THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE
CONTENTS
PREAMBLE PAGE
CHAPTER I
Form of State
CHAPTER II
Page
Fundamental Rights 2
Definition of “State” 2
Citizenship 2
Rights of Equality 3
Rights of Freedom 3
Rights relating to Religion 4
Cultural and Education Rights 5
Economic Rights 5
Rights in relation to Criminal
Law 6
Rights to Constitutional
Remedies 6
CHAPTER III
Relations of the State to Peasants
and Workers 7
CHAPTER IV
Directive Principles of State
Policy 7
CHAPTER V
The President 10
CHAPTER VI
Parliament 15
Part II. – Chamber of Deputies 22
Part III. – Chamber of
Nationalities 24
Part IV. – Powers of the
Parliament 24
Part V. – Legislation 27
Money Bills 28
Signing and Promulgation 31
CHAPTER VII
The Union Government 32
Attorney General 34
Auditor General 35
CHAPTER VIII
Union Judiciary 35
CHAPTER IX
The
Government of the Shan State 44
Part II. – The Kachin State 46
Government of the Kachin State 48
Part III. – The Karen State 50
Kaw-thu-lay 50
Part IV. – The Karenni State 51
Government of the Karenni State 53
Part V. – Special Division of the
Chins 55
Part VI. – New States 55
CHAPTER X
Right of Secession 56
CHAPTER XI
Amendment of the Constitution 57
CHAPTER XII
International Relations 58
CHAPTER XIII
General Provisions 59
Interpretation 61
CHAPTER XIV
Transitory Provisions 62
FIRST SCHEDULE
Form of Oath or Affirmation 66
SECOND SCHEDULE
Composition of the Chamber of
Nationalities 67
THIRD SCHEDULE
List I – Union Legislative List 68
1. Defence 68
2. External Affairs 68
3. Communications 59
4. Finance 70
5. General 71
List II. – State Legislative
List 73
1. Constitutional Affairs 73
2. Economic Affairs 73
3. Security 74
4. Communications 75
5. Education 75
6. Public Health 75
7. Local Government 75
8. General 76
FOURTH SCHEDULE
State Revenue List 77
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THE CONSTITUTION
OF
THE
Constituent Assembly of
PREAMBLE
WE, THE PEOPLE OF BURMA including the Frontier Areas and
the Karenni
States, Determined to establish in strength and unity a
SOVEREIGN
principles of JUSTICE, LIBERTY AND EQUALITY and To
guarantee and secure to
all citizens JUSTICE social, economic and political;
expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association
and action;
EQUALITY of status, of opportunity and before the law, IN
OUR CONSTITUENT
ASSEMBLY this Tenth day of Thadingyut waxing, 1309 B.E.
(Twenty-fourth day
of September, 1947 A.D.), DO HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE
TO OURSELVES THIS
CONSTITUTION.
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CHAPTER I
Form of State
1.
2. The Union of Burma shall comprise the whole of
(i) all the
territories that were heretofore governed by His Britannic
Majesty through
the Governor of
(ii) the Karenni
States.
3. The sovereignty of the
4. All powers, legislative, executive and judicial, are
derived from the
people and are
exercisable on their behalf by, or on the authority of,
the organs of
the
Constitution.
5. The territories that were heretofore known as the
Federated Shan States
and the Wa
States shall form a constituent unit of the Union of Burma
and be hereafter
known as “the
6. The territories that were heretofore known as the
Myitkyina and Bhamo
Districts shall
form a constituent unit of the Union of Burma and be
hereafter known
as “the
7. The territories that were heretofore known as the
Karenni States, viz.,
Kantarawaddy,
Bawlake and Kyebogyi shall form a constituent unit of the
Union of Burma
and hereafter known as “the
8. All powers, legislative, executive and judicial, in
relation to the
remaining
territories of the Union of Burma shall, subject to the
provisions of
section 180, be exercisable only by, or on the authority
of, the organs
of the
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CHAPTER II
Fundamental Rights
DEFINITION OF “STATE.”
9. In this Chapter
and in Chapters III and IV, the term “State” means the
executive or
legislative authority of the
concerned
according as the context may require.
CITIZENSHIP.
10. There shall be but one citizenship throughout the
say, there
shall be no citizenship of the unit as distinct from the
citizenship of
the
11. (i) Every
person, both of whose parents belong or belonged to any of
the
indigenous races of
(ii) every
person born in any of the territories included within the
any of the
indigenous races of
(iii)every
person born in any of territories included within the
the
commencement of this Constitution would have been, citizens
of the
(iv) every
person who was born in any of the territories which at the
time of
his birth was included within His Britannic Majesty’s
dominions
and who has resided in any of the territories included
within the
ten years
immediately preceding the date of the commencement of
this
Constitution or immediately preceding
and who
intends to reside permanently there in and who signifies
his
election of citizenship of the
the time
prescribed by law,
shall be a citizen
of the
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12. Nothing contained in section 11 shall derogate from
the power of the
Parliament to
make such laws as it thinks fit in respect of
citizenship and
alienage and any such law may provide for the
admission of
new classes of citizens or for the termination of the
citizenship of
any existing classes.
RIGHTS OF EQUALITY
13. All citizens irrespective of birth, religion, sex or
race are equal
before the law;
that is to say, there shall not be any arbitrary
discrimination
between one citizen or class of citizens and another.
14. There shall be equality of opportunity for all
citizens in matters of
public
employment and in the exercise or carrying on of any
occupation,
trade, business or profession.
15. Women shall be entitled to the same pay as that
received by men in
respect of
similar work.
RIGHTS OF FREEDOM
16. No citizen shall be deprived of his personal liberty,
nor his dwelling
entered, nor
his property confiscated, save in accordance with law.
17. There shall be liberty for the exercise of the
following rights
subject to law,
public order and morality: -
i. The right
of the citizens to express freely their convictions and
opinions.
ii. The right
of the citizens to assemble peaceably and without arms.
iii.The right
of the citizens to form associations and unions. Any
association
or organization whose object or activity is intended
or likely
to undermine the Constitution is forbidden.
iv. The right
of every citizen to reside and settle in any part of the
business or
profession.
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18. Subject to regulation by the law of the Union trade,
commerce and
intercourse
among the units shall be free:
Provided that
any unit may by law impose reasonable restrictions in
the interests
of public order, morality, health or safety.
19. (i) Traffic in human beings, and
(ii)forced
labour in any form and involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted,
shall be prohibited.
Explanation. –
Nothing in this section shall prevent the State from
imposing
compulsory service for public purposes without any
discrimination
on grounds of birth, race, religion or class.
RIGHTS RELATING TO RELIGION
20. All persons are equally entitled to freedom of
conscience and the
right freely to
profess and practise religion subject to public order,
morality or
health and to the other provisions of this Chapter.
Explanation 1.
– The above right shall not include any economic,
financial,
political or other secular activities that may be
associated with
religious practice.
Explanation 2.
– The freedom guaranteed in this section shall not
debar the State
from enacting laws for the purpose of social welfare
and reform.
21. (1) The State recognizes the special position of
Buddhism as the faith
professed
by the great majority of the citizens of the
(2) The State
also recognizes Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and
Animism as
some of the religions existing in the
of the
coming into operation of this Constitution.
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(3) The
State shall not impose any disabilities or make any
discrimination on the ground of religious faith or belief.
(4) The
abuse of religion for political purposes is forbidden; and
any act
which is intended or is likely to promote feelings of
hatred,
enmity or discord between racial or religious
communities or sects is contrary to this Constitution and may
be made
punishable by law.
CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS
22. No minority,
religious, racial or linguistic, shall be
discriminated against in regard to admission into State educational
institutions
nor shall any religious instruction be compulsorily
imposed on
it.
ECONOMIC RIGHTS
23. (1) Subject
to the provisions of this section, the State guarantees
the
rights of private property and of private initiative in the
economic
sphere.
(2) No
person shall be permitted to use the right of private
property
to the detriment of the general public.
(3) Private
monopolist organizations, such as cartels, syndicates
and
trusts formed for the purpose of dictating prices or for
monopolizing the market or otherwise calculated to injure the
interests of the national economy, are forbidden.
(4) Private
property may be limited or expropriated if the public
interest
so requires but only in accordance with law which
shall
prescribe in which cases and to what extent the owner
shall be
compensated.
(5) Subject
to the conditions set out in the last preceding
sub-section, individual branches of national economy or single
enterprises may be nationalized or acquired by the State by law
if the
public interest so requires.
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RIGHTS IN RELATION TO CRIMINAL LAW.
24. No person shall be convicted of crime except for
violation of a law in
force at the
time of the commission of the act charged as an offence,
nor shall he be
subjected to a penalty greater than that applicable at
the time of the
commission of the offence.
RIGHTS OF CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES
25. (1)The right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate
proceedings for
the
enforcement of any of the rights conferred by this Chapter is
hereby
guaranteed.
(2)Without
prejudice to the powers that may be vested in this behalf
in other
Courts, the Supreme Court shall have power to issue
directions
in the nature of Habeas Corpus, mandamus, prohibition,
quo warranto
and certiorari appropriate to the rights guaranteed in
this
Chapter.
(3)The right to
enforce these remedies shall not be suspended unless,
in times of
war, invasion, rebellion, insurrection or grave
emergency,
the public safety may so require.
26. Every citizen, whether within or beyond the
territories of the
shall be
entitled to claim the protection of the
relations with
foreign States.
27. Except in times of invasion, rebellion, insurrection
or grave
emergency, no
citizen shall be denied redress by due process of law
for any
actionable wrong done to or suffered by him.
28. The Parliament may by law determine to what extent
any of the rights
guaranteed by
this Chapter shall be restricted or abrogated for the
members of the Defence Forces or of the Forces
charged with the
maintenance of
public order so as to ensure fulfilment of their duties
and the
maintenance of discipline.
29. The Parliament shall make laws to give effect to
those provisions of
this Chapter
which require such legislation and to prescribe
punishment for
those acts which are declared to be offences in this
Chapter and are
not already punishable.
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CHAPTER III
Relations of the State to Peasants and Workers
30. (1)The State is the ultimate owner of all lands.
(2)Subject to
the provisions of this Constitution, the State shall
have the
right to regulate, alter or abolish land tenures or resume
possession
of any land and distribute the same for collective or
co-operative
farming or to agricultural tenants.
(3)There can be
no large land holdings on any basis whatsoever. The
maximum size
of private land holding shall, as soon as
circumstances permit, be determined by law.
31. By economic and other measures the State may assist
workers to
associate and
organize themselves for protection against economic
exploitation.
The State shall
protect workers by legislation intended to secure to
them the right
of association, to limit their hours of work, to ensure
to them the
right to annual holidays and to improve working
conditions, and
as soon as circumstances permit by promoting schemes
for housing and
social insurance.
CHAPTER IV
Directive Principles of State Policy
32. The principles set forth in this Chapter are intended
for the general
guidance of the
State. The application of these principles in
legislation and
administration shall be the care of the State but
shall not be
enforceable in any court of law.
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33. The State shall direct its policy towards securing to
each citizen –
(i) the right
to work,
(ii) the right
to maintenance in old age and during sickness or loss
of
capacity to work,
(iii)the right
to rest and leisure, and
(iv) the right
to education.
In particular
the State shall make provision for free and compulsory
primary education.
34. The State shall pay special attention to the young
and promote their
education.
35. The State shall promote with special care the
educational and economic
interests of
the weaker and less advanced sections of the people and
shall protect
them from social injustice and all forms of
exploitation.
36. The State shall regard the raising of the standard of
living of its
people and the
improvement of public health as among its primary
duties.
37. (1) The State
shall ensure that the strength and health of workers
and the
tender age of children shall not be abused and that they
shall not
be forced by economic necessity to take up occupations
unsuited
to their sex, age and strength.
(2) The State shall specially direct its policy
towards protecting
the
interests of nursing mothers and infants by establishing
maternity
and infant welfare centres, children’s homes and day
nurseries
and towards securing to mothers in employment the right
to leave
with pay before and after child birth.
38. The State shall promote the improvement of public
health by organizing
and controlling
health services, hospitals, dispensaries, sanatoria,
nursing and
convalescent homes and other health institutions.
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39. The State shall take special care of the physical
education of the
people in general
and of the youth in particular in order to increase
the health and
working capacity of the people and in order to
strengthen the
defensive capacity of the State.
40. The State shall ensure disabled ex-Servicemen a
decent living and free
occupational
training. The children of fallen soldiers and children
orphaned by
wars shall be under the special care of the State.
41. The economic life of the Union shall be planned with
the aim of
increasing the
public wealth, of improving the material conditions of
the people and
raising their cultural level, of consolidating the
independence of
the Union and strengthening its defensive capacity.
42. The State shall direct its policy towards giving
material assistance
to economic
organizations not working for private profit. Preference
shall be given
to co-operative and similar economic organizations.
43. All useful arts and sciences, research and cultural
institutes and the
study of Pali
and Sanskrit shall enjoy the protection and support of
the State.
44. (1) The State shall direct its policy towards
operation of all public
utility
undertakings by itself or local bodies or by peoples’
co-operative organizations.
(2) The State
shall direct its policy towards exploitation of all
natural
resources in the Union by itself or local bodies or by
peoples’
co-operative organizations.
