22 Legal status of verderers.U.K.
(1)The verderers as constituted under this Act, shall be a body corporate by the name of the Verderers of the New Forest, having a perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to make contracts, and sue and be sued, for the purposes of their constitution, and to hold lands so far as may be necessary for offices or otherwise:
(2)An act or proceeding of the verderers shall not be questioned on account of any vacancy or vacancies in their body:
(3)A defect in the qualification or election of any elective verderer shall not vitiate any proceedings of a court of swainmote in which he or they have taken part in cases where the majority of verderers, parties to such proceedings, are duly entitled to act:
(4)Any minute made of administrative proceedings at meetings of a court of swainmote, if signed either at the meeting of the court or at the next ensuing meeting of the court, by any person purporting for the time being to be chairman of the court, shall be receivable in evidence of such proceedings in all legal proceedings without further proof; and until the contrary is proved every court where minutes have been so made of the proceedings shall be deemed to have been duly convened and held:
(5)A verderer by being party to, or executing in his capacity of verderer, any contract or other instrument on behalf of the verderers, or otherwise exercising any of the powers of the verderers, shall not be subject individually to any action, suit, trial, prosecution, or other legal proceedings, and the verderers may apply any moneys from time to time coming into their hands to the payment of any costs of legal proceedings or damages they may incur in execution of their powers:
(6)Any appointment and any contract or other document which is not required by law to be under seal shall be deemed to be well executed if signed by the chairman for the time being of a court of swainmote, such signature being expressed to be by or on behalf of the Verderers of the New Forest.