Total Population
Population with a disability
according to World Health Organization’s 15% estimateRatified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Article 7 states:
A person shall be disqualified to be registered or being registered to vote at an election and shall not be registered if such person... (4) is certified to be insane or otherwise adjudged to be of unsound mind or is a patient in any establishment maintained wholly or mainly for reception and treatment of persons suffering from mental illness or mental defectiveness by virtue of or under any law in force in Belize...
Section 5, subsection (1) states:
A person shall not be deprived of his personal liberty save as may be authorised by law in any of the following cases, that is to say: -…
Section 31, subsection (1) states:
During any period when the office of Governor- General is vacant or the holder of the office of Governor- General is absent from Belize or is for any other reason unable to perform the functions of his office those functions shall be performed by such person as Her Majesty may appoint.
Section 33, subsection (1) states:
Whenever the Governor-General-
Section 39 states:
(1) Whenever the Prime Minister is absent from Belize or is by reason of illness unable to perform the functions conferred on him in accordance with this Constitution, those functions (other than the functions conferred by this section) shall be performed-
Provided that if the Governor-General, acting in his own deliberate judgment, considers that it is impracticable to obtain the advice of the Prime Minister owing to the absence or illness of the Prime Minister he may exercise those powers-
Section 42, subsection (4) states:
If a person holding the office of Attorney-General is for any reason unable to perform the functions conferred on him by or under any law, those functions may be performed by such other person, being a person qualified as aforesaid (whether or not that person is a member of either House of the National Assembly), as the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, may direct.
Section 43 states:
(1) Whenever a Minister other than the Prime Minister is absent from Belize or is within Belize but by leave of the Governor-General is not performing the functions of his office or by reason of illness is unable to perform those functions, the Governor-General may authorize some other Minister to perform those functions or may appoint a member of the House of Representatives or of the Senate to be a temporary Minister in order to perform those functions; and that Minister may perform those functions until his authority or, as the case may be, his appointment is revoked by the Governor-General or he vacates office as a Minister under section 40(4) of this Constitution.
(2) The powers of the Governor-General under this section shall be exercised by him in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister: Provided that if the Governor-General, acting in his own deliberate judgment, considers that it is impracticable to obtain the advice of the Prime Minister owing to his absence or illness he may exercise those powers in accordance with the advice of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Section 54 states:
…(3) Subject to the proviso to this subsection, a senior member of the [Belize Advisory] Council shall hold office until he reaches the age of seventy-five years, unless he earlier resigns his office by writing under his own hand addressed to the Governor-General, or if by a resolution of the House of Representatives supported by two-thirds of the members of that House he is declared unable to discharge the functions of his office by reason of persistent absence or infirmity of body or mind, or to be in breach of the provisions of section 121 of this Constitution: Provided that:- (a) a senior member who has attained the age of seventy-five years may be appointed to continue in office until he attains any later age as may be specified in his instrument of appointment; (b) any person of integrity and high national standing who at the commencement of this section is at least seventy-five years of age may be appointed a senior member and may continue in office until he attains any later age as may be specified in his instrument of appointment.
(4) A member of the Council referred to in subsection (2)(c) of this section shall hold office for three years from the date of his appointment, unless he earlier resigns his office by writing under his own hand addressed to the Governor-General, or if by resolution of the House of Representatives supported by two-thirds of the members of that House he is declared unable to discharge the functions of his office by reason of persistent absence or infirmity of body or mind, or to be in breach of the provisions of section 121 of this Constitution.