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CHAPTER V
The President
45. There shall be a President of the
President” who
shall take precedence over all other persons throughout
the
conferred on
the President by this Constitution and by law.
46. The President shall be elected by both Chambers of
Parliament in joint
session by
secret ballot. Subject of the provision of this Chapter,
election to the
office of the President shall be regulated by an Act
of the
Parliament.
47. (1) The President shall not be a member of either
Chamber of
Parliament.
(2) If a member
of either Chamber of Parliament be elected President,
he shall be
deemed to have vacated his seat in that Chamber.
(3) The
President shall not hold any other office or position of
emolument.
48. (1) The President shall hold office for five years
from the date on
which he
enters upon his office, unless before the expiration of
the period
he resigns or dies, or is removed from office, or
becomes
permanently incapacitated.
(2) No person
shall serve as President for more than two terms in all.
49. No person shall be eligible for election to the
office of President
unless he –
(i) is a
citizen of the
born in any
of the territories included within the
(ii)is
qualified for election to the Union Parliament.
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50. The first President shall enter upon his office as soon
as may be
after his
election, and every subsequent President shall enter upon
his office on
the day following the expiration of the term of office
of his
predecessor or as soon as may be thereafter, or in the event of
his predecessor’s
removal from office, resignation, permanent
incapacity or
death, as soon as may be after his own election.
51. The president shall enter upon his office by making
and subscribing
publicly in the
presence of both Chambers of Parliament assembled and
of the judges
of the Supreme Count, the following declaration: -
“I … do
solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will
maintain the
Constitution of the
will fulfil
my duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance
with the
Constitution and the law, that I will diligently avert
every injury
and danger to the
to the
service of the
52. The President shall not leave the
on the advice
of the Union Government.
53. The President shall summon the Parliament for the
purpose of electing
a new
President, during the three months preceding the expiration of
his term of office.
54. (1) The
President may be impeached for –
(i) high treason;
(ii)
violation of the Constitution; or
(iii) gross
misconduct.
(2) The charge shall be preferred by either
Chamber of Parliament
subject
to and in accordance with the provisions of this
section.
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(3) A proposal
to either Chamber of Parliament to prefer a charge
against the
President under this section shall not be entertained
except upon
a notice of resolution in writing signed by not less
than
one-fourth of the total membership of that Chamber.
(4) No such
proposal shall be adopted by either Chamber of Parliament
save upon a
resolution of that Chamber supported by not less than
two-thirds
of the total membership thereof.
(5) When a
charge has been preferred by one Chamber of Parliament, the
other Chamber
shall investigate the charge or cause the charge to
be
investigated.
(6) The
President shall have the right to appear and to be represented
at the
investigation of the charge.
(7) If, as the
result of the investigation, a resolution be passed,
supported
by not less than two-thirds of the total membership of
the Chamber
of Parliament by which the charge was investigated or
caused to
be investigated, declaring that the charge preferred
against the
President has been sustained and that the office, the
subject of
the charge, was such as to render him unfit to continue
in office,
such resolution shall operate to remove the President
from his
office.
55. The President shall have an official residence and
shall receive such
emoluments and
allowances as shall be prescribed by law. Emoluments
and allowances
of the President shall not be varied during his term of
office.
56. (1) The President shall, on the nomination of the
Chamber of Deputies,
appoint a
Prime Minister who shall be the head of the
Government.
(2) The
President shall, on the nomination of the Prime Minister,
appoint
other members of the Union Government.
(3) The
President shall, on the advice of the Prime Minister, accept
the
resignation or terminate the appointment of any member of the
Union
Government.
57. The Chamber of Deputies shall be summoned, prorogued
or dissolved by
the President
on the advice of the Prime Minister:
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Provided that,
when the Prime Minister has ceased to retain the
support of a
majority in the Chamber, the President may refuse to
prorogue or
dissolve the Chamber on his advice and shall in that event
forthwith call
upon the Chamber to nominate a new Prime Minister:
Provided
further that, if the Chamber fails to nominate a new Prime
Minister within
fifteen days, it shall be dissolved.
58. (1)Every Bill, passed or deemed to have been passed
by both Chambers
of
Parliament, shall require the signature of the President for its
enactment
into law.
(2)The
President shall promulgate every law enacted by the Parliament.
59. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the
executive
authority of
the
in this section
shall prevent the Parliament from conferring functions
upon
subordinate authorities, or be deemed to transfer to the
President any
functions vested in any court, judge, or officer, or any
local or other
authority by any existing law.
60. The right of pardon shall be vested in the President.
61. (1)The President may communicate with the Parliament
by message or
address on
any matter of national or public importance.
(2)The
President may also address a message to the nation at any time
on any
matter.
62. (1)The President shall not be answerable to either
Chamber of
Parliament
or to any Court for the exercise or performance of the
powers and
functions of his office or for any act done or
purporting
to be done by him in the exercise and performance of
these powers
and functions.
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(2) The
behaviour of the President may, however, be brought under
review in
either Chamber of Parliament for the purpose of section
54, or by
any Court, tribunal or body, appointed or designated by
either
Chamber of Parliament for the investigation of its charges
under the
said section.
(3) The
validity of anything purporting to have been done by the
President
under this Constitution shall not be called in question
on the
ground that it was done otherwise than in accordance with
the
provisions contained or referred to in the next succeeding
section.
63. (1) The powers and functions conferred on the
President by this
Constitution shall be exercisable and performable by him only on
the advice
of the Union Government, save where it is provided by
this
Constitution that he shall act in his discretion or on the
advice or
nomination of or on receipt of any communication from
any other
person or body.
(2) The
question whether any, and if so, what advice, nomination or
communication was tendered to or received by the President shall
not be
enquired into in any Court.
64. (1) In the event of the death, resignation, removal
from office,
absence or
incapacity whether temporary or permanent, of the
President,
or at any time at which the office of the President may
be vacant,
the powers and functions conferred on the President by
this
Constitution shall be exercised and performed by a Commission
constituted as hereinafter provided.
(2) The
Commission shall consist of the following persons, namely, the
Chief
Justice of the
Nationalities and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.
(3) Such judge of the Supreme Court as has
been appointed to perform
the duties
of the Chief Justice, or if there is no such judge,
then the
senior available judge of the Supreme Court, shall act as
a member of
the Commission in place of the Chief Justice on any
occasion on
which the office of the Chief Justice is vacant or on
which the
Chief Justice is unable to act.
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(4)The
Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Nationalities shall act
as a
member of the Commission in the place of the Speaker of
the
Chamber of Nationalities on any occasion on which the
office of the Speaker of the Chamber is
vacant or on which the
said
Speaker is unable to act.
(5)The
Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies shall act as a
member
of the Commission in place of the Speaker of the
Chamber
on any occasion on which the office of the Speaker of
the
Chamber Deputies is vacant or on which the said Speaker is
unable
to act.
(6)The
Commission may act by any two of its members and may act
notwithstanding a vacancy in its
membership.
(7)The
provisions of this Constitution which relate to the
exercise and performance by the President of the powers and
functions conferred on him by this Constitution shall apply to
the
exercise and performance of the said powers and function
under
this section.
CHAPTER VI
Parliament
65. The legislative power of the
which shall
consist of the President, a Chamber of Deputies and a
Chamber of
Nationalities and which is in this Constitution called “the
Parliament” or
“the Union Parliament.”
66. There shall be a session of the Parliament once at
least in every year
so that twelve
months shall not intervene between the last sitting of
the Parliament
in one session and its first sitting in the next
session.
67. (1)The Chamber of Deputies shall, as soon as may be,
choose two
members of
the Chamber to be respectively the Speaker and the
Deputy
Speaker thereof, and, so often as the office of the Speaker
or Deputy
Speaker becomes vacant, the Chamber shall choose another
member to be
Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.
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(2)A member
holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Chamber
shall vacate
his office if he ceases to be a member of the Chamber,
may at any
time resign his office by writing under his hand
addressed to
the President, and may be removed from his office by a
resolution
of the Chamber passed by a majority of the then members
of the
Chamber; but no resolution for the purpose of this
sub-section
shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice
has been
given of the intention to move the resolution.
Provided
that, whenever the Chamber is dissolved, the Speaker shall
not vacate
his office until immediately before the first meeting of
the Chamber
after the dissolution.
(3)While the
office of the Speaker is vacant the duties of his office
shall be
performed by the Deputy Speaker or, if the office of the
Deputy
Speaker is also vacant, by such member of the Chamber as the
President
may appoint for the purpose, and during the absence of
the Speaker
from any sitting of the Chamber the Deputy Speaker or,
if he is
also absent, such person as may be determined by the rules
of procedure
of the Chamber, or, if no such person is present, such
other person
as may be determined by the Chamber, shall act as
Speaker.
(4)There shall
be paid to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the
Chamber such
salaries as may be respectively determined by an Act
of the
Parliament.
(5)The foregoing
provisions of this section shall apply in relation to
the Chamber
of Nationalities as they apply in relation to the
Chamber of
Deputies with the substitution of references to the
Chamber of
Nationalities for references to the Chamber of Deputies.
68. (1)Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and
to the rules and
standing
orders regulating the procedure of the Parliament, there
shall be
freedom of speech in the Parliament, and no member of the
Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings
in any Court in
respect of
anything said or any vote given by him in the Parliament
or any
Committee thereof, and no person shall be so liable in
respect of
publication by or under the authority of a Chamber of
the
Parliament of any report, paper, votes, or proceedings.
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(2)In other
respects, the privileges of members of either Chamber of
Parliament
shall be such as may, from time to time, be defined by
an Act of
the Parliament and, until so defined, shall be such as
were
immediately before the commencement of this Constitution
enjoyed by members of the Legislature of
Burma.
69. (1)All question at any sitting or joint sitting of
the Chambers shall,
save as
otherwise provided by this Constitution, be determined by a
majority of
votes of the members present and voting, other than the
Speaker or
person acting as such, who shall not vote in the first
instance,
but shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of
an equality
of votes.
(2)The number
of members necessary to constitute the quorum of either
Chamber for
the exercise of its powers shall be determined by its
rules.
(3)A Chamber of
Parliament shall have power to act notwithstanding any
vacancy in
the membership thereof, and any proceedings in the
Parliament
shall be valid notwithstanding that it is discovered
subsequently
that some person who was not entitled to do so sat or
voted or
otherwise took part in the proceedings.
(4)Without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions,
the Chamber
of Nationalities shall have power to act
notwithstanding the failure of any unit to provide for its
representation in the Chamber.
70. All official reports and publications of the
Parliament or of either
Chamber thereof
shall be absolutely privileged.
71. The Parliament may make provision by law for the
payment of salaries
and allowances
to the members of each Chamber in respect of their
duties as
public representatives and for the grant to them of such
travelling and
other facilities in connection with their duties as the
Parliament may
determine.
Page 17
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72. Every member of either Chamber of Parliament shall
before taking his
seat make and
subscribe before the President, or some person
authorized by
him, an oath or affirmation of allegiance in the form
set forth in
the First Schedule to this Constitution.
73. (1) No person may at the same time be a member of
both Chamber of
Parliament, and, if any person who is already a member of either
Chamber
becomes a member of the other Chamber, he shall
forthwith
be deemed to have vacant his first seat.
(2) If a member of either Chamber –
(a)
becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in
sub-section (1) of the next succeeding section; or
(b) by
writing under his hand addressed to the President resigns
his seat,
his seat shall
thereupon become vacant.
(3) If for a period of thirty days a member of
either Chamber is
without
permission of the Chamber absent from all meetings
thereof,
the Chamber may declare his seat vacant:
Provided
that in computing the said period of thirty days no
account
shall be taken of any period during which the Chamber is
prorogued, or is adjourned for more than four consecutive days.
74. (1) Any person who –
(i) is under
any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a
foreign
Power, or is a subject or citizen or entitled to the
rights
and privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign
Power; or
(ii) is an
undischarged bankrupt or insolvent; or
(iii)is of
unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent Court;
or
Page 18
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(iv) hold
any office of profit in the service of the
any
unit other than an office declared by an Act of the
Parliament not to disqualify its holder; or
(v) whether
before or after the commencement of this
Constitution, has been convicted or has, in proceedings for
questioning the validity or regularity of an election, been
found
to have been guilty of an offence or corrupt or
illegal practice relating to elections which has been
declared by an Act of the Legislature of Burma or of the
Parliament to be an offence or practice entailing
disqualification for membership of the Legislature or of the
Parliament, unless such period had elapsed as may be
specified in that behalf in the provisions of that Act; or
(vi)
whether before or after the commencement of this
Constitution, has been convicted, in any of
the territories
included within the
either case, been sentenced to transportation or to
imprisonment for not less than two years, unless a period of
five
years or such less period as the President may, in his
discretion, allow in any particular case, has elapsed since
his
release; or
(vii)having been nominated as a candidate for the Parliament or
having acted as an election agent of any person so
nominated, has failed to lodge a return of the election
expenses within the time and in the manner required by any
Order
made under this Constitution or by any Act of the
Parliament, unless five years have elapse from the date by
which
the return ought to have been lodged, or the
President, in his discretion, had removed the
disqualification;
Shall
be disqualified for being as and for being a member of
either Chamber:
Page 19
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Provided
that a disqualification under paragraph (vii) of this
sub-section shall not take effect until the expiration of one
month from
the date by which the return ought to have been
lodged, or
of such longer period as the President acting in his
discretion
may, in any particular case, allow.
