This Act may be cited as the Canterbury University College Act, 1933, and shall come into force on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-four.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

There is hereby established in the City of Christchurch a college of the University of New Zealand, to be called the Canterbury University College.

The College shall consist of the Council, the professors and lecturers of the College for the time being in office, and the graduates and undergraduates of the University of New Zealand whose names are for the time being on the books of the College.

The said College shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, and shall be capable of holding real and personal property and of doing and suffering all that bodies corporate may do and suffer.

The College established under this Act is hereby declared to be the same College as that constituted a body corporate by the name of “The Canterbury College” under the Canterbury College Ordinance, 1873, and continued under the Canterbury College and the Canterbury Agricultural College Act, 1896; and the corporate identity of the College shall not be affected, notwithstanding any change in its name or constitution effected by this Act.

The Minister of Education shall be the Visitor of the College, and shall have all the powers and functions usually possessed by Visitors.

There shall be a Council of the College, to be called the Canterbury University College Council.

The Council shall consist of—

For the purposes of paragraph (b) of the last preceding subsection an electoral district which is partly within the Canterbury University District and partly within another University district shall be deemed to be wholly within the University district in which the greater part of the total population of the electoral district resides. For the purposes of this subsection the certificate of the Government Statistician as to the population of the electoral district and the proportion of that population residing within each University district shall be conclusive evidence thereof.

Whenever the office of Rector becomes vacant and the Council decides not to make any appointment thereto and notifies the Professorial Board of such decision, the vacancy thus caused in the Council shall be deemed to be a casual vacancy, and shall be filled by a member of the Professorial Board to be appointed by the Professorial Board, who shall hold office until the expiry of the term of office of the other member appointed by the Professorial Board, or until the appointment of a Rector, whichever happens first.

Whenever a Rector is appointed while there are two other persons in office as members of the Council appointed by the Professorial Board, one of such members, to be determined by lot where neither of them was appointed under the last preceding subsection, shall retire from membership of the Council on the first day of the month next following the date of the appointment of the Rector, and the Rector shall take office as a member of the Council on that day.

The members of the Board of Governors of the College in office on the coming into operation of this Act shall continue in office as members of the Council and the current term of office of each member shall be computed from the actual date of its commencement.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the members of the Council, other than the Rector, shall hold office for a term of three years, but all members shall, unless disqualified as hereinafter provided, be entitled to continue in office until the appointment or election of their successors in office.

In every year one of the members appointed or elected under each of the paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of subsection two of the last preceding section, and two of the members elected under paragraph (e) thereof, shall retire from office. In every third year, commencing in the year nineteen hundred and thirty-six, the member or members appointed under paragraph (f) of the said subsection shall retire from office.

Except in the case of appointments or elections to fill casual vacancies, members appointed or elected shall come into office on the first day of July next following the date of their appointment or election hereunder, on which day their predecessors in office shall retire.

The appointment of members of the Council to replace members due to retire in any year shall be made not later than the third Monday in June in such year.

The election of members of the Council to replace members due to retire in any year shall be held on the first Monday in June in such year.

Every retiring member shall be eligible for reappointment or re-election.

No person in the employment of the Council shall be eligible for office as a member of the Council unless he is the Rector or a member appointed by the Professorial Board.

A member of the Council who is in its employment shall not be entitled to vote on any question before the Council affecting himself, or directly affecting the salary of any member of the teaching staff of the College, or directly affecting any payment made by or due from the Council to any member of the teaching staff.

The powers of the Council shall not be affected by any vacancy in the membership thereof.

If any member of the Council—

he shall thereupon cease to be a member, and the vacancy thereby created shall be deemed to be a casual vacancy.

Subject to the provisions relating to a vacancy in the office of Rector, every casual vacancy shall, within forty-two days after the occurring thereof, be filled in the same manner as in the case of the vacating member, and the member appointed or elected to fill any casual vacancy shall hold office only for the residue of the term of the vacating member.

If at the times prescribed by this Act for the appointment or election of members no members or insufficient members are appointed or elected, or if a casual vacancy is not filled within the time hereinbefore prescribed, the Governor-General may appoint a suitable person in the place of the member who should have been appointed.

The Registrar of the College, or such other person as the Council appoints, shall be the Returning Officer for the purpose of conducting elections of members of the Council.

The Returning Officer shall prepare a separate roll for each class of electors, and shall enter in the respective rolls the name, address, and description of every person who possesses the necessary qualifications entitling him to be enrolled as an elector:

Provided that no person’s name shall be entered in more than one roll:

Provided further that any person who possesses more than one qualification and whose name has been entered by the Returning Officer in a roll may at any time while the rolls are open have his name transferred to any other roll of electors for enrolment in which he has the necessary qualification.

