on the
Order paper for "First Reading". There is a requirement for the Bill to have a Certificate of
Financial Implication.

Bills First Reading

First Reading is where the owner of the proposed legislation officially introduces the Bill to
Parliament. At this stage, there is no requirement for debate, the Speaker calls out the name
of the minister in whose name a Bill stands on the Order Paper. The minister then moves
that the Bill be read the first time and tables the Certificate of Financial Implications (CFI) as
required by the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure.

The Clerk reads out the short title of the Bill and then the Speaker refers the Bill to an
appropriate committee of Parliament, which examines it in detail. The minister is required to
appear before the committee and defend his or her Bill before other stakeholders are invited
to give their views.

Depending on the nature of the Bill in question, the committee can travel upcountry to seek
peoples' views on the Bill before writing the report to Parliament. The committee is required
to submit its report within 45 days. Where a committee is unable to complete consideration
of the Bill within the 45 days, the committee chairperson can notify the Speaker.

Any member of the public displeased with the provisions of the Bill can present a formal
petition to the Speaker or the committee chairperson before the Bill is read the second time.
This is the stage where the committee proposes amendments to the text, with a view of
improving the draft legislation.
The committee report is used as a guiding tool for members. A committee member who
disagrees with the committee decision on a particular Bill can draft a minority report. Both
reports are considered in the House before a decision is taken.

Second reading

This is basically the "reporting stage", this is where the minister provides justification of the
Bill to Parliament and then the chairperson presents the committee findings. The Speaker
will then put a motion that the Bill be read for second time. Once the motion is carried, he or
she allows the debate to ensue. The minister is then called to satisfy the members with some
of the explanations and responses to members' queries. A motion is again carried but for
members to go to "Bills Committee Stage."

Bills committee stage "This is the actual stage where the drafting of the law takes place,"
"Here, [the Bills committee stage] members go into the minute details and members are free
to propose amendments unlike the case for plenary where a member is only allowed to
speak once on a subject matter.

"So this is where actual stage where legislation takes place and a lot of time is devoted to it.

Members with amendments can appear before the committee and present their
amendments. However, the members whose amendments were either rejected or
misrepresented by the committee can also appeal to the Committee of the whole House.

Once all clauses of the Bill have been considered (clause by clause), the schedules are
disposed of and then the title of the Bill is revisited to ensure that it rhymes with the purpose
of the intended legislation.

The next stage is just for formality-the minister moves a motion that this Bill is read for the
third time and do pass. "This is like seeking confirmation from the House whether the House
thinks they have done a good job before passing the Bill," Where a member is dissatisfied,
the Speaker puts a motion for the House to take a decision.

The House Rules of Procedure provides for "re-committal window". Once the request for re-
committal is approved, the House goes back to the Committee of the Whole House.
However, that request can as well be defeated by the majority to maintain the status quo.
Once the question for adoption of the motion for third reading has been put. The Bill is
deemed to have been passed by Parliament".

Tracking the changes

The next stage is for the Clerk to sit down and compare the amendments and the Bill as it
was proposed. The House's department of legal and legislative services then compiles the
approved amendments from the Hansard and ensure the amendments are reflected as the
main body of the proposed law.

The proposed law is then taken to the government printer. The Clerk then prepares an
assent copy of the Acts and he or she must certify that the Act is authentic as approved by
Parliament and all the changes that have been effected during the committee stages have
been captured.

The President will now signify his assent and the processes of gazetting the Act are done. The
Act takes effect on the day it has been signed or the minister can provide a day for it to take
effect."

But where the President is dissatisfied with the decision of Parliament, he or she may return
the Bill to Parliament to review certain provisions. The Speaker refers the Bill in question to
the relevant committee and after that, the President may sign.

Private Members Bills

A private member is free to bring Bills with the consent of the House. Such Bills are
recognized in the Constitution under Article 93 and 44 respectively. The Private Members
Bills conform to restrictions such as the financial matters and derogation from enjoyment of
the rights and freedoms. The department of legal and legislative services then helps
members to draft such Bills.

A member intending to introduce a Private Members' Bill is requested to seek leave of the
House by way of motion to do so. The proposed Bill is attached to the motion. If the motion
is carried, the printing and publication of the Bill in the gazette shall be the responsibility of
the Clerk.

The Certificate of Financial Implication must be given by Ministry of Finance, once the bill is
tabled for First Reading, the same procedure of a Government Bill applies.

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