(5) No person shall be appointed a member or senior member of the Council unless he is a citizen of Belize, except that a member of the Council who holds or has held office as a judge of a superior court of record need not be a citizen of Belize if he is a citizen of a Commonwealth country…
Section 58, subsection (1) states:
No person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives who- …
Section 59, subsection (3), part (a) states:
If circumstances such as are referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section arise because any member of the House of Representatives is under sentence of death or imprisonment, or adjudged to be insane or otherwise of unsound mind, or declared bankrupt and undischarged, or convicted of an offence relating to elections, and if it is open to the member to appeal against the decision (either with the leave of a court or other authority or without such leave), he shall forthwith cease to perform his functions as a member of the House but, subject to the provisions of this subsection, he shall not vacate his seat until the expiration of a period of thirty days thereafter: Provided that the Speaker may from time to time extend that period for further periods of thirty days to enable the member to pursue an appeal against the decision, so, however, that extensions of time exceeding in the aggregate one hundred and fifty days shall not be given without the approval, signified by resolution, of the House.
Section 63, subsection (1) states:
No person shall be qualified to be appointed as a Senator who- …
Section 64, subsection (3), part (a) states:
If circumstances such as are referred to in paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of this section arise because a Senator is under sentence of death or imprisonment, or adjudged to be insane or otherwise of unsound mind, or declared bankrupt and is undischarged, or convicted of an offence relating to elections, and it is open to the Senator to appeal against the decision (either with the leave of a court or other authority or without such leave), he shall forthwith cease to perform his functions as a Senator but, subject to the provisions of this subsection, he shall not vacate his seat until the expiration of a period of thirty days thereafter: Provided that the President of the Senate may from time to time extend that period for further periods of thirty days to enable the Senator to pursue an appeal against the decision, so, however, that extensions of time exceeding in the aggregate one hundred and fifty days shall not be given without the approval, signified by resolution, of the Senate.
Section 65 states:
(1) The Governor-General may declare a Senator to be, by reason of illness, temporarily incapable of performing his functions as a Senator and thereupon such Senator shall not perform his said functions until he is declared by the Governor-General again to be capable of performing them.
(2) Whenever a Senator is incapable of performing his functions as a Senator by reason of his absence from Belize or by virtue of the provisions of section 64 of this Constitution or by reason of a declaration made under the last foregoing subsection, the Governor-General may appoint a person qualified for appointment as a Senator to be temporarily a member of the Senate…
Section 80, subsection (3) states:
Whenever the office of Speaker is vacant or the Speaker is for any reason unable to perform any functions conferred on him by section 78 or 79 of this Constitution or subsection (1) of this section, that function may be performed by the Deputy Speaker.
Section 88 states:
…(6) A member of the [Elections and Boundaries] Commission may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or from any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(7) A member of the Commission shall be removed from office by the Governor-General if the question of the removal of that member from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council in accordance with the next following subsection and the Belize Advisory Council has advised the Governor-General that the member ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour.
(8) If the Prime Minister represents to the Governor- General that the question of removing a member of the Commission under this section ought to be investigated, then-
(9) If the question of removing a member of the Commission from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council under the preceding subsection, the Governor-General may suspend the member from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General and shall in any case cease to have effect if the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor-General that the member should not be removed from office.
(10) If the office of a member of the Commission is vacant or a member is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office, the Governor-General may appoint another person in the same manner in which such member was appointed, to act as a member of the Commission, and any person so appointed shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (6), (7), (8) and (9) of this section, continue to act until he is notified by the Governor- General that the circumstances giving rise to the appointment have ceased to exist…
Section 93, subsection (4) states:
A magistrate who is a qualified attorney-at-law shall have security of tenure and, subject to any compulsory retirement age for public officers, may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or from any other cause) or for misbehaviour.
Section 97 states:
(4) If the office of Chief Justice is vacant or the Chief Justice is for any reason including his absence from Belize unable to exercise the functions of his office, then, until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office or until the person holding that office has resumed those functions, as the case may be, they shall be exercised by the justice other than the Chief Justice, or if there be more than one then by such one of the justices as may for the time being be designated in that behalf by the Governor-General, acting in the manner prescribed in subsection (1) of this section.
