20.- 1. The Governor-General may, by Proclamation which shall be published in the Official Gazette, declare that a state of public emergency exists for the purposes of this Chapter.

2. Every declaration shall lapse-

a. in the case of a declaration made when Parliament is sitting, at the expiration of a period of seven days beginning with the date of publication of the declaration; and

b. in any other case, at the expiration of a period of twenty-one days beginning with the date of publication of the declaration, unless it has in the meantime been approved by resolutions of both Houses of Parliament.

3. A declaration of public emergency may at any time be revoked by the Governor-General by Proclamation which shall be published in the Official Gazette.

4. A declaration of public emergency that has been approved of by resolutions of the Houses of Parliament in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, remain in force so long as the resolutions of those Houses remain in force and no longer.

5. A resolution of a House of Parliament passed for the purposes of this section shall remain in force for three months or such shorter period as may be specified therein:

Provided that any such resolution may be extended from time to time by a further such resolution each extension not exceeding three months from the date of the resolution effecting the extension and any such resolution may be revoked at any time by a resolution of that House.

6. Any provision of this section that a declaration of emergency shall lapse or cease to be in force at any particular time is without prejudice to the making of a further such declaration whether before or after that time.

7. A resolution of a House of Parliament for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section and a resolution extending any such resolution shall not be passed unless it is supported by the votes of a majority of all members of that House.

8. The Governor-General may summon the Houses of Parliament to meet for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section notwithstanding that Parliament stands dissolved, and the persons who were members of the Senate and the House immediately before the dissolution shall be deemed, for those purposes, still to be members of those Houses, but, subject to the provisions of sections 33 and 42 of this Constitution (which relate to the election of the President, Vice-President, the Speaker, and the Deputy Speaker) a House of Parliament shall not, when summoned by virtue of this subsection, transact any business other than debating and voting upon a resolution for the purpose of subsection (2) of this section.