So far as Clause 17 is concerned, it confers certain emergency powers of issuing ordinances upon the President. It is further provided in sub-clause (2) that an ordinance promulgated under this section shall have the same force and effect as an Act of the Federal Parliament. And sub-clause (2)(a) says that every such ordinance shall be laid before the Federal Parliament and shall cease to operate at the expiration of six weeks from the re-assembly of the Federal Parliament. The Honourable the Mover has explained that this should be done as early as possible. It was with the idea that the Federal Parliament should be called within six months of the promulgation of such an ordinance, that I tabled this amendment. Parliament will be in session some time during the year. Ordinances are obnoxious to democracy and at least to allay public suspicions it is necessary that there should be a provision that within six months of the promulgation of an ordinance a session of the Federal Parliament shall be held, I would therefore like to suggest that when the final draft is made, there should be a definite provision like this in the interests of all concerned, and hoping that this would be done, I do not propose to move this amendment at this stage.
