34Acting appointments

34  Acting appointments  (1) Where:  (a) the President is, or is expected to be, absent from duty; or  (b) there is, or is expected to be, a vacancy in the office of President; the Minister may appoint a Deputy President or an acting Deputy President to act as President during the absence, or while there is a vacancy in the office of President, as the case may be.  (2) Where a presidential member (including the President) of the Tribunal is, or is expected to be, absent from duty, the Governor‑General may appoint a person qualified to be appointed as a presidential member to act as a Deputy President during the absence from duty of the member.  (3) Where a member of the Tribunal other than a presidential member is, or is expected to be, absent from duty, the Governor‑General may appoint a person qualified to be appointed as a member of the Tribunal other than a presidential member to act as such a member during the absence from duty of the member.  (4) Where a person has been appointed under subsection (2) or (3), the Governor‑General may, by reason of pending proceedings or other special circumstances, direct, before the absent member of the Tribunal resumes duty, that the person so appointed shall continue to act under the appointment after the resumption of duty by the absent member until the Governor‑General terminates the appointment, but a person shall not continue to act as a member of the Tribunal by virtue of this subsection for more than 12 months after the resumption of duty by the absent member.  (5) Where a person has been appointed under this section to act as a member of the Tribunal during the absence from duty of a member of the Tribunal, and that member ceases to hold office without having resumed duty, the period of appointment of the person so appointed shall be deemed to continue until it is terminated by the Governor‑General, or until the expiration of 12 months from the date on which the absent member ceases to hold office, whichever first happens.