(2) A person shall not be qualified for being
chosen a member of
either
Chamber while he is serving a sentence of transportation
or of imprisonment
for a criminal offence:
Provided
that, where the sentence does not exceed two years, the
President
may in his discretion remove such disqualification.
(3) Where a person who, by virtue of a conviction
or a conviction and
a
sentence, becomes disqualified by virtue of paragraph (v) or
paragraph
(vi) of sub-section (1) of this section is at the date
of the
disqualification a member of a Chamber, his seat shall,
notwithstanding anything in this or the last preceding section,
not become
vacant by reason of the disqualification until three
months
have elapsed from the date thereof or, if within those
three
months an appeal or petition for revision is brought in
respect of
the conviction or the sentence, until that appeal or
petition
is disposed of, but, during any period wherein his
membership
is preserved by this sub-section, he shall not sit or
vote.
75. If a person sits or votes as a member of either
Chamber when he is not
qualified or is
disqualified for membership thereof, or when he is
prohibited from
so doing by the provisions of sub-section (3) of
section 74 or
before he has complied with the requirements of section
72 he shall be
liable in respect of each day on which he so sits or
votes to a
penalty of rupees one thousand to be recovered as a debt
due to the
Union Government.
76. (1) Every citizen, who has completed the age of twenty-one
years and
who is not
placed under any disability or incapacity by this
Constitution or
by law, shall be eligible for membership of the
Parliament.
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(2)Every
citizen, who has completed the age of eighteen years and who
is not
disqualified by law and complies with the provisions of the
law
regulating elections to the Parliament, shall have the right to
vote at any
election to the Parliament.
(3)There shall
be no property qualification for membership of the
Parliament
or for the right to vote at elections to the Parliament.
(4)No law shall
be enacted or continued placing any citizen under
disability
or incapacity for membership of the Parliament on the
ground of
sex, race or religion or disqualifying any citizen from
voting at
elections to the Parliament on any such ground:
Provided
that notwithstanding anything contained in section 21 (3),
members of
any religious order may by law be debarred from voting
at any such
elections or from being a member of either Chamber of
Parliament.
(5)Voting shall
be by secret ballot.
77. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, all
matters relating
to elections
for either Chamber of Parliament including the
delimitation of
constituencies, the filling of casual vacancies, and
the decision of
doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection
with such
elections shall be regulated in accordance with law.
78. The Parliament may by law prescribe the conditions
under and the
manner in which
a member of either Chamber of Parliament may be
recalled.
79. Every member of the Union Government and the
Attorney-General shall
have the right
to speak in, and otherwise take part in the proceedings
of, either
Chamber, any joint sitting of the Chambers and any
Committee of
the Parliament of which he may be named a member, but he
shall not by
virtue of this section be entitled to vote.
80. (1) Each Chamber of the Parliament may make rules for
regulating,
subject to the
provisions of this Constitution, its procedure and the
conduct of its
business.
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(2)The
President, after consultation with the Speaker of the Chamber
of
Nationalities and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, may
make rules
as to the procedure with respect to joint sittings of,
and
communications between, the two Chambers.
(3)At a joint
sitting of the two Chambers the Speaker of the Chamber
of
Nationalities, or in his absence the Speaker of the Chamber of
Deputies or
such person as may be determined by rules of procedure
made under
this section, shall preside.
81. No discussion shall take place in the Parliament with
respect to the
conduct of any
judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court in the
discharge of
his duties, except upon a resolution for the removal of
the judge as
provided in this Constitution.
82. (1)The validity of any proceedings in the Parliament
shall not be
called in
question in any Court on the ground of any irregularity
of
procedure.
(2)The Speaker
of the Chamber of Deputies or the Speaker of the
Chamber of
Nationalities or any other member of either Chamber of
Parliament
in whom powers are vested by or under this Constitution
for
regulating procedure or the conduct of business or for
maintaining
order in the Chamber shall not be subject to the
jurisdiction
of any Court in respect of the exercise by him of
those
powers.
PART II. – CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES
83. (1)The Chamber of Deputies shall be composed of
members who represent
constituencies determined by law. Provision shall, however, be made
to reserve
such number of seats as may be proportionate to the
population
of Karens to be filled by their representatives.
(2)The number
of members of this Chamber shall be, as nearly as
practicable,
twice the number of member of the Chamber of
Nationalities. The number of members shall from time to time be
fixed by law
but the total number of the members of the Chamber of
Deputies
shall not be fixed at less than one member for each
100,000 of
the population, or at more than one member for each
30,000 of
the population.
Page 22
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(3)The ratio
between the number of members to be elected at any time
for a
constituency and the population of that constituency, as
ascertained
at the last preceding census, shall, so far as
practicable,
be the same for all constituencies throughout the
Division of
the Chins (referred to in Part V of Chapter IX) and the
(4)The
Parliament shall revise the constituencies at least once in
every ten years, with due regard to changes
in the distribution of
the
population, but any alternation in the constituencies shall not
take effect
until the termination of the then existing Parliament.
84. (1)The general election for members of the Chamber of
Deputies shall
take place
not later then sixty days after the dissolution of the
Chamber.
Polling at
every general election shall, as far as practicable,
take place
on the same day throughout the
(2)The Chamber
of Deputies shall meet within sixty days from the
polling day.
85. Every Chamber of Deputies shall continue for four
years from the first
meeting of the
Chamber:
Provided that
the Chambers of Parliament may by resolution passed by
not less than
two-thirds of the members present and voting at a joint
sitting extend
the said period from year to year in the event of a
grave emergency
declared by Proclamation under section 94:
Provided
further that the Chamber of Deputies may be dissolved by the
President at
any time as provided by section 57.
86. (1)As soon as possible after the presentation to the
Chamber of
Deputies
under Chapter VII of the estimates of receipts and
estimates of
expenditure of the
Chamber
shall consider the estimates.
(2)Save in so
far as may be provided by specific enactment in each
case, the
legislation required by specific enactment in each case,
the legislation required to give effect to
the financial
resolutions
of each year shall be enacted within that year.
(3)The Chamber
of Deputies shall not pass any vote or resolution, and
no law shall
be enacted, for the appropriation of revenue or other
public
moneys, unless the purpose of the appropriation shall have
been
recommended to the Chamber by the Union Government.
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PART III. CHAMBER OF NATIONALITIES.
87. There shall be one hundred and twenty-five seats in
the Chamber of
Nationalities
as allocated in the Second Schedule to this
Constitution.
88. (1)A dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies shall
operate also as a
dissolution
of the Chamber of Nationalities.
(2)The general
election for the Chamber of Nationalities shall be
completed
not later than the fifteenth day from the first meeting
of the
Chamber of Deputies held after the dissolution.
89. The first meeting of the Chamber of Nationalities
after the general
election shall
take place on a date to be fixed by the President on
the advice of
the Prime Minister.
PART IV. POWER OF THE
PARLIAMENT
90. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the
sole and exclusive
power of making
laws in the
Provided that
an Act of the Parliament may authorize any person or
authority
therein specified to make rules and regulations consonant
with the Act
and having the force of law, subject, however, to such
rules and
regulations being laid before each Chamber of Parliament at
its next
ensuing session and subject to annulment by a motion carried
in both
Chambers within a period of three months of their being so
laid, without
prejudice, however, to the validity of any action
previously
taken under the rules or regulations.
91. Provision may, however, be made by law on principles
of regional
autonomy for
delegating to representative bodies of such regions as
may be defined
in the law, specified powers in administrative,
cultural and
economic matters. A law embodying such provisions shall
determine the
rights, powers and duties of such representative bodies
and their
relations to the Parliament and to the Union Government.
Page 24
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92. (1)The Parliament shall have power to make laws of
the whole or any
part of the
next
succeeding sub-section exclusively to the Shan Councils.
For greater
certainty, but not so as to restrict the generality of
the
foregoing terms of this section, it is hereby declared that,
notwithstanding anything in the next succeeding sub-section, the
exclusive
legislative authority of the Parliament shall extend to
all matters
enumerated in List I of the Third Schedule to this
Constitution
(hereinafter called “the Union Legislative List”).
Any matter
coming within any of the classes of subjects enumerated
in the said
List, shall not be deemed to come within the class of
matters of a
local or private nature comprised in the list of
subjects
assigned by the next succeeding sub-section exclusively to
the State
Councils.
(2)Each State
Council shall have power exclusively to make laws for
the State or
any part thereof with respect to any of the matters
enumerated
in List II of the said Schedule (hereinafter called “the
State
Legislative List”).
(3)Any State
Council may by resolution surrender any of its
territories
or any of its powers and rights to the
93. The powers exercisable by the
Union
Legislative List relating to the regulation of forces, mines and
oil-fields and
mineral development, shall be subject to the condition
that before the
issue of any certificate, licence, or other form of
authorization,
for the exploitation, development or utilization of any
forest, mine or
oil-field, the issuing authority shall consult the
Union Minister
for the State concerned.
Page 25
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94. (1)Notwithstanding anything in section 92, the
Parliament shall, if
the
President has declared by Proclamation (in this Constitution
referred to
as a “Proclamation of Emergency”), that a grave
emergency
exists whereby the security of the
whether by
war or internal disturbance, or that a grave economic
emergency
affecting the
have power
to make laws for a State or any part thereof with
respect to
any of the matters enumerated in the State Legislative
List.
(2)Nothing in
this section shall restrict the power of a State Council
to make any
law which, under this Constitution it has power to
make, but if
any provision of a State law is repugnant to any
provision of
a Union law which the Parliament has under this
section
power to make, the Union law, whether passed before or
after the
State law, shall prevail, and the State law shall, to the
extent of
the repugnancy, but so long as the Union law continues to
have effect,
be inoperative.
(3)A
Proclamation of Emergency –
(a) may be
revoked by a subsequent Proclamation, and
(b) shall
cease to operate at the expiration of six months, unless
before
the expiration of that period it has been approved by
resolutions of both Chambers of Parliament:
Provided
that, if and so often as a resolution approving the
continuance in force of such a Proclamation is passed by both
Chambers
of Parliament, the Proclamation shall, unless revoked,
continue
in force for a further period of twelve months from
the date
on which under this sub-section it would otherwise
have ceased to operate.
(4)A law made
by the Parliament which it would not but for the issue
of a
Proclamation of Emergency have been competent to make shall
cease to
have effect on the expiration of a period of six months
after the Proclamation has ceased to operate,
except as respects
things done
or omitted to be done before expiration of the said
period.
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95. If it appears to the State Councils of two or more
States to be
desirable that
any of the matters enumerated in the State Legislative
List should be
regulated in these States by an Act of the Parliament,
and if resolutions
to that effect are passed by those State Councils,
it shall be
lawful for the Parliament to pass an Act for regulating
that matter
accordingly; but any Act so passed may, as respects any
State to which
it applies, be amended or repealed by an Act of the
State Council.
96. (1)All revenue from the sources enumerated in the
Fourth Schedule to
this
Constitution shall form part of the revenues of the State in
or by which
they are raised or received.
(2)All revenues
other than such as are assigned to the States by the
last
preceding sub-section shall form part of the revenues of the
Provided
that the
of its
revenue in aid of the revenues of the units as it may
determine to
be necessary upon the recommendations of any Board or
other
authority appointed for the purpose.
97. (1)The right to raise and maintain military, naval
and air forces is
vested
exclusively in the Parliament.
(2)No military,
naval or air forces, or any military or semi-military
organization
of any kind (not being a police force maintained under
the
authority of any unit solely for duties connected with the
maintenance
of public order) other than the forces raised and
maintained
by the
raised or
maintained for any purpose whatsoever.
PART V. LEGISLATION
98. Every Bill initiated in and passed by the Chamber of
Deputies shall be
sent to the
Chamber of Nationalities and may, unless it be a Money
Bill, be
amended in the Chamber of Nationalities and sent back to the
Chamber of
Deputies for its consideration.
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99. Every Bill
other then a Money Bill, may be initiated in the Chamber
of
Nationalities and if passed by the Chamber, shall be sent to the
Chamber of
Deputies which may amend the Bill and sent it back to the
Chamber of
Nationalities for its consideration.
100. A Bill passed by one Chamber and accepted by the
other Chamber shall
be deemed to
have been passed by both Chambers of Parliament.
101. A Bill which appropriates revenue or money for the
ordinary annual
services of
the Government shall deal only with such appropriations.
102. Bills imposing taxation shall deal only with
imposition of taxation
and any
provision therein dealing with any other matter shall be of
no effect.
Money Bills
103. Money Bills shall be initiated in the Chamber of
Deputies only.
104. Every Money bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies
shall be sent to
the Chamber of
Nationalities for its recommendations.
105. (1)Every Money Bill sent to the Chamber of
Nationalities for its
recommendations shall, within twenty one days after it shall have
been sent
to the Chamber of Nationalities, be returned to the
Chamber of
Deputies which may accept or reject all or any of the
recommendations of the Chamber of Nationalities.
(2)If such
Money Bills is not returned by the Chamber of
Nationalities
to the Chamber of Deputies within twenty-one days or
is returned
within twenty-one days with recommendations which the
Chamber of
Deputies does not accept, it shall be deemed to have
been passed
by both Chambers at the expiration of twenty-one days.
