Section 31: Membership of statutory corporations and other bodies

31. Membership of statutory corporations and other bodies (1) Where an enactment establishes a statutory corporation or any board, tribunal, commission, committee, or similar body— (a) a person who is empowered to appoint a member of that corporation or body may appoint a qualified person to be— (i) an alternate or substitute member to attend any meeting where the substantive member is temporarily unable to attend; (ii) a temporary member to attend on behalf of a substantive member where he is precluded by illness, absence from Mauritius or other cause from exercising his functions, and when attending any meeting of the board, tribunal, commission, committee or similar corporation or body, the alternate, substitute or temporary member shall be deemed to be a member of that corporation or body; [Issue 6] I20 – 12 Revised Laws of Mauritius (b) the powers of the corporation or body shall not be affected by— (i) any vacancy in its membership; or (ii) any defect afterwards discovered in the appointment or qualification of a person purporting to be a member; (c) subject to any prescribed quorum, the corporation or body shall be deemed to be properly constituted, notwithstanding that when it is first established the person who is empowered to appoint a member of that corporation or body has not made all the appointments required to be made for that corporation or body; (d) the Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the corporation or body and, in his absence, the members present shall elect from among themselves a member to preside at that meeting and the member so elected shall, in relation to that meeting, exercise the functions and have all powers of the Chairperson. (2) Where there is a general power to appoint, subject to specified criteria in respect of the selection of some or all of the members, the alternate, substitute or temporary member appointed under subsection (1) shall be selected according to the same criteria as were applied in the selection for appointment of the original member. (3) Where the Chairperson or a member of a body referred to in subsection (1) is to be appointed at a specified time or at specified intervals and at the expiry of the specified time or interval the Chairperson or a member is not appointed, any Chairperson or member then in office shall continue in office, and shall, until a Chairperson or a sufficient number of members to form a quorum are appointed, be deemed to be the duly appointed Chairperson or member, as the case may be. (4) Where an enactment provides that— (a) the Chairperson of a statutory corporation or any board, committee or similar body shall be the Permanent Secretary or supervising officer of a Ministry or department, a person other than the Permanent Secretary or supervising officer may be appointed as Chairperson by the Minister to whom responsibility for the corporation or body is assigned; (b) the Permanent Secretary or supervising officer of a Ministry or department shall be a member of a statutory corporation or any board, committee or similar body, the Minister to whom responsibility for that corporation or body is assigned may appoint another officer from that Ministry or department as member of that corporation or body in lieu of the Permanent Secretary or supervising officer. [S. 31 amended by s. 25 of Act 27 of 2013 w.e.f. 21 December 2013.]