Contents of Questions

(1) The right to ask a question shall be subject to the following general rules, as to the interpretation of which the President shall be the sole judge– (a) the proper object of a question is to obtain information on a question of fact within the official cognisance of the Minister to whom it is addressed, or to ask for official action; (b) a question shall not include the names of persons, or any statements of fact, unless they be necessary to render the intelligible; (c) if a question contains a statement of fact, the Senator asking it shall make himself responsible for the accuracy of the statement, and no question shall be based upon a newspaper report or upon an unofficial (d) no Senator shall address the Senate upon any question, and a question shall not be made the pretext for a debate; (e) not more than one subject shall be referred to in any one question, and a question shall not be of excessive length; (f) a question shall not contain arguments, inferences, opinions, imputations, epithets, ironical expressions or hypothetical cases; (g) a question shall not be asked– (i) which raises an issue already decided in the Senate, or which has been answered Belize Constitution 115 fully during the current Session, or to which an answer has been refused; (ii) seeking information about matters which are in their nature secret; (iii) regarding proceedings in a Committee which have not been placed before the Senate by a report from the Committee; (iv) which deals with matters referred to a Committee of Enquiry or within the jurisdiction of the Chairman of a Select (v) as to the character or conduct of any person except in his official or public (vi) about any matter then pending before any Court of justice, or which reflects on the decision of a Court of justice; (vii) reflecting on the character or conduct of any person whose conduct can only be challenged on a substantive motion under Standing Order 36 (Contents of (viii) asking whether statements in the Press, or of private individuals, or unofficial bodies are accurate; (ix) the answer to which can be found by reference to available official 116 Belize Constitution (x) referring discourteously to, or seeking information about, the internal affairs of any Territory within the Commonwealth or of a friendly Foreign Country; (xi) dealing with the action of a Minister for which he is not responsible to the Legislature; (xii) seeking, for purposes of argument, information on matters of past history; or (xiii) raising questions of policy too large to be dealt with in the limits of an answer to a question; (h) a question shall not solicit the expression of an opinion, on the solution of an abstract legal question, or of a hypothetical proposition. (2) If the President is of the opinion that any question of which a Senator has given notice to the Clerk infringes the provisions of any Standing Order or is in any way an abuse of the right of questioning, he may direct– (a) that the Senator concerned be informed that the question is out of order; or (b) that the question be entered in the Order Book with such alterations as he may direct.