{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/montserrat-constitution-order-1989/schedule-2/paragraph-12",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/montserrat-constitution-order-1989/schedule-2/paragraph-12.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1989/2401",
  "legislation_title": "The Montserrat Constitution Order 1989",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/montserrat-constitution-order-1989",
  "path": "schedule/2/paragraph/12",
  "kind": "paragraph",
  "number": "12",
  "heading": "Tenure of office of members.",
  "text": "(1) If a motion that the Legislative Council should declare a lack of confidence in the Government of Montserrat receives in the Legislative Council the affirmative votes of a majority of all the elected members thereof the Governor shall, by instrument under the public seal, revoke the appointment of the Chief Minister:\nProvided that before so revoking the Chief Minister’s appointment the Governor shall consult with the Chief Minister and, if the Chief Minister so requests, the Governor, acting in his discretion, may dissolve the Legislative Council instead of revoking the appointment.\n(2) A Minister or the member without portfolio shall vacate his office—\n(a) if he resigns it by writing under his hand addressed to and received by the Governor;\n(b) if he ceases to be a member of the Legislative Council for any reason other than a dissolution thereof;\n(c) if, by virtue of section 29(4) of this Constitution, he is required to cease to perform his functions as a member of the Legislative Council;\n(d) if he is absent from Montserrat without, in the case of the Chief Minister, having given the Governor prior notice of such absence or, in any other case, having obtained the permission of the Governor, acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief Minister.\n(3) A Minister (other than the Chief Minister) and the member without portfolio shall also vacate his office—\n(a) whenever a Chief Minister is appointed; or\n(b) if his appointment is revoked by the Governor, acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief Minister, by instrument under the public seal.\n(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section—\n(a) a person shall be deemed to have ceased to be a member of the Legislative Council for a reason other than a dissolution thereof when the Legislative Council first meets after any dissolution if he is not then a member of the Council; and\n(b) a person shall not be regarded as absent from Montserrat during his passage from one part of Montserrat to another.\n(5) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that a person who has vacated his office as a Minister or the member without portfolio may, if qualified, again be appointed to that office from time to time.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "amended (Montserrat constitution)",
      "affecting": "uksi/2000/1339",
      "affecting_title": "The Montserrat Constitution (Amendment) Order 2000"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/2401/schedule/2/paragraph/12",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T15:30:48.620255+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}