Judicial Council Act 2019

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Term of membership of Judicial Conduct Committee

46. (1) A nomination under section 44 (3) shall—

(a) cease to have effect upon—

(i) the expiration of the period or the passing of the occasion or occasions, as the case may be, specified in the nomination, or

(ii) the rescinding of the nomination by the ex officio member of the Judicial Conduct Committee who made the nomination,

(b) where the ex officio member of the Judicial Conduct Committee who made the nomination ceases to hold the judicial office by virtue of which he or she became such ex officio member, cease to have effect upon that ex officio member ceasing to hold that office,

(c) where the judge in respect of whom the nomination was made ceases to hold the judicial office by virtue of which he or she was so nominated, cease to have effect upon his or her ceasing to hold that office, or

(d) where the judge in respect of whom the nomination was made by notice in writing given or sent to the ex officio member of the Judicial Conduct Committee indicates that he or she does not wish to continue to perform the functions concerned, cease to have effect upon the receipt of that notice by that ex officio member.

(2) Subject to section 47 (3), each elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee and, subject to section 47 (4), each lay member of the Judicial Conduct Committee shall continue to be a member of the Committee for a term of 4 years from the date of his or her election or appointment, as the case may be, unless he or she sooner dies, resigns, becomes ineligible for membership or, in the case of a lay member, is removed from membership of the Committee.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), an elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee or a lay member of the Judicial Conduct Committee whose term of membership expires with the passage of time shall be eligible for re-election or re-appointment to the Committee for a further term of 4 years as an elected member or lay member, as the case may be, of that Committee.

(4) An elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee or a lay member of the Judicial Conduct Committee who has served 2 terms as a member of that Committee shall not be eligible for re-election or re-appointment to the Committee as an elected member or lay member, as the case may be, other than in accordance with subsection (5).

(5) An elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee or a lay member of the Judicial Conduct Committee who has served 2 terms as a member of that Committee shall be eligible for re-election or re-appointment to the Committee as an elected member or lay member, as the case may be, after a period of 4 years has elapsed from the date of the expiration of his or her most recent term of membership of the Judicial Conduct Committee as such an elected member or lay member, as the case may be.

(6) An elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee may resign from that Committee by notice in writing given or sent to the chairperson of the Committee and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the chairperson receives the notice.

(7) A lay member of the Judicial Conduct Committee may resign from that Committee by notice in writing given or sent to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the Minister receives the notice.

(8) The lay member of the Judicial Conduct Committee concerned shall give or send a copy of the notice under subsection (7) to the chairperson of the Judicial Conduct Committee when he or she gives or sends the notice to the Minister or as soon as practicable thereafter.

(9) (a) An elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee who is appointed to a judicial office referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 44 (4) other than the one that he or she held when he or she was so elected shall continue to be an elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee.

(b) Where an elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee ceases to be a judge, he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Committee.

(10) The Government may at any time remove from the Judicial Conduct Committee a lay member of the Judicial Conduct Committee if the Government is satisfied that the lay member—

(a) has become incapable through ill health of effectively performing the functions of the office,

(b) has committed stated misbehaviour,

(c) has a conflict of interest of such significance that he or she should cease to hold office, or

(d) is otherwise unfit to hold office or unable to discharge the functions of the office.

(11) The Judicial Conduct Committee may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership provided there are not less than—

(a) 4 members of the Committee who are judges, and

(b) 3 lay members of the Committee.