The Londonderry Harbour Order (Northern Ireland) 2002

Article 9

SCHEDULE 1 Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners

Part I Constitution of Commissioners

1.  In this Schedule “the Council” means the Derry City Council.

2.—(1) The Commissioners shall consist of not less than 8 and not more than 12 persons who shall be appointed by the Department and any such appointment may take effect at any time after the coming into operation of this Order.

(2) The persons appointed under sub-paragraph (1) shall include the person for the time being appointed as Chief Executive Officer to the Commissioners under sub-paragraph (6) and may, on the advice of the Commissioners, include one other officer of the Commissioners.

(3) (a) A person appointed as Commissioner under sub-paragraph (1) other than a person referred to in sub-paragraph (2) or in paragraph 3 shall hold office for a period of 4 years or such lesser period as the Department may determine but shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(b) A person referred to in sub-paragraph (2) shall hold office as Commissioner so long as he holds the qualifying office by virtue of which he was appointed.

(4) (a) The Department shall designate a Commissioner as Chairman of the Commissioners and may designate another Commissioner as Deputy Chairman.

(b) A person referred to in sub-paragraph (2) shall not hold the office of Chairman or Deputy Chairman.

(5) Section 18(2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(1) shall apply to any appointment made by the Department under sub-paragraph (1).

(6) The Commissioners shall appoint a person to act as Chief Executive Officer to the Commissioners.

3.  A maximum of three of the persons appointed under paragraph 2(1) shall be members of the Council appointed by the Department following consultation with the Council. Any member so appointed shall be eligible to serve as Commissioner for a period co-terminus with his membership of the Council.

4.  A person appointed under paragraph 3 who ceases to be a member of the Council shall thereupon cease to be a Commissioner.

5.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) in the event of a casual vacancy occurring in the office of the Chairman the vacancy shall be filled by the Deputy Chairman until a new Chairman is appointed by the Department.

(2) If there is no Deputy Chairman, the Commissioners shall elect one of their number, other than a person referred to in paragraph 2(2), to fill any such vacancy as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) and the Commissioner so elected shall hold office as Chairman until a new Chairman is appointed by the Department.

6.—(1) The Department in making appointments under paragraph 2(1) shall select persons who appear to it to have experience of, and to have capacity in, one or more of the matters mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) or to have in some other respect special knowledge or experience which would be of value to the Commissioners in the discharge of their functions, or to have any other skills and abilities considered from time to time by the Department to be relevent or useful to the Commissioners.

(2) The matters referred to in sub-paragraph (1) are the management of harbours, shipping, port usage, industrial, commercial or financial matters, administration, and the organisation of workers.

7.  The Department may appoint one of its officials to attend meetings of the Commissioners as an observer. Any observer so appointed shall not take part in any deliberation or decision of the Commissioners.

Part II Procedure, etc, of Commissioners

8.  A meeting of the Commissioners shall be held not later than one month after the date on which the first appointment of Commissioners under this Schedule takes effect and thereafter meetings shall be held on such dates and at such intervals as the Commissioners may determine.

9.  The quorum required for a meeting of the Commissioners shall be four.

10.—(1) A Commissioner shall, if he is in any way directly or indirectly interested in any contract or other transaction entered into or proposed to be entered into by the Commissioners which involves or is likely to involve any payment by or on behalf of the Commissioners, disclose the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Commissioners as soon as possible after the relevant circumstances have come to his knowledge.

(2) Any disclosure under sub-paragraph (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting, and that Commissioner shall withdraw from the meeting while that contract or transaction is being considered and shall not take part after the disclosure in any deliberation or decision of the Commissioners with respect to that contract or transaction.

(3) Where under sub-paragraph (2) a Commissioner is prohibited from taking part in any deliberation or decision, that Commissioner shall be disregarded for the purpose of constituting a quorum for that deliberation or decision.

11.  The proceedings of the Commissioners or any Committee appointed by the Commissioners shall not be invalidated by any vacancy in the membership thereof or by any defect in the appointment of or by the disqualification of any person acting as Chairman or Deputy Chairman or a Commissioner.

12.  The seal of the Commissioners shall be authenticated by the signature of the Chairman of the Commissioners or some other Commissioner authorised by the Commissioners to act in that behalf and of the Secretary to the Commissioners or some other person authorised by the Commissioners to act in that behalf.

(1)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)