56.
—(1) There shall be a President, 2 Vice-Presidents and a Treasurer of the Society who shall be elected by —
(a)
members and members-elect of the Council taking office in either case on 1st January after an annual election under section 54(1) from amongst those members at a meeting of the Council before that date; or
(b)
members of the Council taking office under section 54(2) from amongst those members at the first meeting of the Council.
[40/96]
(2) If any casual vacancy arises in respect of the office of the President, a Vice-President or the Treasurer of the Society, the Council shall, at its next meeting or as soon as possible thereafter, elect one of its members to fill the vacancy.
[40/96]
(3) The President of the Society or in his absence a Vice-President of the Society nominated by the President shall be the chairman of the Council and shall preside at all meetings of the Council and of the Society.
[40/96]
(4) In the absence of the President and the Vice-Presidents of the Society, the Council or the Society, as the case may be, shall elect a chairman from among the respective members.
[40/96]
57.
—(1) A statutory member of the Council shall vacate his office if —
(a)
he has been struck off the roll or suspended from practising as an advocate and solicitor or has been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty;
3(b)
he becomes of unsound mind;
3 Paragraph (b) of section 57(1) will be deleted and substituted by the following paragraph when item 1(26)(c) in the Second Schedule to the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008 (Act 21 of 2008) is brought into operation:
“(b)
he becomes mentally disordered and incapable of managing himself or his affairs;”.
(c)
he is an undischarged bankrupt;
(d)
he has entered into a composition with his creditors or a deed of arrangement for the benefit of his creditors; or
(e)
he has one or more outstanding judgments against him amounting in the aggregate to $100,000 or more which he has been unable to satisfy within 6 months from the date of the earliest judgment.
[30/86; 15/95]
(2) An elected member shall vacate his office in any of the circumstances specified in subsection (1) and shall also vacate his office if —
(a)
being elected under section 49(1), he ceases for any reason to have in force a practising certificate;
(b)
he resigns his seat on the Council; or
(c)
he is absent from 3 consecutive meetings of the Council without its consent.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a person appointed under section 53(1) and (2) or 55(1) shall be deemed to have been elected under section 49(1).
[30/86]
(4) Subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply to a member of the Council who has obtained the leave of the court under section 49(4) prior to his election or appointment as a member of the Council.
[30/86]