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Legal Aid Act 1977
16Constitution of board
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16 Constitution of board
(1) The board consists of the following members (each of whom is
a commissioner):
(a) the president of the commission;
(b) the chief executive officer;
(c) 5 other members of whom—
(i) 1 member represents the Minister; and
(ii) 1 member is chosen from a panel of not less than 3 people
nominated by the council of the bar association; and
(iii) 1 member is chosen from a panel of not less than 3 people
nominated by the council of the law society; and
(iv) 1 member is chosen from a panel of not less than 3 people
nominated by the executive committee of the Australian
Capital Territory Council of Social Service Inc; and
(v) 1 member has expertise in financial management;
Board of commission Part 3
(d) 1 member who has qualifications, training or experience that
will enable the member to give other specialist assistance to the
commission in the exercise of its functions.
Note 1 A person is not eligible for appointment as the president of the
commission unless the person is or has been a judge, or the person is a
legal practitioner and has been for at least 5 years (see s 50 (1)).
Note 2 A person is not eligible for appointment as a commissioner under
s 16 (1) (c) (iv) if the person is a legal practitioner (see s 50 (2)).
(2) The Minister must appoint the members of the board other than the
chief executive officer.
(3) However, the Minister must only appoint a member mentioned in
subsection (1) (d) if, in the opinion of the Minister, the commission
requires specialist assistance in the exercise of its functions.
Note 2 In particular, an appointment may be made by naming a person or
nominating the occupant of a position (see Legislation Act, s 207).
Note 3 Certain Ministerial appointments require consultation with a Legislative
Assembly committee and are disallowable (see Legislation Act,
div 19.3.3).
(4) A person appointed as a member by the Minister is appointed on a
part-time basis.
(5) The Minister may reappoint a member mentioned in
subsection (1) (c) (ii) to (iv) without needing to choose from a panel
of not less than 3 people if—
(a) the entity that nominated the member recommended the
reappointment; and
(b) the Minister consulted the president of the commission about the
recommendation.