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106. (1)A Money Bill means a Bill which contains only
provisions dealing
with all or
any of the following matters, namely, the imposition,
repeal,
remission, alternation or regulation of taxation; the
imposition,
for the payment of debt or other financial purposes,
of charges
on the revenues of the
of any such
charges; supply; the appropriation, receipt, custody,
issue or
audit of accounts of public money, the raising or
guaranteeing of any loan or the repayment thereof; matters
subordinate
and incidental to these matters or any of them.
(2)In this
definition the expressions “taxation”, “revenues of the
money or
loan raised by local authorities or bodies for local
purposes.
107. (1)The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies shall
certify any Bill
which in
his opinion is a Money Bill to be “a Money Bill” and his
certificate
shall, subject to the subsequent provisions of this
section, be
final and conclusive.
(2)The Chamber
of Nationalities may, by a resolution passed at a
sitting at
which not less than two-thirds of the total members are
present,
request the President to refer the question whether the
Bill is or
is not “a Money Bill” to a Committee of Privileges.
(3)If the
President in his discretion decides to accede to the
request, he
shall appoint a Committee of Privileges consisting of
an equal
number of members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the
Chamber of
Nationalities and a Chairman who shall be a judge of
the Supreme
Court.
(4)The
President shall refer the question to the Committee of
Privileges
so appoint and the Committee shall report its finding
thereon to
the President within twenty-one days after the day on
which the
Bill was sent to the Chamber of Nationalities.
(5)The
decision of the President, in his discretion, on such report
shall be
final.
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108. If the President, in his discretion, decides not to
accede to the
request of the
Chamber of Nationalities or if the Committee of
Privileges fails to report within the time
hereinbefore specified,
the
certificate of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies shall stand
confirmed.
109. If one Chamber passes any other Bill, and the other
Chamber rejects
or fails to pass
it, or passes it with amendments to which the
Chamber where
the Bill originated will not agree, the President shall
convene a
joint sitting of the two Chambers.
The members
present at the joint sitting may deliberate and shall
vote together
upon the Bill as last passed by the Chamber where the
Bill
originated and upon amendments, if any; which have been made
therein by the
other Chamber and if the Bill with the amendments, if
any, is passed
by a majority of the total number of members of both
Chambers
present and voting, it shall be deemed to have been passed
by both
Chambers:
Provided that
at a joint sitting –
(a)if the
Bill, having been passed by one Chamber is rejected by the
other
Chamber and returned to the Chamber in which it originated,
no
amendment shall be proposed to the Bill other than such
amendments,
if any, as are made necessary by the delay in the
passage of
the Bill;
(b)if the Bill
is, however, passed by the other Chamber with
amendments
and returned to the Chamber which it originated, only
such
amendments as aforesaid and such other amendments as are
relevant to
the matters with respect to which the Chambers have
not agreed,
shall be proposed to the Bill;
and the
decision of the person presiding as to the amendments which
are admissible
under this section shall be final.
110. (1)If at any time when both Chambers of Parliament
are not in
session,
the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which
render it
necessary for him to take immediate action, he may
promulgate
such ordinances as the circumstances appear to him to
require. An
Ordinance promulgated under this section shall have
the same
force and effect as an Act of the Parliament assented to
by the
President.
Page 30
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(2)Every such Ordinances shall be laid before both Chambers
of
Parliament within forty-five days from the date of
promulgation thereof, unless it shall have been withdrawn
earlier by the President, and shall cease to operate at
the expiration of fifteen days from the re-assembly of
the Chamber of Deputies or the Chamber of Nationalities,
whichever is later.
Provided that the President may, with the consent of both
Chambers of Parliament, extend the Ordinance for such
further period as may be deemed necessary.
(3)If
the Ordinance shall have been withdrawn within
forty-five days from the date of its promulgation, it
shall be laid before the Parliament in its next ensuing
session.
(4)If
and in so far as an Ordinance under this section makes
any provision which the Parliament
would not under this
Constitution be competent to enact, it shall be void.
Signing and Promulgation
111. (1)As soon as any Bill shall have been passed by
both Chambers of
Parliament,
it shall be presented to the President for his
signature
and promulgation as an Act in accordance with the
provisions
of this section.
(2)Save as
otherwise provided by this Constitution, every Bill so
presented
to the President shall be signed by him not later than
seven days
after the date of presentation.
(3)If any Bill
is not signed by the President within seven days after
the date of
presentation, the same shall become an Act in the like
manner as
if he had signed it on the last of the said seven days.
112. (1)Every Bill signed or deemed to have been signed
by the President
under this
Constitution shall become an Act on and from the date
on which
the Bill shall have been signed or be deemed to have been
signed.
(2)Every such
Act shall be promulgated by the President by
publication
under his direction in the official gazette. Every Act
shall come
into force on the date of such promulgation unless the
contrary
intention is expressed.
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113. The signed texts of Acts and Ordinances shall be
enrolled for record
in the office
of the Registrar of the Supreme Court and such signed
texts shall be
conclusive evidence of the provisions of such Acts and
Ordinances.
CHAPTER VII.
THE UNION GOVERNMENT
114. The Union Government shall consist of the Prime
Minister and other
members
appointed under section 56.
115. The Government shall be collectively responsible to
the Chamber of
Deputies.
116. A member of the Government who for any period of six
consecutive
months is not
a member of the Parliament shall at the expiration of
the period
case to be a member of the Government.
117. (1)The Prime Minister may resign from office at any
time by placing
his
resignation in the hands of the President.
(2)Any other
member of the Government may resign from office by
placing his
resignation in the hands of the Prime Minister for
submission
to the President and the resignation shall take effect
upon its
being accepted by the President under the next succeeding
sub-section.
(3)The
President shall accept the resignation of a member of the
Government,
other than the Prime Minister, if so advised by the
Prime
Minister.
118. The Prime Minister may, at any time, for reasons
which to him seem
sufficient
request a member of the Government to resign; should the
member
concerned fail to comply with the request, his appointment
shall be terminated by the President if the
Prime Minister so
advises.
119. The Prime Minister shall resign from office upon his
ceasing to
retain the
support of a majority in the Chamber of Deputies unless on
his advice the
President dissolves the Parliament under section 57
and on the
re-assembly of the Parliament after the dissolution the
Prime Minister
secures the support of a majority in the Chamber of
Deputies.
Page 32
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120. (1)If the Prime Minister at any time resigns from
office, the other
members of
the Government shall be deemed also to have resigned
from
office, but the Prime Minister and the other members of the
Government
shall continue to carry on their duties until their
successors
shall have been appointed.
(2)The members
of the Government in office at the date of dissolution
of the
Parliament shall continue to hold office until their
successors
shall have been appointed.
121. (1)All executive action of the Union Government
shall be expressed to
be taken in
the name of the President.
(2)Orders and
other instruments made and executed in the name of the
President
shall be authenticated in such manner as may be
specified
in rules to be made by the President and the validity of
an order or
instrument which is so authenticated shall not be
called in question on the ground that it is
not an order or
instrument
made or executed by the President.
(3)The
President shall make rules for the transaction of the business
of the
Union Government, and for the allocation among Ministers of
the said
business in so far as it is not business with respect to
which the
President is by or under this Constitution required to
act in his
discretion.
Without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions
the
allocation of business may be regionwise as well as
subjectwise.
122. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the
executive
authority of
the
(a)to the
matters with respect to which the Parliament has power to
make laws;
and
(b)to the
government, in accordance with the provisions of any treaty
or
agreement in this behalf, of any Armed Forces not raised in the
be
stationed in the
123. (1)War shall not be declared and the
any war
save and except with the assent of the Parliament.
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(2)In case of
actual or imminent invasion, however, the Government
may take
whatever steps they may consider necessary for the
protection
of the
be summoned
to meet at the earliest possible date.
124. The Prime Minister shall keep the President
generally informed on all
matter of
domestic and international policy.
125. (1)The Government shall prepare estimates of
receipts and estimates
of
expenditure of the
present
them to the Chamber of Deputies for consideration.
(2)The
procedure to be adopted in the Chambers of Parliament with
respect to
the submission of estimates of expenditure, the
appropriation of the revenue of the
connected
therewith shall, in so far as provision is not made in
that behalf
by this Constitution, be regulated in accordance with
law.
ATTORNEY – GENERAL
126. (1)The President shall appoint a person, being an
advocate of the
High Court,
to be Attorney - General on the nomination of the
Prime
Minister.
(2)It shall be
the duty of the Attorney – General to give advice to
the
Government upon legal matters and to perform such other duties
of a legal
character, as may, from time to time, be assigned to
him by the President.
127. (1)The Attorney – General may, at any time, resign
from office by
placing his
resignation in the hands of the Prime Minister for
submission
to the President.
(2)The Prime
minister may, for reasons which to him seem sufficient,
request the
resignation of the Attorney – General.
(3)In the
event of failure to comply with the request, the
appointment
of the Attorney – General shall be terminated by the
President
if the Prime Minister so advises.
(4)The
Attorney – General shall resign from office upon the
resignation
of the Prime Minister, but may continue to carry on
his duties
until the successor to the Prime Minister shall have
been
appointed.
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(5)Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Constitution,
the
office of the Attorney – General, including the
remuneration to be paid to the holder of the office, shall
be
regulated by law.
AUDITOR – GENERAL
128. There shall be an Auditor – General to control on
behalf of the
all
disbursements and to audit all accounts of moneys administered by
and under the
authority of the Parliament and the State Councils.
129. The Auditor – General shall be appointed by the
President with the
approval of
both Chambers of Parliament and shall only be removed
from office in
the like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of
the High
Court. The Auditor – General shall not be a member of either
Chamber of
Parliament nor shall he hold any other office or position
of emolument.
He shall not be eligible for further office in the
service of the
office.
130. Neither the salary of the Auditor – General nor his
rights in respect
of leave of
absence or pension shall be varied to his disadvantage
after his
appointment, unless he voluntarily agrees to any reduction
in his salary
in the event of general economy and retrenchment in
relation to
all the services of the
131. The Auditor – General shall submit to the Chamber of
Deputies, at
such periods
as may be determined by law, reports relating to the
accounts of
the
132. Subject to the foregoing provisions, the terms and
conditions of the
office of the
Auditor – General shall be determined by law.
CHAPTER VIII
UNION JUDICIARY
133. Justice throughout the
established by
this Constitution or by law and by judges appointed in
accordance
therewith.
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134. The Courts shall comprise Courts of first instance
and Courts of
appeal: -
(a)The Courts
of first instance shall include a High Court which
shall,
subject to law, have original and appellate jurisdiction
and power
to determine all matters and questions whether of law or
of fact.
(b)The head of
the High Court shall be called “the Chief Justice of
the High
Court”.
135. (1)The High Court shall have exclusive original
jurisdiction –
(a) in all
matters arising under any treaty made by the
(b) in all disputes between the
unit and
another;
(c) in such
other matters, if any, as may be defined by law.
(2)If the High
Court is satisfied that a case pending in any inferior
Court involves
or is likely to involve substantially a question of
the
validity of any law having regard to the provisions of this
Constitution, the High Court shall transfer the case to itself for
trial.
136. (1)The Court of final appeal shall be called “the
Supreme Court”.
(2)The head of
the Supreme Court shall be called “the Chief Justice
of the
(3)Without
prejudice to the powers conferred upon the Supreme Court
by any
other provisions of this Constitution, the Court shall,
with such
exceptions and subject to such regulations as may be
prescribed
by law, have appellate jurisdiction form all decisions
of the High
Court, and shall also have appellate jurisdiction from
such decisions of other Courts as may be
prescribed by law.
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137. No law shall be enacted excepting from the appellate
jurisdiction of
the Supreme
Court cases which involve questions as to the validity of
any law having
regard to the provisions of this Constitution.
138. The decisions of the Supreme Court shall in all
cases be final.
139. (1) Every person appointed a judge of the Supreme
Court and of the
High Court
under this Constitution shall make and subscribe the
following
declaration: -
“I … do
solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will
duly and
faithfully to the best of my knowledge and ability
execute
the office of the Chief Justice (or judge as the case may
be)
without fear or favour, affection or ill-will towards any
man, and
that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws.”
(2) This declaration shall be made and
subscribed by the Chief
Justice of
the
each of
the other judges of the Supreme Court and of the judges
of the
High Court in the presence of the Chief Justice of the
(3) The
declaration shall be made and subscribed by every judge
before
entering upon his duties as such judge, and in any case
not later
than ten days after the date of his appointment or such
later date
as may be determined by the President.
(4) Any judge
who declines or neglects to make such declaration as
aforesaid
shall be deemed to have declined to accept the
appointment.
140. (1) The Chief Justice of the
President
by an order under his hand and seal, with the approval
of both
Chambers of the Parliament in joint sitting.
(2) All the
other judges of the Supreme Court and all the judges of
the High
Court shall be appointed by the President by an order
under his
hand and seal, with the approval of both Chambers of
the
Parliament in joint sitting.
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141. All judges shall be independent in the exercise of
their judicial
functions and
subject only to this Constitution and the laws.
