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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The legal basis of emergency powers in Zambia
Author:Chanda, A.W.ISNI
Year:1986
Periodical:Zambia Law Journal
Volume:18
Pages:19-34
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:Zambia
Central Africa
Subjects:state of emergency
law
constitutional law
Zambia. Emergency Powers Act
Zambia. Preservation of Public Security Act
Liberty
Abstract:In some circumstances it becomes imperative for a government to assume extraordinary or emergency powers in order to deal with problems of national security. In Africa, emergency powers have been extensively used and have become the rule rather than the exception. Zambia has been under a semi state of emergency since July 27th, 1964. Emergency powers, more particularly the power to detain, have been widely used over the years to deal with people involved in both political and economic crimes. This article examines the salient features of emergency statutes in Zambia (the Emergency Powers Act and the Preservation of Public Security Act) and the extent to which the executive or any other governmental functionary has autonomous power to make emergency or security regulations during the subsistence of a declared public emergency. The full range of emergency powers conferred on the executive by the emergency statutes, particularly the powers of detention and restriction, is also analysed in some detail. The conclusion is that the exercise of emergency powers in Zambia by the executive, particulary the power of preventive detention, derogates fundamentally from the rule of law. Notes, ref.
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