Acts of Parliament (Amendment) Act, 2021

An Act to amend the Acts of Parliament Act. [ 20th May, 2021
ENACTED by the Parliament of Zambia. 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Acts of Parliament
(Amendment) Act, 2021, and shall be read as one with the Acts of
Parliament Act, in this Act referred to as the principal Act. (2) This Act shall come into operation on the date appointed
by the Minister by statutory instrument. 2. The principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following
new section immediately after section 1:
1A. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“Commissioner” has the meaning assigned to the word in
the Laws of Zambia (Revised Edition) Act, 1968;
and
“Laws of Zambia” has the meaning assigned to the words
in the Laws of Zambia (Revised Edition) Act, 1968;
3. Section 9 of the principal Act is amended by the insertion
of —
(a) figure (1) after figure 9; and
(b) the following new subsection immediately after
subsection (1):
(2) An Act may be published in an electronic format. 4. The principal Act is amended by the repeal of section 10
and the substitution therefor of the following:
Short title
and
commence-
ment
Interpreta-
tion
Acts of Parliament (Amendment) [No.

peal of section 10
and the substitution therefor of the following:
Short title
and
commence-
ment
Interpreta-
tion
Acts of Parliament (Amendment) [No.

36 of 2021 355
Enactment
Cap. 3
Insertion of
section 1A
Act No. 9 of
1968
Act No. 9 of
1968
Amendment
of section 9
GOVERNMENT OF ZAMBIA
ACT
No. 36 of 2021
Date of Assent: 19th May, 2021
Repeal and
replacement
of section 10
Single copies of this Act may be obtained from the Government Printer,
P.O. Box 30136, 10101 Lusaka, Price K8.00 each.

l and
replacement
of section 10
Single copies of this Act may be obtained from the Government Printer,
P.O. Box 30136, 10101 Lusaka, Price K8.00 each.

10. (1) The Ministry responsible for justice shall for the
purposes of section 9(2) establish and maintain an
electronic database of the Laws of Zambia. (2) The database established under section (1) shall
contain —
(a) the Constitution;
(b) consolidated copies of Acts that have been
given chapter numbers under the Laws of
Zambia (Revised Edition) Act, 1968;
(c) copies of Acts published under section 9(1);
and
(d) the record of editorial amendments compiled
by the Commissioner under section 14. 5. The principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following
new sections immediately after section 10:
11. (1) A copy of an electronic Act that is published on or
printed directly from a website hosting the database and
that bears an official verification as prescribed, is a
verified copy of the Act. (2) A verified copy of an electronic Act, is presumed, unless
the contrary is proved, to correctly state the electronic
Act, as at the date specified in the copy. 12. (1) The Commissioner may exercise the
Commissioners’ functions under the Laws of Zambia
(Revised Edition) Act, 1968, in relation to an electronic
Act.

(1) The Commissioner may exercise the
Commissioners’ functions under the Laws of Zambia
(Revised Edition) Act, 1968, in relation to an electronic
Act.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1),
the Commissioner may —
(a) arrange the grouping and sequence of electronic
Acts;
(b) correct a grammatical, clerical or typographical
error;
(c) change the way of referring to or expressing a
number, year, date, time, amount of money, quantity
or measurement;
(d) alter the text of a provision to reflect an amendment
to the provision deemed to have been made by
another provision;
Acts of Parliament (Amendment)356 No. 36 of 2021]
Insertion of
sections 11,
12, 13, 14,
15 and 16
Establishment
of database
Cap. 1
Act No. 9 of
1968
Powers of
Commissioner
in relation to
electronic
Act No. 9 of
1968
Status of
verified
copies of
database
instruments
last updated
date

t No. 9 of
1968
Powers of
Commissioner
in relation to
electronic
Act No. 9 of
1968
Status of
verified
copies of
database
instruments
last updated
date

(e) omit any enacting, expired or spent provision;
(f) change the sequence of definitions, or of
unnumbered items in a list; and
(g) insert, after an item in a list appearing in the text
of one official language, the equivalent of that item
in a local language. 13. An editorial amendment made by the Commissioner
under this Act shall not change the legal effect of an
Act. 14. (1) The Commissioner shall compile a record
containing—
(a) descriptions of editorial amendments made;
(b) the time and date on which each description of
editorial amendments is entered in the record; and
(c) other information that the Commissioner and the
Attorney-General consider necessary to users of
the record. (2) A record compiled under subsection (1) shall be kept in
a form that the Commissioner considers appropriate. 15. An editorial amendment does not have effect unless
the information relating to that amendment is contained
in the record compiled under section 14. 16. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the
commencement of an Act shall be a date that is provided
in or under the Act, or where no date is so provided, the
date of its publication as notified in the Gazette.

an Act shall be a date that is provided
in or under the Act, or where no date is so provided, the
date of its publication as notified in the Gazette.

(2) Every Act shall be deemed to come into force
immediately on the expiration of the day next preceding
its commencement. (3) A provision in an Act regulating the coming into force
of the Act or any part thereof shall have effect despite
that the Part of the Act containing the provision has not
come into operation. (4) Where an Act is made with retrospective effect, the
commencement of the Act shall be the date from which
it is given or deemed to be given that effect. Editorial
amendments
not to change
legal effects
of Acts
Commissioner
to compile
record of
editorial
amendments
Acts of Parliament (Amendment) [No. 36 of 2021 357
Editorial
amendments
without
effect if not
contained in
record
Commence-
ment

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to an Act until there is a
notification in the Gazette as to the date of its publication
and until that date is specified, the Act shall be without
effect.
Acts of Parliament (Amendment)358 No. 36 of 2021]