142. (1)A person shall not be qualified for appointment
as a judge of the
Supreme
Court unless he is a citizen of the
parents
were born in any of the territories included within the
the
(a) has
been for at least five years a judge of the High Court of
Judicature at
this
Constitution; or
(b) is an
advocate of the High Court of at least fifteen years’
standing:
Provided
that a person shall not be qualified for appointment as
Chief
Justice of the
(i) is, or
when first appointed to judicial office was, an
advocate, and
(ii) is an
advocate of at least fifteen years’ standing.
(2)A person
shall not be qualified for appointment as a judge of the
High Court
unless he is a citizen of the
(a) is an
advocate of at least ten years’ standing; or
(b) has
for at least five years held judicial office in
in the
judge
or Chief Judge of the
Page 38
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Provided
that a person all not be qualified for appointment as the
Chief
Justice of the High Court unless he –
(i) is, or
when first appointed to judicial office was, an
advocate, and
(ii) an
advocate of at least fifteen years’ standing.
(3)In
computing for the purpose of this section the standing of an
advocate,
any period during which he has held judicial office
after he
became an advocate shall be included.
143. (1)A judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court
may by resignation
under his
hand addressed to the President resign his office.
(2)A judge of
the Supreme Court or of the High Court shall not be
removed
from office except for proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
(3)The charge
shall be preferred by either Chamber of Parliament
subject to
and in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(3)A personal
to either Chamber of Parliament to prefer a charge
under this
section shall not be entertained except upon a notice
of
resolution signed by not less than one-fourth of the total
membership
of that Chamber.
(4)A personal
to either Chamber of Parliament to prefer a charge
under this
section shall not be entertained except upon a notice
of
resolution signed by not less than one-fourth of the total
membership
of that Chamber.
(5)No such
proposal shall be adopted by either Chamber of Parliament
save upon a
resolution of that Chamber, supported by a majority of
the members
present.
(6)Where the
charge relates to a judge of the Supreme Court it shall
be
investigated by a Special Tribunal consisting of the President
or a person
appointed by him in his discretion, the Speaker of the
Chamber of
Nationalities and the Speaker of the Chamber of
Deputies.
Where the
charge relates to a judge of the High Court it shall be
investigated
by a Special Tribunal consisting of the Chief Justice of
the
Speaker of the
Chamber of Deputies.
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(7)The judge
against whom the charge is preferred shall have the
right to
appear and to be represented at the investigation of the
charge.
(8)The Special
Tribunal shall, after investigation, submit its report
to the
Chamber by which the charge was preferred. The finding of
the Special
Tribunal declaring that the charge has not been
proved, if
unanimous, shall be final. But in all other cases, the
report of
the Special Tribunal shall be considered by both
Chambers of
Parliament in joint sitting.
If, after
consideration, a resolution be passed supported by a
majority of
the members present and voting at the joint sitting
declaring
that the charge preferred against the judge has been
proved and
that the misbehaviour was, or incapacity is, such as to
render him
unfit to continue in office, the President shall
forthwith
by an order under his hand and seal remove from office
the judge
to whom it relates.
144. Neither the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court
or of the High
Court nor his
rights in respect of leave of absence or pension shall
be varied to
his disadvantage after his appointment, unless he
voluntarily
agrees to any reduction in his salary in the event of
general
economy and retrenchment in relation to all the services of
the Union.
145. If the office the Chief Justice of the Union or of
the Chief Justice
of the High
Court becomes vacant, or if either of them is, by reason
of absence or
for any other reason, unable to perform the duties of
his office,
those duties shall, until some person appointed to the
vacant office
has entered on the duties thereof, or until the Chief
Justice of the
Union or of the High Court, as the case may be, has
resumed his
duties, be performed by such other judge of the Supreme
Court or of
the High Court as the President may appoint for the
purpose.
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146. (1)If at any time there should not be a quorum of
the judges of the
Supreme
Court available to hold or continue any session of the
Court,
owing to a vacancy or vacancies, or to the absence through
illness or
on leave or in the discharge of other duties assigned
by statute
or otherwise, or to the disqualification of a judge or
judges, the
Chief Justice or any acting Chief Justice of the
Union, or
in their absence, the senior puisne judge, may in
writing request the attendance at the
sitting of the Court, for
such period
as may be necessary, of a judge of the High Court, to
be
designated in writing by the Chief Justice or any acting Chief
Justice or
in their absence the senior puisne judge of the Supreme
Court.
(2)It shall be
the duty of the judge, whose attendance has been so
requested
or who has been so designated, in priority to the other
duties of
his office, to attend the sittings of the Supreme Court
at the time
and for the period for which his attendance shall be
required,
and while so attending he shall possess the powers and
privileges
and shall discharge the duties of a puisne judge of the
Supreme
Court.
147. If the office of any puisne judge of the High Court
becomes vacant,
or if any such
judge is by reason of absence, or for any other
reason, unable
to perform the duties of his office, the President may
in his
discretion appoint a person duly qualified for appointment as
a judge to act
as a judge of the Court, and the person so appointed
shall, unless
the President in his discretion thinks fit to revoke
his
appointment, be deemed to be a judge of the Court, until some
person
appointed under sub-section (2) of section 140 of this
Constitution
to the vacant office has entered on the duties thereof,
or until the
permanent judge has resumed his duties.
148. The Supreme Court and the High Court shall be courts
of record and
shall sit in
the capital city of the Union and at such other place or
places as the
President may, after consultation with the Chief
Justice of the
Union from time to time, appoint:
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Provided that
one or more judges of the High Court shall sit at such
place in the
Shan State as the President may, after consultation with
the Chief
Justice of the Union from time to time, appoint.
149. Subject to the foregoing provisions of this
Constitution relating to
the Courts,
the following matters shall be regulated in accordance
with law: -
(i) The number
of judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court,
the
remuneration, age of retirement and pension of such judges;
and
(ii)The
constitution and organization of such Courts, the
distribution of business among the Courts and judges, their
jurisdiction and all matters of procedure.
150. Nothing in this Constitution shall operate to
invalidate the exercise
of limited
functions and powers of a judicial nature by any person or
body of
persons duly authorized by law to exercise such functions or
powers
notwithstanding that such person or such body or persons is
not a judge or
a Court appointed or established as such under this
Constitution.
151. (1) If at any time it appears to the President that
a question of law
has
arisen, or is likely to raise, which is of such a nature and
of such
public importance that it is expedient to obtain the
opinion of
the Supreme Court upon it, he may refer the question
to that
Court for consideration, and the Court may, after such
hearing as
it thinks fit, report to the President thereon.
(2) No report
shall be made under this section save in accordance
with an
opinion delivered in open Court with the concurrence of a
majority
of the judges present at the hearing of the case, but
nothing in
this sub-section shall be deemed to prevent a judge
who does
not concur from delivering a dissenting opinion.
152. The law declared by the Supreme Court shall, so far
as applicable, be
recognized as
binding on, and shall be followed by, all Courts within
the
territories subject to the jurisdiction of the Union.
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153. The Parliament may make provision by an Act for
conferring upon the
Supreme Court
such supplemental powers not inconsistent with any of
the provisions
of this Constitution as may appear to be necessary or
desirable for
the purpose of enabling the Court more effectively to
exercise the
jurisdiction conferred upon it by under this
Constitution.
CHAPTER IX
PART I
THE SHAN STATE
The Shan State Council
154. (1)All the members of the Parliament representing
the Shan State
shall
constitute the Shan State Council.
(2)All the
representative from the Shan State in the Chamber of
Nationalities shall be elected by the Saohpas of the Shan State
from among
themselves. The Saohpas shall not be eligible for
membership
of the Chamber of Deputies.
(3)Any member
of the State Council who shall have ceased to be a
member of
the Parliament shall be deemed to have vacant his seat
in the
Council, but may continue to carry on his duties until his
successor
shall have been elected.
155. The State Council may recommend to the Parliament
the passing of any
law relating
to any matter in respect of which the Council is not
competent to
legislate.
156. When a Bill has been passed by the State Council it
shall be
presented to
the President for his signature and promulgation. The
President
shall sign the Bill within one month from the presentation
of the Bill,
unless he refers the Bill to the Supreme Court for its
decision under
the next succeeding section.
157. (1)The President may, in his discretion, refer any
Bill presented to
him under
the last preceding section to the Supreme Court for
decision on
the question whether such Bill or any specified
provision
thereof is repugnant to this Constitution.
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(2)The Supreme
Court, consisting of not less than three judges, shall
consider
the question referred to it and, after such hearing as it
thinks fit,
shall pronounce its decision on such question in open
Court as
soon as may be, and in any case not later than thirty
days after
the date of such reference. The decision of the
majority of
the judges shall, for the purposes of this section, be
the
decision of the Court.
(3)In every
case in which the Supreme Court decides that any
provision
of the Bill, the subject of a reference to the Supreme
Court under
this section, is repugnant to this Constitution, the
President
shall return the Bill to the State Council for
reconsideration and shall decline to sign it unless the necessary
amendments
shall have been made thereto.
(4)In every
other case, the President shall sign the Bill and
promulgate
the Act as soon as may be after the decision of the
Supreme
Court shall have been pronounced.
(5)When the
President has signed a Bill presented to him under the
last
preceding section whether without or after a reference to the
Supreme
Court, the validity of any provision of the Bill shall not
be called
in question on the ground that it was beyond the
competence of
the State Council.
158. The signed text of every Act shall be enrolled for
record in the
office of the
Registrar of the Supreme Court and a copy of the same
shall be
enrolled for record in the office of the Minister for the
Shan State.
159. The Head of the Shan State many from time to time
summon and prorogue
the State
Council:
Provided that
there shall be a session of the State Council once at
least in every
year so that a period of twelve months shall not
intervene
between the last sitting of the Council in one session and
its first
sitting in the next session.
GOVERNMENT OF THE SHAN STATE
160. A member of the Union Government to be known as the
Minister for the
Shan State
shall be appointed by the President on the nomination of
the Prime
Minister acting in consultation with the Shan State Council
from among the
members of the Parliament representing the Shan State.
The Minister
so appointed shall also be the Head of the Shan State
for the
purposes of this Constitution.
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161. (1)The Head of the State shall be in charge of the administration
of
the State
that is to say, the executive authority of the State
shall be
exercised by the Head of the State either directly or
through
officers subordinate to him.
(2)Without
prejudice to the generality of the provisions of the next
succeeding
section, the said executive authority shall extend to
all matters
relating to recruitment to the State civil services to
postings
and transfers, and to disciplinary matters relating to
these services.
162. (1)Subject to the provisions of this Constitution,
the executive
authority
of the State extends to the matters with respect to
which the
State Council has power to make laws, and in all such
matters the
decision of the Council shall be binding on the Head
of the
State.
(2)The Head of
the State shall consult the State Council in all other
matters
relating to the State.
(3)In order to
facilitate the communication of the decisions and the
views of
the State Council to the Head of the State, the Council
shall at
its first meeting after a general election elect from
among its
members or otherwise a Cabinet of State Ministers to aid
and advise
the Head of the State in the exercise of his functions.
163. The Head of the State shall give or cause to be
given an account of
his work to
the State Council in each ordinary session, present or
cause to be
presented to the Council a report upon all matters
relating to
the State, and recommend for the consideration of the
Council such
measures as he thinks fit for promoting the general
welfare.
164. (1)The Head of the State shall prepare or cause to
be prepared the
estimates
of the receipts and of the expenditure of the State for
each
financial year and shall present them or cause them to be
presented
to the State Council for consideration.
(2)Subject to
any conditions that may be imposed by the Union in
respect of
any contributions from the Union, the State Council
shall have
power to approve the budget of the State Council shall
have power
to approve the budget of the State; and in order to
enable the
President to satisfy himself that the conditions have
been duly
observed, such budget shall be incorporated in the Union
budget.
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165. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, all
matters relating
to the
Constitution of the State including those relating to the
powers and
duties of the Head of the State, of the State Council and
of the Cabinet
of State ministers, and their relations to each other
and to the
Union Government shall be determined by law.
PART II
THE KACHIN STATE
The Kachin State Council
166. (1)All the members of the Parliament representing
the Kachin State
shall
constitute the Kachin State Council.
(2)Of the
twelve seats in the Chamber of Nationalities six shall be
filled by
representatives of the Kachins and the other six by
those of
the non-Kachins of the Kachin State.
(3)Any member
of the State Council who shall have ceased to be a
member of
the Parliament shall be deemed to have vacated his seat
in the
Council, but may continue to carry on his duties until his
successor
shall have been elected.
167. (1)A Bill prejudicially affecting any right or
privilege which the
Kachins or
the non-Kachins, as a class or community, enjoyed
immediately
before the commencement of this Constitution, shall
not be
deemed to have been passed by the Council unless the
majority of
the members representing the Kachins or the
non-Kachins, as the case may be, present and voting, have voted in
its favour.
(2)If any
question arises in the State Council whether a Bill is of
the
character described in the last preceding sub-section, the
presiding
officer shall take the vote of the members representing
the Kachins
and those representing the non-Kachins in the Council
separately
on such question and if a majority of either class of
members
vote in the affirmative, the Bill shall be deemed to be of
the
character mentioned.
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168. The State Council may recommend to the Parliament
the passing of any
law relating
to any matter in respect of which the Council is not
competent to
legislate.