(5) If the office of any justice other than the Chief Justice is vacant or if any such justice is appointed to act as Chief Justice or is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office or if the Chief Justice advises the Governor-General that the state of business in the Supreme Court so requires, the Governor-General, acting in the manner prescribed in subsection (2) of this section, may appoint a person who is qualified to be appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court to act as a justice of that court:…
Section 98 states:
…(3) A justice of the Supreme Court may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or from any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(4) A justice of the Supreme Court may be removed from office if the question of his removal from office for inability to perform the functions of his office or for misbehaviour has been referred to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission in writing and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, after considering the matter, recommends in writing to the Belize Advisory Council that the question of removal ought to be investigated.
(5) For the purpose of investigating the question of the removal of a Justice of the Supreme Court referred to it in subsection (4), the Belize Advisory Council shall:-
(6) If the question of removing a justice of the Supreme Court from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council under the preceding subsection, the Governor-General may suspend the justice from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General and shall in any case cease to have effect if the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor-General that the justice should not be removed from office.
(7) If the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor-General that the Justice of the Supreme Court ought to be or not to be removed from office, the Governor- General shall not notify the Justice in writing accordingly.
(8) The power to remove a Justice of the Supreme Court from office for inability to perform the functions of his office or for misbehaviour vests in the Governor- General, acting in accordance with this section.
Section 101 states:
…(4) If the office of the President is vacant or he is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office, then until some other person has been appointed to or has been appointed to act in, and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the President has resumed those functions, as the case may be, those functions shall be performed by such one of the other Justices of Appeal as the Governor- General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister given after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, may appoint for that purpose.
(5) If the office of a Justice of Appeal other than the President is vacant, or if any such Justice is appointed to act as the President, or is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office, the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister given after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, may appoint a person possessing such legal qualifications and experience as he, after consultation with the President, may deem appropriate to be temporarily a Justice of Appeal…
Section 102 states:
(2) A Justice of Appeal may be removed from office only for inability to discharge the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(3) A Justice of the Court of Appeal may be removed from office if the question of his removal from office for inability to perform the functions of his office or for misbehaviour has been referred to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission in writing and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, after considering the matter, recommends in writing to the Belize Advisory Council that the question of removal ought to be investigated.
(4) For the purpose of investigating the question of the removal of a Justice of the Court of Appeal referred to it under subsection (3), the Belize Advisory Council shall:- (a) sit as a tribunal in the manner provided in section 54 of this Constitution; and (b) enquire into the matter and report on the facts thereof to the Governor-General and advise the Governor-General whether the Justice of the Court of Appeal should be removed from office in accordance with this section.
(5) If the question of removing a Justice of Appeal from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council under the preceding subsection, the Governor-General may suspend the Justice from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General and shall in any case cease to have effect if the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor- General that the Justice should not be removed from office. .
(6) If the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor-General that the justice of the Court of Appeal ought to be or not to be removed from office, the Governor- General shall notify the Justice in writing accordingly.
(7) The power to remove a Justice of the Court of Appeal from office for inability to perform the functions of his office or for misbehaviour vests in the Governor- General, acting in accordance with this section.
Section 105 states:
(6) A member of the Commission may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or from any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(7) A member of the Commission shall be removed from office by the Governor-General if the question of the removal of that member from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council in accordance with the next following subsection and the Belize Advisory Council has advised the Governor-General that that member ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour.
(8) If the Prime Minister represents to the Governor- General that the question of removing a member of the Commission under this section ought to be investigated, then-
(9) If the question of removing a member of the Commission from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council under the preceding subsection, the Governor-General may suspend the member from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General and shall in any case cease to have effect if the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor-General that the member should not be removed from office.
(10) If the office of a member of the Commission is vacant or a member is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office, the Governor-General may appoint a person who is qualified for appointment as a member of the Commission to act as a member of the Commission, and any person so appointed shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (6), (7), (8) and (9) of this section, continue to act until he is notified by the Governor-General that the circumstances giving rise to the appointment have ceased to exist…
Section 108 states:
(3) If the office of Director of Public Prosecutions is vacant or if the holder of that office is for any reason unable to exercise the functions of his office, the Governor- General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission and with the concurrence of the Prime Minister given after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, may appoint a person to act as Director.
