Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsfoard Bagbin, has clarified that the widely discussed anti-LGBTQ+ bill, officially known as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, is not yet legally binding despite being passed by the House.
According to him, parliamentary passage alone does not make a bill law.
Speaking during a courtesy call by a delegation from the judiciary ahead of activities marking the judiciary’s 150th anniversary, Bagbin addressed his earlier remarks concerning the bill’s legislative status.
He said, “I’m sure my comments about the bill that was passed recently are a reference point. But as you hold my view, I recently heard where some lawyers came up strongly to say that by the Constitution, once a law is passed on the floor, Parliament cannot rescind it – that is not the law,” Bagbin stated.
Also read: I’m not Mahama’s appointee; My loyalty is to Parliament and Ghana – Bagbin
The Speaker broke down the constitutional process, noting that a bill only becomes law after it has received presidential assent. He pointed out that the Constitution places no time limit on Parliament to transmit a passed bill to the president.
“And that is why in the Constitution there is no time limit given to Parliament after passage to submit to the President for Assent,” he explained.
Bagbin noted that it is common practice to identify inconsistencies or errors after a third reading. In such cases, Parliament can revisit the bill using a motion of rescission.
“On many occasions, we usually identify some inconsistencies or errors. And then we go back to the House where they refer to us. Second, reconsideration stage — you use the process of rescission, a motion of rescission, to rescind the decision of having read the bill the third time. And then use that to do it,” he said.
He added that the same process would soon be applied to the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) bill, which was also passed earlier.
“In fact, we are very soon going to use it in connection with the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) Bill, which was passed. So we have the process of self-correction. So it’s really not the law,” Bagbin added