169. When a Bill has passed by the State Council it shall
be presented to
the President
for his signature and promulgation. The President shall
sign the Bill
within one month from the presentation of the Bill,
unless he
refers the Bill to the Supreme Court for its decision under
the next
succeeding section.
170. (1)The President may, in his discretion, refer any
Bill presented to
him under
the last preceding section to the Supreme Court for
decision on the question whether such Bill or
any specified
provision
thereof is repugnant to this Constitution.
(2)The Supreme
Court, consisting of not less than three judges, shall
consider
the question referred to it and, after such hearing as it
thinks fit,
shall pronounce its decision on such question in open
Court as
soon as may be, and in any case not later than thirty
days after
the date of such reference. The decision of the
majority of
the judges shall, for the purpose of this section, be
the
decision of the Court.
(3)In every
case in which the Supreme Court decides that any
provision
of the Bill, the subject of a reference to the Supreme
Court under
this section, is repugnant to this Constitution, the
President
shall return the Bill to the State Council for
reconsideration and shall decline to sign it unless the necessary
amendments
shall have been made thereto.
(4)In every
other case, the President shall sign the Bill and
promulgate
the Act as soon as may be after the decision of the
Supreme
Court shall have been pronounced.
(5)When the
President has signed a Bill presented to him under the
last
preceding section whether without or after a reference to the
Supreme
Court, the validity of any provision of the Bill shall not
be called
in question on the ground that it was beyond the
competence
of the State Council.
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171. The signed text of every Act shall be enrolled for
record in the
office of the
Registrar of the Supreme Court and a copy of the same
shall be
enrolled for record in the office of the Minister for the
Kachin State.
172. The Head of the Kachin State may from time to time
summon and
prorogue the
State Council:
Provided that
there shall be a session of the State Council once at
least in every
year so that a period of twelve months shall not
intervene
between that last sitting of the Council in one session and
its first
sitting in the next session.
GOVERNMENT OF THE KACHIN STATE
173. A member of the Union Government to be known as the
Minister for the
Kachin State
shall be appointed by the President on the nomination of
the Prime
Minister acting in consultation with the Kachin State
Council from among
the Kachin members of the Parliament representing
the Kachin
State. The Minister so appointed shall also be the Head of
the Kachin
State for the purpose of this Constitution.
174. (1)The Head of the State shall be in charge of the
administration of
the State;
that is to say, the executive authority of the State
shall be
exercised by the Head of the State either directly or
through
officers subordinate to him.
(2)Without
prejudice to the generality of the provisions of the next
succeeding
section, the said executive authority shall extend to
all matters
relating to recruitment to the State civil services,
to postings
and transfers, and to disciplinary matters relating to
these
services:
Provided
that in respect of areas where the non-Kachins form the
majority of
the population, the Head of the State shall act only
in
consultation with the members representing the non-Kachins in
the Cabinet
in all such matters.
175. (1)Subject to the provisions of this Constitution,
the executive
authority
of the State extends to the matters with respect to
which the
State Council has power to make laws, and in all such
matters the
decision of the Council shall be binding on the Head
of the
State.
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(2)The Head of
the States shall consult the State Council in all
other
matters relating to the State.
(3)In order to
facilitate the communication of the decision and the
views of
the State Council to the Head of the State, the Council
shall at
its first meeting after a general election elect from
among its
members or otherwise a Cabinet of State Ministers to aid
and advise
the Head of the State in the exercises of his
functions:
Provided
that not less than one-half of the members of the Cabinet
shall be
non-Kachins.
176. The Head of the State shall give or cause to be
given an account of
his work to
the State Council in each ordinary session, present or
cause to be
presented to the Council, a report upon all matter
relating to
the State, and recommend for the consideration of the
Council such
measures as he thinks fit for promoting the general
welfare.
177. (1)The Head of the State shall prepare or cause to
be prepared the
estimates
of the receipts and of the expenditure of the State for
each
financial year and shall present them or cause them to be
presented
to the State Council for consideration.
(2)Subject to
any conditions that may be imposed by the Union in
respect of any contributions from the
Union, the State Council
shall have
power to approve the budget of the State; and in order
to enable
the President to satisfy himself that the conditions
have been
duly observed, such budget shall be incorporated in the
Union
budget.
178. The provisions of Chapter X of this Constitution
shall not apply to
the Kachin
State.
179. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, all
matters relating
to the
Constitution of the State including those relating to the
powers and
duties of the Head of the State, of the State Council and
of the Cabinet
of State Ministers, and their relations to each other
and to the
Union Government shall be determined by law.
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PART III
THE KAREN STATE
180. (1)The following areas, viz.,
(a) the
Karenni State,
(b) the
Salween District and
(c) such
adjacent areas occupied by the Karens as may be
determined by a Special Commission to be appointed by the
President shall, if the majority of the people of these three
areas
and of the Karens living in Burma outside these areas so
desire,
form a constituent unit of the Union of Burma to be
known
as the Karen State, which shall thereupon have the same
status as the Shan State.
(2)The
procedure for ascertaining the desire of the majority in each
of the case
mentioned in the last preceding sub-section shall be
such as may
be prescribed by the law of the Union.
KAW-THU-LAY
181. Until the Karen State is constituted under the last
preceding
section, the
Salween District, and such adjacent areas occupied by
the Karens as
may be determined by a Special Commission to be
appointed by
the President, shall be a Special Region to be known as
Kaw-thu-lay,
subject to the following provisions: -
(1)All the
members of the Chamber of Deputies representing Karens
shall
constitute the Karen Affairs Council. They shall co-opt not
more than
five members of the Chamber of Nationalities
representing Karens.
(2)A Member of
the Union Government to be known as “the Minister for
Karen
Affairs” shall be appointed by the President on the
nomination of the Prime Minister, acting in
consultation with the
Karen
Affairs Council, from amongst the members of the Parliament
representing Kaerns.
(3)Subject to
the powers of the Union Government –
(i) the
general administration of the Kaw-thu-lay Special Region
and in
particular all matters relating to recruitment to the
civil
service in Kaw-thu-lay, to postings and transfers, and
to
disciplinary matters relating to these services;
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(ii) all matter relating to schools and cultural
institutions for Karens, and
(iii) all matters affecting the special
rights of the
Karens under this Constitution shall be under the
superintendence, direction and control of the
Minister for Karen Affairs.
(4)The Karen Affairs Council shall
aid and advise the
Minister in the discharge of his duties.
(5)Any
member of the Council who shall have ceased to be a
member of the Parliament shall be deemed to have vacated
his
seat in the Council but he may continue to carry on
his
duties until his successor shall have been elected.
(6)Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, all
matters relating to the powers and duties of the Minister
and
of the Council and their relations to each other and
to
the Union Government shall be determined by law.
PART IV
THE KARENNI STATE
182. (1)The territory heretofore known as Mongpai State
in the Federated
Shan States
shall be acceded to the Karenni State if the majority
of the
people of the territory so desire.
(2)The
procedure for ascertaining the desire of the majority shall be
such as may
be prescribed by law.
183. (1)Until the Parliament otherwise provides –
(i) The Sawphyas of Kantarawaddy, Bawlake and
Kyebogyi shall
represent the Karenni State in the Chamber of Nationalities;
(ii) The
Saohpa of Mongpai shall also be one of the
representatives of the Karenni State in the Chamber of
Nationalities on the accession of Mongpai to the Karenni
State under the last preceding section;
(iii) The
Sawphyas and the Saohpa shall not be eligible for
membership of the Chamber of Deputies.
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(2)All the
members of the Parliament representing the Karenni State
shall
constitute the Karenni State shall constitute the Karenni
State
Council.
(3)Any member
of the State Council who shall have ceased to be a
member of
the Parliament shall be deemed to have vacated his seat
in the
Council, but may continue to carry on his duties until his
successor
shall have been elected.
184. The State Council may recommend to the Parliament
the passing of any
law relating
to any matter in respect of which the Council is not
competent to
legislate.
185. When a Bill has been passed by the State Council it
shall be
presented to
the President for his signature and promulgation. The
President
shall sign the Bill within one month from the presentation
of the Bill,
unless he refers the Bill to the Supreme Court for its
decision under
the next succeeding section.
186. (1)The President may, in his discretion, refer any
Bill presented to
him under
the last preceding section to the Supreme Court for
decision on
the question whether such Bill or any specified
provision
thereof is repugnant to this Constitution.
(2)The Supreme
Court, consisting of not less than three judges, shall
consider
the question referred to it and, after such hearing as it
thinks fit,
shall pronounce its decision on such question in open
Court as
soon as may be, and in any case not later than thirty
days after
the date of such reference.
(3)In every
case in which the Supreme Court decides that any
provision
of the Bill, the subject of a reference to the Supreme
Court under
this section, is repugnant to this Constitution, the
President
shall return the Bill to the State Council for
reconsideration and shall decline to sign it unless the necessary
amendments
shall have been made thereto.
(4)In every
other case, the President shall sign the Bill and
promulgate
the Act as soon as may be after the decision of the
Supreme
Court shall have been pronounced.
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(5)When the
President has signed a Bill presented to him under the
last
preceding section, whether without or after a reference to
the Supreme
Court, the validity of any provision of the Bill shall
not be
called in question on the ground that it was beyond the
competence
of the State Council.
187. The signed text of every Act shall be enrolled for
record in the
office of the
Register of the Supreme Court and a copy of the same
shall be
enrolled for record in the office of the Minister for the
Karenni State.
188. The Head of the Karenni State may from time to time
summon and
prorogue the
State Council;
Provided that
there shall be a session of the State Council once at
least in every
year so that a period of twelve months shall not
intervene
between the last sitting of the Council in one session and
its first
sitting in the next session.
GOVERNMENT OF THE KARENNI STATE
189. A member of the Union Government to be known as the
Minister for the
Karenni State
shall be appointed by the President on the nomination
of the Prime
Minister acting in consultation with the Karenni State
Council from
among the members of the Parliament representing the
karenni State.
The Minister so appointed shall also be the Head of
the Karenni
State for the purposes of this Constitution.
190. (1)The Head of the State shall be in charge of the
administration of
the State, that is to say, the executive
authority of the State
shall be
exercised by the Head of the State either directly or
through
officers subordinate to him.
(2)Without
prejudice to the generality of the provisions of the next
succeeding
section, the said executive authority shall extend to
all matter
relating to recruitment to the State civil services, to
postings
and transfers, and to disciplinary matters relating to
these
services.
191. (1)Subject to the provisions of this Constitution,
the executive
authority
of the State extends to the matters with respect to
which the
State Council has power to make laws, and in all such
matters the
decision of the Council shall be binding on the Head
of the
State.
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(2)The Head of
the State shall consult the State Council in all other
matters relating to the State.
(3)In order to
facilitate the communication of the decisions and the
views of
the State Council to the Head of the State, the Council
may at its
first meeting after a general election elect from among
its members
or otherwise a State Minister or Ministers to aid and
advise the
Head of the State in the exercise of his functions.
192. The Head of the States shall give or cause to be
given an account of
his work to
the State Council in each ordinary secession, present or
cause to be
presented to the Council a report upon all matters
relating to
the State, and recommend for the consideration of the
Council such
measure as he thinks fit for promoting the general
welfare.
193. (1)The Head of the State shall prepare or cause to
be prepared the
estimates
of the receipts and of the expenditure of the State for
each
financial year and shall present them or cause them to be
presented
to the State Council for consideration.
(2)Subject to
any conditions that may be imposed by the Union in
respect of
any contributions from the Union, the State Council
shall have
power to approve the budget of the State; and in order
to enable
the President to satisfy himself that the conditions
have been
duly observed, such budget shall be incorporated in the
Union
budget.
194. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, all
matter relating
to the
Constitution of the State including those relating to the
powers and
duties of the Head of the State, of the State Council and
of the State
Minister or Ministers and their relations to each other
and to the
Union Government shall be determined by law.
195. All the provisions in this Part (Part IV of Chapter
IX) shall cease
to have effect
if and when the Karen State is constituted under
section 180.
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PART V
SPECIAL DIVISION OF THE CHINS
196. There shall be a Special Division of the Chins
comprising such areas
in the Chin
Hills District and the Arakan Hill Tracks as may be
determined by
the President.
197. (1)A Chin Affairs Council shall be constituted
consisting of all the
members of
the Parliament representing the Chins.
(2)A member of
the Union Government to be known as “the Minister for
Chin
Affairs” shall be appointed by the President on the
nomination
of the Prime Minister, acting in consultation with the
Chin
Affairs Council, from amongst the members of the Parliament
representing
the Chins.
(3)Subject to
the powers of the Union Government –
(i) the
general administration of the Special Division and in
particular all matters relating to recruitment to the civil
services in the Special Division, to postings and transfers,
and to
disciplinary matters relating to these services, and
(ii) all
matters relating to schools and cultural institutions in
the
Special Division
shall be
under the superintendence, direction and control of the
Minister in
the discharge of his duties.
(4)The Chin
Affairs Council shall aid and advise the Minister in the
discharge
of his duties.
(5)Any member
of the Council who shall have ceased to be a member of
the
Parliament shall be deemed to have vacated his seat in the
Council but
he may continue to carry on his duties until his
successor
shall have been elected.
198. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, all
matters relating
to the powers
and duties of the Minister and of the Council and their
relations to
each other and to the Union Government shall be
determined by
law.