(4) A person appointed to act in the office of Director of Public Prosecutions shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (5), (7), (8) and (9) of this section, cease so to act-
(5) Subject to the provisions of subsection (6) of this section, the Director of Public Prosecutions shall vacate his office when he attains the age of sixty years or such other age as may be prescribed by the National Assembly: Provided that any law enacted by the National Assembly, to the extent to which it alters the prescribed age after a person has been appointed to be or to act as Director of Public Prosecutions, shall not have effect in relation to that person unless he consents that it should have effect.
(6) The Director of Public Prosecutions may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or from any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(7) The Director of Public Prosecutions shall be removed from office by the Governor-General if the question of his removal from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council in accordance with the next following subsection and the Belize Advisory Council has advised the Governor-General that he ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour.
(8) If the Prime Minister represents to the Governor- General that the question of removing the Director of Public Prosecutions under this section ought to be investigated, then-
(9) If the question of removing the Director of Public Prosecutions from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council under the preceding subsection, the Governor-General may suspend him from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General and shall in any case cease to have effect if the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor-General that he should not be removed from office.
Section 109 states:
…(2) If, after the 15 th day of January, 2002, the office of Auditor-General is vacant or if the holder of that office is for any reason unable to exercise the functions of his office, the Governor-General, acting on the recommendations of both Houses of the National Assembly contained in resolutions passed in that behalf, may appoint a person to act as Auditor- General…
(5) The Auditor-General may be removed from office in accordance with the provisions of this section only for inability or failure to perform the functions of his office (howsoever arising) or for misbehavior; and for the purpose of this section, any failure or undue delay by the Auditor-General to submit a report as required by section 120 shall be treated as a failure to perform the functions of his office.
(6) The Auditor-General shall be removed from office by the Governor-General if the question of his removal from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council in accordance with the next following subsection and the Belize Advisory Council has advised the Governor-General that he ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour.
(7) If the Prime Minister represents to the Governor- General that the question of removing the Auditor-General under this section ought to be investigated, then-
(8) If the question of removing the Auditor-General from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council under the preceding subsection, the Governor-General may suspend him from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General and shall in any case cease to have effect if the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor- General that he should not be removed from office.
Section 110E states:
(6) A member of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or from any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(7) A member of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission shall be removed from office by the Governor- General if the question of the removal of that member from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council in accordance with the next following subsection and the Belize Advisory Council has advised the Governor- General that that member ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehaviour.
(8) If the Prime Minister represents to the Governor- General that the question of removing a member of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission under this section ought to be investigated, then-
(9) If the question of removing a member of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission from office has been referred to the Belize Advisory Council under the preceding subsection, the Governor-General may suspend the member from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General and shall in any case cease to have effect if the Belize Advisory Council advises the Governor-General that the member should not be removed from office.
(10) If the office of a member of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission is vacant or a member is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office, the Governor-General may appoint a person who is qualified for appointment as a member of that Commission to act as a member of the Commission, and any person so appointed shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (6), (7), (8) and (9) of this section, continue to act until he is notified by the Governor-General that the circumstances giving rise to the appointment have ceased to exist…
Section 123 states:
(1) Any reference in this Constitution to power to make appointments to any public office shall be construed as including a reference to the power to make appointments on promotion and transfer to that office and to the power to appoint a person to act in that office during any period during which it is vacant or the holder thereof is unable to perform the functions of that office…
(3) Where by this Constitution any person is directed, or power is conferred on any person or authority to appoint a person, to act in or otherwise to perform the functions of an office if the holder thereof is unable to perform the functions of that office, the validity of any performance of those functions by the person so directed or of any appointment made in exercise of that power shall not be called in question in any court of law on the ground that the holder of the office is not unable to perform the functions of the office.