For the purpose of preparing the roll of electors under paragraph (c) of subsection two of section five hereof a certificate of the Secretary of any Education Board, or of the Secretary of the governing body of any school, or of the Director of Education, to the effect that any persons are all the teachers of the description specified in the said paragraph who are employed in schools under the control of such Board, or of such governing body, or of the Department of Education, as the case may be, shall be sufficient evidence of that fact, until the contrary is proved.

All rolls shall be closed at five o’clock in the afternoon of the twenty-eighth day next before the day on which the election is to be held, and shall continue to be closed until the election is completed.

No name shall be entered in any roll while such roll is closed.

Claims for enrolment or transfer shall be made and disposed of in manner prescribed by by-laws made under the authority of this Act.

At every election the votes shall be given by sealed voting-papers, or otherwise as prescribed by such by-laws.

In the case of an equality of votes the election shall be determined by lot by the Returning Officer in the presence of the Chairman or some other member of the Council.

The Council shall meet at least once in each month at such time and place as it determines:

Provided that if the Council so decides there shall be no meeting in the month of January in any year.

At its first meeting held in the month of July in each year the Council shall elect one of its members to be the Chairman for the ensuing year. The retiring Chairman shall be eligible for re-election.

For the purposes of the election of the Chairman the Registrar of the College shall preside at the meeting, but shall not be entitled to vote. In the case of an equality of votes the election shall be determined by lot.

The Council may from time to time appoint one of its members to be the Deputy Chairman of the Council. During any vacancy in the office of Chairman, or in the absence of the Chairman from the Canterbury Provincial District, or while he is incapacitated by sickness or otherwise, the Deputy Chairman shall have and may exercise and perform all the powers and duties of the Chairman.

The Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Council at which he is present. In the absence of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman from any meeting of the Council the members present shall select one of their number to be the Chairman for the purposes of that meeting.

At any meeting of the Council the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes shall also have a casting vote. All questions before the Council shall be decided by a majority of the valid votes recorded thereon.

At any meeting of the Council seven members shall form a quorum, and no business shall be transacted unless a quorum is present.

The Chairman may at any time, of his own motion, call a special meeting of the Council, and shall call a special meeting on the requisition in writing of any three members. Not less than three days’ previous notice in writing of the place and time of any special meeting shall be given to all members of the Council.

The Council may from time to time appoint standing or special committees, and may delegate any of the powers and duties of the Council to any such committee.

Any committee to which any powers or duties are delegated as aforesaid may, without confirmation by the Council, exercise or perform such powers or duties in like manner and with the same effect as the Council could itself have exercised or performed them.

The Council shall be the governing body of the College through which the corporation of the College shall act, and shall have the entire management of and superintendence over the affairs, concerns, and property of the College, and, subject to the provisions of this Act, shall in respect of all such matters have authority to act in such manner as appears to it to be best calculated to promote the interests of the College or of any other institution controlled by the Council.

Subject to the provisions of section three of the New Zealand University Amendment Act, 1928 (relating to the establishment of new Chairs), the Council shall have full power to appoint and remove all professors, lecturers, teachers, examiners, officers, and servants of the College or of any other institution controlled by the Council.

The seal of the College shall be in the custody of the Chairman of the Council, and shall not be affixed to any document except pursuant to a resolution of the Council.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Council may from time to time make such by-laws as may be considered necessary for the administration of the affairs of the College, including in particular (without limiting the generality of the foregoing provision) by-laws prescribing any matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or with respect to which by-laws are necessary or convenient for giving effect to this Act:

Provided that such by-laws shall not come into force until and unless they have been approved by the Governor-General.

The Council may from time to time appoint a member of the Professorial Board to be the Rector of the College. Every person so appointed shall hold office during the pleasure of the Council, and shall by virtue of his office be a member of the Council and the Chairman of the Professorial Board.

The Council may from time to time define the duties of the Rector.

The Rector may, during the intervals between meetings of the Professorial Board, exercise alone (but subject always to the control of the Council and to a right of appeal to the Professorial Board) such of the powers of the Professorial Board as to maintaining the discipline of the College as may be prescribed in that behalf by by-laws made under the authority of this Act.

There shall be a Professorial Board of the College, consisting of all the professors of the College for the time being and of such lecturers of the College for the time being as the Council may from time to time appoint to be members of the Professorial Board.

Whenever there is no Rector in office, the Professorial Board shall, at its first meeting held after such office becomes vacant, and at its annual meeting each year, elect one of its members, being a professor, to be the Chairman; and if it fails to do so the Council may appoint a professor to be the Chairman.

The Chairman, not being the Rector, shall hold office until the appointment of a Rector, or until the election or appointment of his successor under this section, whichever happens first, and shall be eligible for re-election or reappointment, but shall not hold office for more than two terms of office in succession.