PART VI
NEW STATES
199. The Parliament may by an Act admit to the Union a
new State upon such
terms and
conditions including the extent of representation of the
State in the
Parliament as may be specified in the Act.
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200. The Parliament may by an Act, with the consent of
the Council of
every State
whose boundaries are affected thereby –
(a) establish a new unit;
(b) increase the area of any unit;
(c) diminish the area of any unit;
(d) alter the boundaries of any unit;
and may, with
the like consent, make such supplemental, incidental
and
consequential provisions as the Parliament may deem necessary or
proper.
CHAPTER X
RIGHT OF SECESSION
201. Save as otherwise expressly provided in this
Constitution or in any
Act of
Parliament made under section 199, every State shall have the
right to
secede from the Union in accordance with the conditions
hereinafter
prescribed.
202. The right of secession shall not be exercised within
ten years from
the date on
which this Constitution comes into operation.
203. (1)Any State wishing to exercise the right of
secession shall have a
resolution
to that effect passed by its State Council. No such
resolution
shall be deemed to have been passed unless not less
than
two-thirds of the total number of members of the State
Council
concerned have voted in its favour.
(2)The Head of
the State concerned shall notify the President of any
such
resolution passed by the Council and shall send him a copy of
such
resolution certified by the Chairman of the Council by which
it was
passed.
204. The President shall thereupon order a plebiscite to
be taken for the
purpose of
ascertaining the will of the people of the State
concerned.
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205. The President shall appoint a Plebiscite Commission
consisting an
equal number
of members representing the Union and the State
concerned in
order to supervise the plebiscite.
206. Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, all
matter relating to the
exercise of
the right of secession shall be regulated by law.
CHAPTER XI
AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
207. Any provision of this Constitution may be amended,
whether by way of
variation,
addition, or repeal, in the manner hereinafter provided.
208. (1)Every proposal for an amendment of this
Constitution shall be in
the form of
a Bill and shall be expressed as a Bill to amend the
Constitution.
(2)A Bill
containing a proposal or proposals for the amendment of the
Constitution shall contain no other proposals.
209. (1)Such Bill may be initiated in either Chamber of
Parliament.
(2)After it
has been passed by each of the Chambers of Parliament,
the Bill
shall be considered by both Chambers in joint sitting.
(3)The Bill
shall be deemed to have been passed by both Chambers in
joint
sitting only when not less than two-thirds of the then
members of
both Chambers have voted in its favour.
(4)A Bill
which seeks to amend –
(a) the
State Legislative List in the Third Schedule, or
(b) the
State Revenue list in the Fourth Schedule, or
(c) an Act
of the Parliament making a declaration under paragraph
(iv) of
sub-section (1) of section 74 removing the
disqualification of any persons for membership of the
Parliament as representative from any of the States.
shall not be
deemed to have been passed at the joint sitting of the
Chamber unless
a majority of the members present and voting,
representing
the State or each of the States concerned, as the case
may be, have
voted in its favour.
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(5)A Bill
seeks to abridge any special rights conferred by this
Constitution on Karens or Chins shall not be deemed to have been
passed by
the Chambers in joint sitting unless a majority of the
members
present and voting, representing the Karens or the Chins,
as the case may be, have voted in its favour.
210. Upon the Bill being passed in accordance with the
foregoing
provisions of
this Chapter, it shall be presented to the President
who shall
forthwith sign and promulgate the same.
CHAPTER XII
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
211. The Union of Burma renounces war as an instrument of
national policy,
and accepts
the generally recognized principle of international law
as its rule of
conduct in its relation with foreign States.
212. The Union of Burma affirms its devoting to the ideal
of peace and
friendly
co-operation amongst nations founded on international
justice and
morality.
213. (1)Every international agreement to which the Union
becomes a party
shall be
laid before the Parliament.
(2)No
international agreement requiring or likely to require
legislation
in order to give effect thereto shall be ratified
except with
the approval of the parliament.
(3)No
international agreement involving a charge upon the revenues of
the Union
shall be ratified unless the terms of the agreement
shall have
been approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
Explanation. –
This section shall not apply to inter-governmental
agreements or
conventions of a technical or administrative character.
214. No international agreement as such shall be part of
the municipal law
of the Union,
save as may be determined by the Parliament.
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CHAPTER XIII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
215. The National Flag shall be rectangular in shape and
red in colour
with a canton
of dark blue. In the canton shall be a five-pointed
large white
star with five smaller similar stars between points. One
of the five
points of each star, large or small, shall direct
upwards. The
dimensions of the Flag shall be nine feet by five feet
and the canton
shall be four feet by two an a half feet. The size of
the large star
shall be such that a circle drawn through the five
points shall
have a diameter of eighteen inches and the smaller stars
nine inches.
National Flags of other sizes shall conform as nearly as
possible to
the above proportions.
216. The official language of the Union shall be Burmese,
provided that
the use of the
English language may be permitted.
217. Two copies of the Constitution shall be made, one in
the Burmese
language and
the other in the English language, both copies to be
signed by the
President of the Constituent Assembly and enrolled for
record in the office of the Registrar of the
Supreme Court. Such
copies shall
be conclusive evidence of the provisions of this
Constitution.
218. No certificate, licence or other form of
authorization for the
operation of
any public utility service shall be granted by the Union
or by a State
except to –
(i)
organizations controlled by the Union or by a State or by local
authorities, or
(ii) citizens
of the Union, or
(iii)companies
or other associations organized under the laws in
force in
the Union, not less than sixty per cent of whose
capital
is owned by the Union or by any State or by any local
authority
or by citizens of the Union;
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nor shall such
certificate, licence or authorization be granted by
the Union or
by a State to any individual, firm or company for a
longer period
than twenty-five years and except under the condition
that it shall
be subject to amendment, alternation or repeal by law
when the
public interest so requires.
219. All timber and mineral lands, forests, water,
fisheries, minerals,
coal, petroleum
and other mineral oils, all sources of potential
energy and
other natural resources shall be exploited and developed
by the Union;
provided that subject to such specific exceptions as
may be
authorized by an Act of Parliament in the interest of the
Union, the
Union may grant the right of exploration, development or
utilization of
the same to the citizens of the Union or to companies
or
associations at least sixty per cent of the capital of which is
owned by such
citizens:
Provided
further that no such right shall be granted by the Union
except under
the condition that it shall be subject to amendment,
alternation or
repeal by the Parliament when the public interest so
requires.
No
certificate, licence, or other form of authorization for the
exploitation,
development or utilization of any of the aforesaid
natural
resources of the Union shall be granted in future for a
period
exceeding twenty-five years.
220. Subject to such specific exceptions as may be
authorized by an Act of
Parliament in
the interest of the Union, the Union shall not grant
any
agricultural land for the exploitation, development or
utilization to
any persons other than the citizens of the Union.
221. The Parliament shall, be law, set up a Public
Service Commission to
assist the
Union Government in matters relating to recruitment to the
civil services
of the Union, and to advise in disciplinary matters
affecting the
services. The composition, powers and functions of the
Commission and
the terms of service of its members shall be defined
by an Act of
the Parliament.
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INTERPRETATION
222. (1)In this Constitution, unless the context
otherwise requires, the
following
expressions have the meanings hereby respectively
assigned to
them that is to say, -
“Burma” has
the same meaning as in the Government of Burma Act,
1935;
“Existing
law” means any law, Ordinance, Order, bye-law, rule or
regulation
passed or made before the commencement of this
Constitution
by any legislature, authority or person in any
territories
included within the Union of Burma being a
legislature, authority or person having power to make such law,
Ordinance,
Order, bye-law, rule or regulation;
“Saohpa” or “Sawphya” means, in the event
of any dispute, the
person
recognized as such by the President in accordance with the
rules of
succession applicable;
“Unit”
means –
(a) any
State forming a constituent unit of the Union of Burma;
(b) all the
territories of the Union of Burma not forming part of
any
State.
(2)In Chapter
VI, VII, X, XI and XIII and in Third and Fourth
Schedules,
the term “State” means, save where a contrary intention
appears,
the Shan State, the Kachin State, the Karenni State or
any new
State that may be constituted under Part VI of Chapter IX.
(3)Save where
a contrary intention appears, the provisions of the
Burma
General Clauses Act shall extend to the interpretation and
application
of this Constitution.
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CHAPTER XIV
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
223. All rights, authority, jurisdiction and prerogative
heretofore
belonging to
His Britannic Majesty which appertain or are incidental
to the
government of the territories in Burma for the time being
vested in him
by virtue of the Government of Burma Act, 1935, or
otherwise, and
all rights, authority, jurisdiction and prerogative
exercisable by
him by treaty, grant, usage, sufferance or otherwise
in, or in relation
to, any other territories in Burma, are hereby
declared to
belong to the Union:
Provided that
any prerogative which subsisted in His Britannic
Majesty and
was exercisable by him in or in respect of British Burma
immediately before
the commencement of this Constitution shall cease
to be
exercisable as such by any authority in the Union.
224. All rights and assets which immediately before the
commencement of
this
Constitution were vested in His Britannic Majesty or any other
authority for
the purposes of the government of Burma and the Karenni
States shall,
as from the commencement of this Constitution, be
vested in the
Union Government.
In particular,
all forests and all mineral and other wealth
underground,
the waters including mineral and medicinal waters, the
sources of
natural power, the rail transport, posts,
telecommunications and broadcasting shall be from the commencement of
this
Constitution the property of the Union.
225. (1)Any proceedings relating to contracts or
liabilities which, if
this
Constitution had not come into operation, might have been
brought
against the Government of Burma, may be brought against
the Union
Government.
(2)The Union
of Burma may sue and be sued by the name of the Union of
Burma.
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(3)If at the
date of the coming into operation of this Constitution
any legal
proceedings are pending to which the Government of Burma
is a party,
the Union Government shall be deemed to be substituted
in those
proceedings for the Government of Burma.
226. (1)Subject to this Constitution and to the extent to
which they are
not
inconsistent therewith, the existing laws shall continue to be
in force
until the same or any of them shall have been repealed or
amended by
a competent legislature or other competent authority.
(2)The
President of the Union may, by Order provide that as from such
date as may
be specified in the order any existing law shall,
until
repealed or amended by the Parliament or other competent
authority, have effect subject to such
adaptations and
modifications as appear to him to be necessary or expedient with
due regard
to the provisions of this Constitution.
227. The Union shall honour all legitimate obligations
arising out of any
treaties or
agreements which immediately before the commencement of
this
Constitution were in force between the Government of Burma, or
His Britannic
Majesty or His Majesty’s Government in the United
Kingdom acting
on behalf of the Government of Burma, and the Head of
Government of
any other State, provided that such other State honours
any reciprocal
obligations towards the Union.
228. All Courts existing at the date of the coming into
operation of this
Constitution shall continue to exercise their
jurisdiction until new
Courts are
established by law in accordance with this Constitution.
All cases,
civil, criminal and revenue, pending in the said Courts,
shall be
disposed of as if this Constitution had not come into
operation.
229. All persons who were in the service of the
Government of Burma
immediately
before the coming into operation of this Constitution
shall continue
in service until the Union Government provide
otherwise.
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230. For the purpose of removing any unforeseen
difficulties, particularly
in relation to
the transition from the provisions of the Government
of Burma Act,
1935, to the provisions of this Constitution, the
President of
the Union may by Order direct that this Constitution
shall during
such period as may be specified in the Order have effect
subject to such amendments, whether by way
of variation, addition or
repeal, as he
may deem to be necessary or expedient. No such Order
shall be made
under this section after the first meeting of the Union
Parliament
duly constituted under Chapter VI; and so such Order shall
be made unless
it is approved by a resolution passed by this
Constituent
Assembly exercising the powers of both Chambers of
Parliament
under the provisions of the next succeeding section.
231. (1)Until the first meeting of the Union Parliament
duly constituted
under
Chapter VI, this Constituent Assembly shall itself exercise
all the
powers, discharge all the duties and enjoy all the
privileges
of both Chambers of Parliament.
(2)Such person
as the Constituent Assembly shall have elected in this
behalf
shall be the Provisional President of the Union until a
President
has been duly elected under Chapter V and shall exercise
all the
powers and discharge all the duties conferred or imposed
upon the
President by this Constitution.
A period of
service as Provisional President shall not count as a
term of
service for the purposes of sub-section (2) of section 48.
(3)Such
persons as shall have been elected in this behalf by the
Constituent
Assembly shall be the Prime Minister and other members
of the
Provisional Union Government, until the President duly
elected
under Chapter V has appointed other persons in accordance
with the
provisions of section 56.
232. (1)Until the first meeting of the Union Parliament
duly constituted
under
Chapter VI
(a) all the
members of the Constituent Assembly representing the
Federated Shan States shall constitute the
Provisional Shan
State
Council;
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(b) all
the members of the Constituent Assembly representing the
Myitkyina and Bhamo Districts shall constitute the
Provisional Kachin State Council;
(c) all
the members of the Constituent Assembly representing the
Karens shall constitute the Provisional Karen Affairs
Council;
(d) all
the members of the Constituent Assembly representing the
Karenni State and such other persons from the Karenni State
and
such other persons from the Karenni State not exceeding
two
as may be nominated by the Provisional President shall
constitute the Provisional Karenni State Council; and
(e) all
the members of the Constituent Assembly representing the
Chin Hills District and the Arakan
Hill Tracts shall
constitute the Provisional Chin Affairs Council.
