This Act may be cited as the University of Otago Council Act, 1946.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

The Council shall consist of—

Ibid., Vol. II, p. 1121

Ibid., p. 1025

The Council itself may from time to time, if and when it thinks fit, appoint two additional persons (one of whom may be a member of the teaching staff of the University) to be members of the Council (hereinafter referred to as co-opted members).

Every member of the Council in office on the passing of this Act whose term of office expires in the year nineteen hundred and forty-eight shall, unless sooner disqualified as hereinafter provided, continue in office until the year nineteen hundred and forty-nine, and every member of the Council in office on the passing of this Act whose term of office expires in the year nineteen hundred and fifty shall, unless sooner so disqualified, continue in office until the year nineteen hundred and fifty-one.

The members to be appointed under paragraphs (c) and (j) of subsection one hereof, and one member to be elected under paragraph (d) of the same subsection, shall come into office in the year nineteen hundred and forty-seven, in accordance with the provisions of subsections five, six, and seven of the next succeeding section, as if they were to replace members due to retire in that year.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the members of the Council appointed or elected under paragraphs (a), (b), and (d) of subsection one of the last preceding section, and the co-opted members, shall hold office for a term of four years, and all other members (except the Vice-Chancellor) shall hold office for a term of two years; but all members except co-opted members and the Vice-Chancellor shall, unless disqualified as hereinafter provided, be entitled to continue in office until the appointment or election of their successors in office.

In every second year, commencing in the year nineteen hundred and forty-nine, one of the members appointed under each of the paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection one of the last preceding section, and all the members appointed under paragraphs (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l) thereof, shall retire from office.

In every fourth year, commencing in the year nineteen hundred and forty-nine, two of the members elected under paragraph (d) of subsection one of the last preceding section shall retire from office, and in every fourth year, commencing in the year nineteen hundred and fifty-one, three of those members shall retire from office.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the members to retire in any year shall be those who have been longest in office since their last appointment or election.

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

The appointment of members of the Council to replace members (other than co-opted members) due to retire in any year shall be made not later than the fourth Monday in June in that year.

The election of members of the Council to replace members due to retire in any year shall be held in June in that year, on the first Monday in that month or as soon as practicable thereafter.

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

A member of the Council who is in its employment shall not be entitled to vote on any question before the Council affecting himself.

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

If any member of the Council (other than the Vice-Chancellor)—

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

Every casual vacancy shall, within forty-five days after the occurring thereof, be filled in the same manner as in the case of the vacating member:

Provided that it shall not be necessary for the Council to fill a vacancy caused by the death, resignation, or disqualification of a co-opted member.

Any 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 or elected.

The Registrar of the University of Otago, 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 and address, and if necessary the number of votes, of every person or body that possesses the necessary qualifications entitling him or it 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 purposes of an election under paragraph (g) of subsection one of section three hereof the governing body of each school shall have one vote for every hundred or part of a hundred pupils (exclusive of the pupils in any intermediate or lower department) in average attendance at the school for the year ended on the thirty-first day of December next before the election. For the purposes of this subsection the certificate of the Secretary of the governing body of the school as to the number of the pupils shall be sufficient evidence thereof, until the contrary is proved.

For the purpose of preparing the roll of electors under paragraph (h) of subsection one of section three hereof a certificate of the Secretary of any Education Board to the effect that any persons are all the teachers of the description specified in that paragraph who are employed in schools under the control of that Board shall be sufficient evidence of that fact, until the contrary is proved, and a certificate of the Secretary of the governing body of any secondary school, technical high school, or combined school to the effect that any persons are all the teachers of the description specified in that paragraph who are employed in intermediate schools or intermediate departments under the control of that governing body shall be sufficient evidence of that fact, until the contrary is proved.

For the purpose of preparing the roll of electors under paragraph (i) of subsection one of section three hereof a certificate of the Secretary of the governing body of any school to the effect that any persons are all the teachers of the description specified in that paragraph who are employed in that school (excluding any intermediate or lower departments) 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-first 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 the roll is closed.

Claims for enrolment or transfer shall be made and disposed of in manner prescribed by regulations made by the Council.

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

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

The Council may from time to time appoint some fit and proper person to be the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago. Every person so appointed shall hold office during the pleasure of the Council, and shall be a member of the Council by virtue of his office.

The Vice-Chancellor shall be the academic head of the University, and the Chairman of the Professorial Board.

The Council may from time to time define the duties of the Vice-Chancellor.

The Vice-Chancellor may, during the intervals between meetings of the Professorial Board, exercise alone (but subject always to the control of the Council) such of the powers of the Professorial Board as may be prescribed in that behalf by regulations made by the Council.

The University of Otago Ordinance, 1869, is hereby amended by omitting from sections two and six the word “Vice-Chancellor” wherever it occurs, and substituting the word “Pro-Chancellor”.

There is hereby constituted a Professorial Board of the University of Otago, which shall consist of the Vice-Chancellor, and of all the professors of the University for the time being, and of such lecturers of the University for the time being as the Council declares to be members of the Board.

The Professorial Board constituted under this Act is hereby declared to be the same body as the Professorial Board constituted under the University of Otago Council Act, 1911.

The Vice-Chancellor shall preside over every meeting of the Professorial Board at which he is present. In the absence of the Vice-Chancellor 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 Vice-Chancellor, or the person presiding in his absence, 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 University, and, in particular and without limiting the powers hereinbefore conferred, may make recommendations or reports with respect to—

The University of Otago Council Act, 1911, is hereby repealed.

All appointments, applications, rolls, notices, and generally all acts of authority which originated under any of the provisions of the Act hereby repealed and are subsisting or in force on the passing 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 the Act hereby repealed and pending or in progress on the passing of this Act may be continued, completed, and enforced under this Act.