By PSCU
Gilgil Member of Parliament Martha Wangari has drafted a legislative proposal to amend the Treaty Making and Ratification Act of 2012 to enhance the National Assembly role in consideration and scrutiny of treaties before ratification.
The legislative proposal dubbed The Treaty Making and Ratification (Amendment) Bill 2023 is before the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs chaired by Nelson Koech (Belgut) for pre-publication scrutiny.
In the Proposal, Wangari has noted that although the current Act empowers the National Assembly to participate in consideration of and approval of treaty ratification, the role of Parliament in the process only comes into play after Cabinet approval.
“Treaty-making and ratification to a large extent has an impact on the livelihood of the citizens of a country. It is therefore important to ensure that Parliament is consulted during the initial stages of treaty negotiation and signing,” said Wangari.
During scrutiny of the legislative proposal by the Committee, Members noted recent incidents where the National Assembly had approved some Treaties with reservations which could however, not be actioned due to lack of proper legal framework.
One recent incident noted by members was in the passage of the Kenya-UK Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) earlier this year, where the National Assembly also adopted the Committee reservations, including a proposal that prosecution for the offence of murder by British troops on Kenyan soil be fully under the jurisdiction of the local authorities.
The said reservation cannot be immediately actioned by Kenyan Authorities as the DCA, had already been adopted in its original form at the UK’s House of Commons.
Among the recommendations of Wangari’s legislative proposal is that the National Assembly should have powers to approve a treaty, approve with reservations or reject.
Wangari has suggested that Kenya emulates the practice in the United States which requires a super-majority vote in the Legislature before a Treaty can be ratified.
“It should be possible for Parliament, after receiving a draft treaty from the Cabinet Secretary, to consider and propose amendments in draft form and to incorporate them before it’s priting,” said Wangari.
Koech directed that the Committee should complete the pre-publication scrutiny in two weeks.
During the meeting, the committee Secretariat also briefed Members on the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the AU relating to Pan African Parliament.
The Protocol seeks to enhance the powers of the Pan-African Parliament as the legislative organ of the African Union.
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