Section 26: Powers of Chairperson

Section 26 sets out the specific powers granted to the Chairperson of the Board. The Board is the body established to enforce this law. Under this section, the Chairperson is responsible for the general superintendence and direction of all administrative matters concerning the Board.\n\nThe Chairperson also manages how the Board handles incoming information. They have the power to authorise any officer of the Board to review and scrutinise documents. This applies to any intimation, complaint, reference, or correspondence that is addressed to the Board.\n\nFinally, the Chairperson controls how the Board's work is distributed. They can authorise an individual Member or groups of Members to perform specific functions of the Board and to conduct its proceedings. The Chairperson is also responsible for allocating these proceedings among the different Members.

Key points

• The Chairperson has general superintendence and gives direction on all administrative matters of the Board (a).
• The Chairperson can authorise any Board officer to scrutinise intimations, complaints, references, or correspondence (b).
• The Chairperson can authorise individual Members or groups of Members to perform Board functions and conduct proceedings (c).
• The Chairperson is responsible for allocating proceedings among the Members of the Board (c).

Common misreadings

• People might think the Chairperson must personally review every complaint, but the text states they can authorise any officer of the Board to scrutinise them.
• People might assume the full Board must sit for every proceeding, but the Chairperson can authorise an individual Member or groups of Members to conduct them.