Page:Republic of South Africa Constitution Act 1983 from Government Gazette.djvu/12



two Houses pass different versions of a bill and the other House rejects it or is so deemed to have rejected it; or two Houses pass a bill and the other House passes a different version of it; or each of the Houses passes a different version of a bill,

the State President may during that session refer the bill or the different versions thereof which have been passed, as the case may be, to the President’s Council for its decision: Provided that the State President may withdraw the reference at any time before the President’s Council gives its decision.

(2) (a) If―

the State President, by message to a House, has requested that a bill passed by another House and introduced in the House in question or in respect of which notice of a motion for its introduction has been given in that House, be disposed of by that House before a date mentioned in the message, which may not be a date earlier than 14 days after the date of the message; and that House has not disposed of such bill before the date mentioned in the message,

that House shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (1) to have rejected the bill, unless the State President by like message determines otherwise within seven days after the date so mentioned.

(b) A House which has rejected a motion for the introduction of a bill shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (1) to have rejected the bill.

(3) When a recommendation of the President’s Council has been laid upon the Table of a House as provided in section 78 (8), the House may deal with the recommendation.

(4) A bill which was referred to the President’s Council under subsection (1) and which, in terms of a decision of that Council given during the session of Parliament in which the bill was so referred, is to be presented to the State President for his assent, shall be deemed to have been passed by Parliament.

(5) A bill which is deemed in terms of subsection (4) to have been passed by Parliament shall, when it is presented to the State President for his assent, be endorsed with the certificate of the Speaker of Parliament that the bill is by virtue of a decision of the President’s Council so deemed to have been passed by Parliament.

33. (1) When a bill which―

has been passed by Parliament; or in terms of section 32 (4) is deemed to have been passed by Parliament; or has been passed by a House in accordance with section 31,

is presented to the State President for his assent, he shall declare that he assents thereto or that he withholds assent, but he shall not declare that he withholds assent unless he is satisfied that the bill has not been dealt with as provided in this Act.

(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not affect the State President’s powers in terms of subsection (2) of section 31 to issue a certificate contemplated in the last-mentioned subsection in respect of an amendment of a bill when the bill is presented to him for assent, and to return the bill to the House in question.

34. (1) A bill referred to in section 33 (1) to which the State President has assented shall be an Act of Parliament.