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A | |
Bill | |
To | |
Make provision for a referendum on the draft Constitutional Treaty on the | |
Future of Europe. | |
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and | |
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present | |
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— | |
1 Referendum on the proposed European Union Constitution | |
(1) No treaty adopted by the Inter-Governmental Conference convened to | |
consider the draft treaty establishing a Constitution for the European Union | |
shall be ratified unless the provisions of the treaty have been agreed to in a | |
referendum. | 5 |
(2) At the same time as the Secretary of State publishes a bill to give effect to the | |
provisions of the treaty referred to in subsection (1), he shall publish a | |
Command Paper which shall include an assessment of the political and | |
financial commitments, and any transitional arrangements, that the United | |
Kingdom has entered into as a result of the treaty. | 10 |
(3) A referendum shall be held no sooner than three months after the publication | |
of the Command Paper referred to in subsection (2). | |
2 Referendum question | |
(1) The question to be asked in a referendum held in pursuance of section 1 is: | |
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“Should the Government ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for the | |
European Union?” | |
(2) The following statement must precede the question on the ballot paper: | |
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“Parliament has decided that the Government should not ratify the Treaty | 20 |
establishing a Constitution for European Union unless the people of the United | |
Kingdom have agreed in a referendum that it should do so.” | |
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3 Arrangements for the referendum | |
(1) Those entitled to vote in the referendum shall be persons who, on the date of | |
the referendum, would be entitled to vote as electors in European | |
Parliamentary elections. | |
(2) The Secretary of State shall appoint a Chief Counting Officer. | 5 |
(3) The Chief Counting Officer shall appoint a counting officer for each | |
parliamentary constituency. | |
(4) Each counting officer shall— | |
(a) conduct the counting of votes cast in the area for which he is appointed | |
in accordance with regulations, and | 10 |
(b) certify the number of votes cast for each proposition. | |
(5) The Chief Counting Officer shall certify the total of— | |
(a) the ballot papers counted, and | |
(b) the votes cast for each proposition, | |
for the whole of the United Kingdom. | 15 |
(6) The Electoral Commission shall publish a report setting out when and how the | |
referendum shall be conducted, including what information is to be provided | |
to those entitled to vote. | |
(7) The conduct of the referendum shall follow as closely as possible the | |
provisions of the Representation of the People Acts 1983 to 1993. | 20 |
(8) The Secretary of State shall give effect to the provisions contained in a report of | |
the Electoral Commission under subsection (6) by means of regulations. | |
(9) Regulations under this section shall be made by statutory instrument which | |
shall be subject to approval by each House of Parliament. | |
(10) The day chosen for holding the referendum shall be a public holiday. | 25 |
4 Expenditure | |
There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament— | |
(a) any expenditure of the Secretary of State in consequence of this Act; and | |
(b) any increase attributable to this Act in the sums which under any other Act | |
are payable out of money so provided. | 30 |
5 Short title | |
This Act may be cited as the Draft Constitutional Treaty on the Future of | |
Europe (Referendum) Act 2003. | |
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