21Acting appointment

21 Acting appointment

(1) Where the Chairman of a committee is, or is expected to be, unable (whether on account of illness or otherwise) to exercise the functions of his or her office, or there is a vacancy in the office of Chairman of a committee, the Minister may appoint a person to be acting Chairman during the absence or until the filling of the vacancy. (2) If a member of a committee is at any time appointed acting Chairman of a committee, his or her office shall, during the period of his or her appointment, be deemed, for the purposes of subsection (3), to be vacant. (3) Where a member of a committee other than the Chairman is, or is expected to be, unable (whether on account of illness or otherwise) to attend meetings or sittings of the committee, or there is a vacancy in the office of a member of a committee, the Minister may appoint a person to be an acting member during that absence or until the filling of the vacancy. (4) The Minister may: (a) determine the terms and conditions of appointment of a person appointed under this section; and (b) at any time terminate such an appointment. (5) A person appointed under subsection (1) to be acting Chairman, or a person appointed under subsection (3) to be an acting member of a committee, has all the powers and functions of the Chairman or of a member, as the case may be. (6) The validity of any act of a committee shall not be called in question in any proceedings on a ground arising from the fact that the occasion for the appointment of a person purporting to be appointed under this section had not arisen or that an appointment under this section had ceased to have effect.