Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin says the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill has raised questions about whether Parliament followed its own rules.
According to him, the Bill was taken through the consideration stage and third reading on the same day.
Presiding over proceedings in the House on June 2, Bagbin said Parliament’s Standing Orders require the final amended version of a bill to be properly captured before the third reading is taken.
He says Members of Parliament must know the exact text of a bill before they take a final decision on it.
According to him, concerns have been raised over whether the amended version of the bill was made available to MPs before it was passed.
Bagbin says the purpose of the rules is to allow Members enough time to reflect before Parliament commits itself to a final legislative position.
He says Parliament cannot ignore procedure, especially on a bill of such national importance.
“Procedural law is as equally important as substantive law,” he said.
The Speaker is therefore asking Parliament to correct the process by revisiting the third reading.
He says the integrity of the final law will depend not only on what it seeks to achieve, but also on how it was passed.