The Professorial Board may from time to time appoint one of its members, being a professor, to be the Deputy Chairman of the Board. During any vacancy in the office of Chairman, or in the absence of the Chairman from the Canterbury Provincial District, or while he is incapacitated by sickness or otherwise, the Deputy Chairman shall have and may exercise and perform all the powers and duties of the Chairman.

The Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Professorial Board at which he is present. In the absence of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman from any meeting of the Board the members present shall select one of their number to be the Chairman for the purposes of that meeting.

At any meeting of the Professorial Board the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes shall also have a casting vote. All questions before the Board shall be decided by a majority of the valid votes recorded thereon.

At every meeting of the Professorial Board a quorum shall consist of such number of members as the Board with the consent of the Council from time to time determines, and no business shall be transacted unless a quorum is present.

Save as expressly provided herein, the Professorial Board shall have power to make rules as to the time and place of its meetings and the procedure thereat.

The Professorial Board shall be subject to the control of the Council, and shall have power of its own motion, or at the request of the Council, to make recommendations or reports to the Council in any matter affecting the College, and, in particular, may make recommendations or reports with respect to—

The Professorial Board shall have power to manage the College library, and also to deal with all matters relating to the maintenance of discipline amongst the students of the College, and shall have such powers of fining, suspending, and expelling students guilty of breaches of discipline, and such other powers of whatsoever kind, as may be conferred on it by by-laws made under the authority of this Act:

Provided that any person aggrieved by any action of the Professorial Board may appeal to the Council, whose decision shall be final.

All benefactions at any time vested in or enjoyed by the College with a declaration of trust, or as an endowment for the promotion of any particular branch of science or learning, shall be strictly applied by the Council accordingly.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and to the terms of any trust or endowment, the annual income of all real and personal property from time to time vested in or belonging to or enjoyed by the College shall be applied in such manner as the Council thinks fit towards all or any of the following purposes:—

Notwithstanding anything in the last preceding subsection, the Council may from time to time set apart such portion of the annual income as it thinks fit, and may either add such portion to the capital fund or set it aside as a reserve fund to meet extraordinary expenses and in the meantime to accumulate at interest.

Except with the precedent consent of the Minister of Education, the Council shall not apply for the purposes of any residence, hostel, or boarding-house for professors, lecturers, or students, or of any institution other than the College, any portion of the income or capital moneys of the College that is not required by some Act other than this Act or the terms of a trust or endowment to be so applied.

Subject to the terms of any trust or endowment, any moneys belonging to the College and available for investment may be invested in accordance with the provisions of the Trustee Act, 1908, as to the investment of trust funds, or in such other manner as the Governor-General from time to time approves.

The Council may, out of the general fund of the College, pay and reimburse to members of the Council the reasonable travelling-expenses incurred by them in respect of their attendance at meetings of the Council or of any committee of the Council or otherwise in transacting the business of the Council.

The Council may in any year expend out of the general fund of the College for purposes not authorized by any law for the time being in force any sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate one hundred pounds.

There shall be payable by the students of the College such fees as the Council from time to time prescribes.

The Council may from time to time, with the sanction of the Governor-General, purchase or otherwise acquire on behalf of the College and for the purposes of the College or of any other institution controlled by the Council any piece or parcel of land.

The Council may grant leases of the lands of the College, and for that purpose is hereby declared to be a leasing authority within the meaning of the Public Bodies’ Leases Act, 1908.

Save as authorized by the last preceding subsection, the Council shall not, without the previous consent of the Governor-General, sell, mortgage, or otherwise alienate such lands or any part thereof.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Public Bodies’ Leases Act, 1908, or in any lease granted by the Council, the Council may in its absolute discretion, at any time not earlier than three years nor later than one year before the expiration of any lease that does not confer a right of renewal, grant a renewal of such lease upon such terms as it thinks fit. The provisions of this section shall apply to any lease whether granted before or after the commencement of this Act.

The enactments mentioned in the Schedule hereto are hereby repealed.

All Orders in Council, by-laws, rules, appointments, applications, rolls, notices, diplomas, scholarships, exhibitions, leases, and generally all acts of authority which originated under any of the enactments hereby repealed and are subsisting or in force on the commencement of this Act shall enure for the purposes of this Act as fully and effectually as if they had originated under the corresponding provisions of this Act, and accordingly shall, where necessary, be deemed to have so originated.

All matters and proceedings commenced under any such enactment and pending or in progress on the commencement of this Act may be continued, completed, and enforced under this Act.

All references in any Act in force on the commencement of this Act to the Canterbury College or to the Board of Governors of the Canterbury College shall hereafter be read as references to the Canterbury University College or to the Canterbury University College Council, as the case may be.

Section forty-two of the Finance Act, 1925, is hereby amended by omitting from subsection two the words “the Board of Governors of Canterbury College”.