(2) Each of the aforesaid Provisional Councils
shall exercise all
the
powers and discharge all the duties of the corresponding
Council
constituted under Chapter IX.
233. The first general elections under this Constitution
shall be held
within
eighteen months from the date of the coming into operation of
this
Constitution.
234. This Constitution shall come into operation on such
date as the
Provisional
President may announce by proclamation not being later
than the
eighth day of Kas?n waxing, 1310 B.E. (fifteenth day of
April, 1948
A.D.)
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FIRST SCHEDULE
FORM OF OATH OR AFFIRMATION
(See Section 72.)
I ..................... having been chosen a member of
the Chamber of
Deputies/Nationalities do solemnly swear (affirm) that I
will maintain the
Constitution of the Union and uphold its laws, and that I
will faithfully
discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter.
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SECOND SCHEDULE
COMPOSITION OF THE CHAMBER OF NATIONALITIES
(See section 87)
Of the 125 seats in the Chamber of Nationalities –
(a) twenty-five seats shall be filled by representatives
from the Shan
State;
(b) twelve seats shall be filled by representatives from
the Kachin State;
(c) eight seats shall be filled by representatives from
the Special
Division of the
Chins;
(d) three seats shall be filled by representatives from
the Karenni State;
(e) twenty-four seats shall be filled by representatives
of Karens;
(f) fifty-three seats shall be filled by representatives
form the
remaining
territories of the Union of Burma.
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THIRD SCHEDULE
LIST I. UNION LEGISLATIVE LIST
(See Section 92 [1])
1. Defence: that is to say, the defence of the Union and
of every part
thereof,
including generally all preparations for defence as well as
all such acts in
times of war as may be conducive to its successful
prosecution and
to effective demobilisation after its termination, and
in particular –
(1)The raising,
training, maintenance and control of Naval, Military
and Air Force and employment thereof for the
defence of the Union
and the
execution of the laws of the Union and the States.
(2)Defence
Industries.
(3)Naval,
Military and Air Forces Works.
(4)Local
self-government in cantonment areas, the constitution and
powers within
such areas of cantonment authorities, the regulation
of house
accommodation in such areas and the delimitation of such
areas.
(5)Arms,
fire-arms, ammunition and explosives.
(6)Atomic
energy, and mineral resources essential to its production.
(7)Conduct of
War.
2. External Affairs:
(1)Diplomatic,
consular and trade representation.
(2)United
Nations Organization.
(3)Participation
in international conferences, associations and other
bodies and
implementing of decisions made threat.
(4)The
declaration of war and conclusion of peace.
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(5) The entering
into and implementing of treaties and agreement with
other
countries.
(6) Regulation
of trade and commerce with foreign countries.
(7) Foreign
Loans.
(8) Citizens;
aliens; acquisition and termination of citizenship.
(9) Extradition.
(10)Passports
and visas.
(11)Foreign
jurisdiction.
(12)Admiralty
jurisdiction.
(13)Piracies,
offices committed on the high seas and offences committed
in the air
against the law of nations.
(14)Admission
into, and emigration and expulsion from, the Union.
(15)Fishing and
fisheries beyond territorial waters.
(16)Important
and export across customs frontiers as defined by the
Union
Government.
3. Communications:
(1) Port and
inter-unit quarantine; seamen’s and marine hospital and
hospital
connected with port quarantine.
(2) Airways.
(3) Highways and
waterways declared by the Union to be Union highways
and
waterways.
(4) Shipping and
navigation as regards mechanically propelled vessels
on inland
waterways declared by the Union to be Union waterways;
the rule of
the road on such waterways; carriage of passengers and
goods on
such waterways.
(5) Railways.
(6) Maritime
shipping and navigation, including shipping land
navigation
on tidal waters.
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(7) Major ports,
that is to say, the declaration and delimitation of
such ports,
and the constitution and powers of port authorities
therein.
(8) Aircraft and
air navigation; the provision of aerodromes;
regulation
and organization of air traffic and of aerodromes.
(9) Carriage of
passengers and goods by sea or by air.
(10)Lighthouse,
including lightships, beacons and other provisions for
the safety
of shipping and aircraft.
(11)Posts and
telegraphs, telephones, wireless, broadcasting and other
like forms
of communication.
4. Finance:
(1) The
borrowing of money on the credit of the Union.
(2) Duties of
customs including export duties.
(3) Duties of
excise excluding those enumerated in the State
Legislative
List but including taxes on the production, consumption
and sale of
electricity.
(4) Taxes on the
sale of goods.
(5) Taxes on
companies.
(6) Taxes on
income.
(7) Taxes on the
capital value of the assets of individuals and
companies.
(8) Taxes on the
capital of companies.
(9) Estate duty and duties in respect of
succession to property.
(10)Excess
Profits Tax.
(11)Savings
Bank.
(12)Stamp duty
in respect of bills of exchange, cheques, promissory
notes and
other documents.
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(13)Terminal
taxes on goods or passengers carried by railway, sea or
air.
(14)Taxes on
railway fares and freights.
(15)Fees in
respect of any of the matters in this list but not
including
fees taken in any Court subordinate to the High Court.
5. General:
(1) The Reserve
Bank; banking including incorporation of banks, and the
issue of
paper money.
(2) Currency,
coinage and legal tender.
(3) Enquiries,
surveys and statistics for the purpose of the Union.
(4) Acquisition
of property for the purposes of the Union.
(5) Any Museum,
Library or other institutions declared by Union law to
be of
national importance.
(6) Union
agencies and institutes for the following purposes, that is
to say, for
research, for professional or technical training, or
for the
promotion of special studies.
(7) Census.
(8) Union
Services.
(9) Elections to
the Union Parliament subject to the provisions of the
Constitution.
(10)Emoluments
and allowances of the President, the salaries and
allowances
of the Prime Minister and other members of the Union
Government,
the salaries of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of
the Chamber
of Nationalities; the salaries of the Speaker and the
Deputy
Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies; the salaries, allowances
and
privileges of members of the Union Parliament.
(11)Public debt
of the Union.
(12)Criminal Law
and Procedure.
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(13)Civil Law
and Procedure including in particular the laws relating
to –
infants and minors; adoption; transfer of property; trusts
and
trustees; contracts; arbitration; insolvency; actionable
wrongs;
lunacy.
(14)Law of
Evidence.
(15)Legal,
medical and other professions.
(16)Newspapers,
books and printing presses.
(17)Poisons
and dangerous drugs.
(18)Mechanically propelled vehicles.
(19)Factories.
(20)Welfare of
labour; conditions of labour; employers’ liability and
workmen’s
compensation; health insurance; old age pensions.
(21)Unemployment insurance.
(22)Trade
Unions; industrial and labour disputes.
(23)Electricity.
(24)Insurance.
(25)Company
Law.
(26)Cheques,
bills of exchange, promissory notes and other like
instruments.
(27)Copyright;
inventions; patents; trade marks and merchandise
marks;
trade designs.
(28)Planning.
(29)Regulation
of land tenures, including the relation of landlord
and tenant
and the collection of rents; transfer, alienation and
devolution
of land.
(30)Ancient
and historical monuments; archeological sites and
remains.
(31)Standard
weight and measures.
(32)Opium,
except as to excise duties thereon.
(33)Petroleum and other liquids and substances
declared by Union law
to be
dangerously inflammable.
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(34)Development
of industries, where development under Union control
is declared
by Union law to be expedient in the public interests.
(35)Co-operative societies.
(36)Regulation
of forests, mines and oil-fields (including labour and
safety in
mines and oil-fields) and mineral development.
(37)Migration
within the Union.
(38)Jurisdiction and powers of all courts with respect to any of the
matters
enumerated in this list.
(39)Offences
against laws with respect to any of the matters in this
list.
(40)Any other
matter not enumerated in List II.
LIST II
STATE LEGISLATIVE LIST
[See Section 92 (2)]
1. Constitutional Affairs:
(1)The
constitution of the State, subject to the provisions of this
Constitution.
(2)State Public
Services and State Public Service Commission.
(3)State
pensions, that is to say, pensions payable by the State or out
of the State
Revenues.
(4)The salaries
of the State Ministers, and of the Chairman of the
State
Council; salaries, allowances and privileges of the members of
the State
Council.
2. Economic Affairs:
(1)Agriculture;
cattle pounds and the prevention of cattle trespass.
(2)Fisheries
within the State.
(3)Land; Land
revenue; land improvement and agricultural loans;
colonization;
encumbered and attached estates; treasure trove.
(4)Works, lands
and building vested in or in the possession of the
State.
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(5) Markets and
fairs.
(6) Water, that
is to say, water supplies, irrigation and canals,
drainage and embankments, water storage,
but excluding inter-unit
rivers and
water-courses.
(7) Capitation
and Thathameda taxes.
(8) Duties of
excise on the following goods manufactured or produced in
the State
and countervailing duties at the same or lower rates on
similar
goods manufactured or produced elsewhere in the Union: -
(i) Opium.
(ii) Indian
hemp and other narcotics; non-narcotics drugs.
(iii)
Medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol or any
substance included in item (ii) or (iii) above.
(iv)
Alcoholic liquors for human consumption.
(9) Taxes on
trades and employments.
(10)Taxes on
animals and boats.
(11)Taxes on
entertainments, amusements, betting and gambling.
(12)Tolls.
3. Security:
(1) Public order
(but not including the use of naval, military or air
forces of
the Union).
(2) Police
including Village Police.
(3) The
administration of justice; constitution and organization of all
Courts
subordinate to the High Court, and fees taken therein;
preventive
detention for reasons connected with the maintenance of
public
order; persons subject to such detention.
(4) Jurisdiction
and powers of all Courts subordinate to the High
Court, with
respect to any of the matters enumerated in this list.
(5) Prisons;
persons detained therein; arrangements with other units
for the use
of prisons and other institutions.
(6) Offences against
laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated
in this
list.
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4. Communications:
(1)Roads,
bridges, ferries and other means of communication other than
such as
extend beyond the borders of the State.
(2)Municipal
tramways; rope-ways.
(3)Inland
waterways and traffic thereon.
(4)Local works
and undertakings within the State other than railways,
subject to the power of the Union
Parliament to declare any work a
national work
and to provide for its construction by arrangement
with the
State Council or otherwise.
5. Education:
(1)Education
excluding, for a period of ten years from the commencement
of this
Constitution and thereafter until the Union Parliament
otherwise
provides, University, higher technical and professional
education.
(2)All
educational institutions controlled or financed by the State.
(3)Libraries,
museums and other similar institutions controlled or
financed by
the State.
(4)Theaters,
dramatic performances and cinemas, but not including the
sanction of
cinematographic films for exhibition.
6. Public Health:
(1)Public Health
and sanitation.
(2)The
establishment, maintenance and management of hospitals, asylums
and
dispensaries.
(3)Registration
of births, deaths and marriages.
(4)Burials and
burial grounds.
7. Local Government:
(1)Municipalities
and other local authorities for the purpose of local
self-government or village administration.
(2)Charities and
charitable institutions.
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8. General:
(1)Relief of the
poor.
(2)Enquiries and
statistics for the purpose of any of the matters
enumerated in
this list.
(3)Generally all
matters which in the opinion of the President are of a
merely local
or private nature in the State.
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FOURTH SCHEDULE
STATE REVENUE LIST
[See Section 96]
1. Land Revenue:
(i) Land
revenue proper.
(ii) Rents and
fees of fisheries.
(iii)Royalty on
petroleum.
(iv) Royalty on
minerals and taxes on mineral rights.
(v) Royalty on
rubber.
(vi) Capitation
and Thathameda taxes.
2. Duties of
Excise on the following goods manufactured or produced in
the State and
countervailing duties at the same or lower rates on
similar goods
manufactured or produced elsewhere in the Union:
. (i) Alcoholic liquors for human consumption
(ii) Opium.
(iii)Indian
hemp and other narcotics; non-narcotic drugs.
. (iv) Medicinal
and toilet preparations containing alcohol or any
substance
included in item (ii) or (iii) above.
3. Fees taken in
Courts subordinate to the High Court.
4. Forests.
5. Registration.
6. Taxes on trades
and employments.
7. Taxes on
animals and boats.
8. Taxes on
entertainments, amusements, betting and gambling.
9. Taxes under the
State Motor Vehicles Taxation Acts.
10. Irrigation dues.
11. Interests on advances made from the State revenues
and on State
investment.
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12. Contributions from component parts to the State.
13. Contributions from the Union.
14. All fees, fines, sale proceeds and rents of property
belonging to the
State,
recoveries of over-payments and payments for services rendered
in connection
with any or all matters enumerated above and also in
connection with
the following: -
(a)
Administration of justice.
(b) Jails and
convict settlements.
(c) Police.
(d) Education.
(e) Medical.
(f) Public
health.
(g)
Agriculture.
(h) Veterinary.
(i)
Co-operative societies.
(j)
Registration of births, deaths and marriages.
(k) Civil
works.
(l) Receipts in
aid of superannuation of State employees.
(m) Stationery
and printing.
(n) Unclaimed deposits.
(o) Treasure
trove.
(p) Tolls.
(q)
Extraordinary receipts.
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