# The Montserrat Constitution Order 1989, Paragraph 36: Speaker and Deputy Speaker.


(1) When the Legislative Council first meets after any general election (or as soon as practicable thereafter) and before it proceeds to the despatch of any other business, it shall proceed to elect a person to be the Speaker of the Council, and if the office of Speaker falls vacant for any reason other than a dissolution of the Council, the Council shall, as soon as practicable, elect another person to that office.
(2) The Speaker shall be elected from among persons who are not members of the Legislative Council, and no person shall be elected as Speaker if—
(a) he is not qualified in accordance with section 27 of this Constitution;
(b) he is a person disqualified for election as an elected member of the Council by virtue of any provision of section 28(1) of this Constitution other than paragraph (e).
(3) When the Legislative Council first meets after any general election and before it proceeds to the despatch of any other business except the election of the Speaker, it shall elect a member of the Legislative Council who is not a member of the Executive Council to be Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council; and if the office of Deputy Speaker falls vacant for any reason other than a dissolution of the Council, the Council shall, as soon as practicable, elect another such member to that office.
(4) A person shall vacate the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker—
(a) on a dissolution of the Legislative Council;
(b) if he announces the resignation from his office to the Legislative Council or if by writing under his hand addressed to the Council and received by the Clerk of the Council he resigns that office;
(c) in the case of the Speaker—
(i) if he ceases to be qualified in accordance with section 27 of this Constitution;
(ii) if any circumstances arise that would cause him to be disqualified for election as an elected member of the Council by virtue of any provision of section 28(1) of this Constitution other than paragraph (e);
(iii) on the expiration of a period of thirty days from the date of his election if he was at that date a party to, or a partner in a firm or a director or manager of a company which is a party to, any contract with the Government of Montserrat for or on account of the public service and if, before the expiration of that period, he has not disclosed to the Council the nature of such contract and his interest, or the interest of such firm or company, therein, and the Council has not exempted him from vacating his office under this sub-paragraph; or
(iv) if any circumstances arise that, if he were an elected member, would cause him to vacate his seat under paragraph (e) of section 28(1) of this Constitution;
(d) in the case of the Deputy Speaker, if he ceases to be a member of the Council for any reason other than a dissolution of the Council or if he is appointed to be a member of the Executive Council.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/2401/schedule/2/paragraph/36 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/montserrat-constitution-order-1989/schedule-2/paragraph-36
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.