The General Chiropractic Council (Constitution and Procedure) Rules Order 1999

Appointment of ordinary members of statutory committees

4.—(1) The members (other than co-opted members) of any statutory committee of the Council from time to time in existence shall be appointed in accordance with the procedure set out in this Rule.

(2) Before first appointing any members to the Investigating Committee, Professional Conduct Committee or Health Committee, the Council shall determine the number of members of the Council of which the committee concerned is to be composed (subject always to the minimum number of such members provided for in the Act), and shall from time to time review that number.

(3) The appointment of members, other than co-opted members or the members of the Education Committee referred to in paragraph 25(1)(c) and (d) of Schedule 1 to the Act, to fill vacancies arising in relation to a statutory committee shall take place at the next convenient meeting of the Council after the vacancy arises, and, subject to paragraph (9), those members shall be chosen from members nominated in writing to the Registrar before the meeting of the Council concerned, or orally nominated at that meeting upon consideration of that item by the Council.

(4) Any member of the Council may nominate another member for the purposes of paragraph (3), but a member may not nominate himself; and any nomination shall specify the committee with respect to which the nominee is nominated.

(5) For the purposes of the following provisions of this Rule–

(a) on appointing members to fill vacancies in the Education Committee, each of the two categories described in paragraph 25(1)(a) and (b) of Schedule 1 to the Act shall be treated as giving rise to a separate class of appointment;

(b) on appointing members to fill vacancies in the Investigating Committee or the Professional Conduct Committee, vacancies which, to meet the requirements of paragraph 30 or 34 of that Schedule, must be filled by a member appointed to the Council by the Privy Council shall be treated as giving rise to one class of appointment, and those for which there is no such requirement as giving rise to another class of appointment; and

(c) on appointing members to fill vacancies in the Health Committee, vacancies which, to meet the requirement of paragraph 38(a) of that Schedule, must be filled by a member appointed to the Council by the Privy Council shall be treated as giving rise to a separate class of appointment from a vacancy which, to meet the requirement of paragraph 38(b) of that Schedule, must be filled by a member falling within that paragraph 38(b), and those for which there is neither requirement shall be treated as giving rise to a further class of appointment.

(6) In the case of an appointment to the Education Committee, only members meeting the requirement for the class of appointment in question as to election or appointment provided for in paragraph 25(1)(a) and (b) of Schedule 1 to the Act shall be eligible candidates in respect of that class.

(7) In the case of an appointment to the Investigating Committee, Professional Conduct Committee or Health Committee–

(a) there shall first (so far as relevant to the committee in question) be filled any vacancy which, to meet the requirement of paragraph 38(b) of Schedule 1 to the Act, must be filled by a member falling within that paragraph 38(b) (registered medical practitioners), followed by any number of vacancies which, to meet the requirements of paragraph 30, 34 or 38(a) of that Schedule, must be filled by members appointed to the Council by the Privy Council, and last any number of vacancies for which there is no such requirement;

(b) for the purposes of this Rule, only members meeting any such requirement shall be eligible candidates in respect of the class of appointment to which the requirement relates;

(c) any member who is such an eligible candidate but who fails to be appointed on a ballot or lot relating to that class, may be appointed for any other class relating to the committee in question for which he is an eligible candidate and for which an appointment remains to be made; and

(d) for the purposes of this Rule, in respect of the class of appointment referred to in sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph (5) for which there is no such requirement as is mentioned in those sub-paragraphs, all members of the Council who are duly nominated to the committee concerned shall be eligible candidates.

(8) If the number of members nominated for appointment to a committee who are eligible candidates in respect of the class of appointment in question does not exceed the number of vacancies for that class, the members so nominated shall, subject to paragraph (12), be treated as duly appointed, and in any other case the appointment of members to the committee shall be determined between the members so nominated who are eligible candidates in respect of that class by ballot conducted by the Registrar at the meeting of the Council concerned.

(9) Where, at the time of an appointment to fill a vacancy in the Health Committee which must be filled by a person falling within paragraph 38(b) of Schedule 1 to the Act (registered medical practitioners), there is only one member of the Council who does so, that member shall be deemed to be nominated in respect of the Committee for the purposes of paragraph (3), and the provisions of paragraph (8) treating him to be duly appointed in respect of that class of appointment shall have effect accordingly.

(10) At a ballot under paragraph (8), each member shall have a number of votes equal to the number of vacancies, and a member may vote for himself; save that no member may vote more than once for the same person in respect of the same ballot.

(11) The persons appointed to a committee on a ballot under paragraph (8) shall be the eligible candidates (equal in number to the number of vacancies for the class of appointment in question) who have received in order the highest number of votes recorded, and in the case of a tie between those having the lowest number of votes which would be capable of giving rise to an appointment to the Committee in respect of that class, shall (subject to paragraph (12)) be determined between those tying by lot conducted by the Registrar at the meeting.

(12) The appointments treated as made under paragraph (8) without a ballot, and those made by lot under paragraph (11), shall be subject to ratification by resolution of the Council passed (following completion of appointments to committees under the preceding provisions of this Rule) by a majority of those members of the Council present and voting; and if any such appointment is not so ratified, the Council shall (without prejudice to those appointments which are duly ratified by such resolution) proceed with the appointment concerned afresh in accordance with this Rule, but ignoring so far as necessary paragraph (7)(a)).

(13) Upon a person referred to in paragraph 25(1)(c) or (d) of Schedule 1 to the Act being appointed a member of the Council, the person so appointed shall, in accordance with that paragraph 25(1), become a member of the Education Committee, and the Registrar shall report that fact to the next convenient meeting of the Council.

(14) References in this Rule to any requirements of provisions of Part II of Schedule 1 to the Act shall be construed as including reference to those requirements as they may be modified in effect by Part III of that Schedule.