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Niue Cultural Council Act 1986

NIUE LAWS
LEGISLATION AS AT DECEMBER 2006

NIUE CULTURAL COUNCIL ACT 1986

1986/109 – 16 June 1986

1 Short title
2 Interpretation
3 Establishment of the Niue Cultural Council
4 Functions of the Council
5 Meetings
6 Officers
7 Annual Report
8 Use of the common seal
9 Regulations
10 Expenses of the Council

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To establish the Niue Cultural Council to promote all aspects of work connected with the natural history and material culture of Niue and to define the functions and powers of the Council

1 Short title

This is the Niue Cultural Council Act 1986.

2 Interpretation

In this Act –

"Council" means the Niue Cultural Council established under section 3;

"historic site" means a location of significant historic connections, often associated with a famous person or persons or event;

"oral tradition" interprets as an expression of all signs, spoken or gestural, musical or visual, produced by man within the given culture.

3 Establishment of Niue Cultural Council

(1) There is hereby established for the purposes of this Act a Niue Cultural Council.

(2) The Council shall consist of –

(a) A Chairman; and

(b) Four other members appointed by Cabinet.

(3) At least 2 members of the Council shall not be members of the Niue Public Service.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, every member of the Council shall be appointed for a term of 3 years and may be reappointed for a like term.

(5) Any member of the Council may at any time be removed from office by Cabinet for disability, neglect of duty or misconduct proved to the satisfaction of Cabinet, or may, at any time, by written notice delivered to Cabinet regarding that member’s office.

(6) Any member of the Council who ceases permanently to reside in Niue shall, upon such cessation, be deemed to have resigned from office.

(7) If any member of the Council dies or otherwise ceases to be a member of the Council, Cabinet shall appoint some other person to be a member of the Council for the balance of the term for which the vacating member of the Council was appointed.

(8) Every member of the Council, unless that member sooner ceases to be a member of the Council otherwise than by effluxion of time, shall continue to hold office as a member of the Council until a successor comes into office, notwithstanding that the term for which that member was appointed may have expired.

(9) In any case in which Cabinet is satisfied that any member of the Council is temporarily incapacitated by reason for illness, temporary absence from Niue or other sufficient cause from performing the duties of his office, Cabinet may in writing appoint a deputy to act for such member during the incapacity of such member, and any such deputy shall, whilst acting as such, be deemed another member of the Council, as the case may be; and no such appointment of a deputy and no acts done by a deputy as such shall, in any proceedings or otherwise, be questioned on the grounds that the occasion of the appointment has not arisen or has ceased.

4 Functions of the Council

(1) The functions of the Council shall be –

(a) To promote all aspects of work connected with culture and technology including documentation, conservation and repatriation of artifacts;

(b) To encourage and foster the study of oral traditions, language and creative and performing arts in their traditional and contemporary forms;

(c) To encourage the promotion of salvage archaeology and the conservation of archaeological materials, sites and monuments; and

(d) To regulate and control the use and development of historic sites.

(2) Without limiting the general power in subsection (1), it is hereby declared that the Council may –

(a) Co-opt, if necessary, any person or persons to advise the Council in connection with any of its functions under subsection (1);

(b) Appoint such Advisory or Technical Committee to advise the Council on such matters within the scope of its functions and powers as referred to them by the Council, and appoint any person to be a member of any such Committee, notwithstanding that such person shall not be a member of the Council.

5 Meetings

(1) The meetings of the Council shall be held at such time and places as the Council or the Chairman of it determines.

(2) At all the meetings of the Council, 3 members of the Council shall form a quorum.

(3) As often as the office is vacant, the Council shall appoint a Deputy Chairman who shall hold office whilst still a member of the Council, and who may be reappointed.

(4)

(a) The Chairman shall preside at all its meetings.

(b) In the absence of the Chairman from any meeting the Deputy Chairman shall preside.

(c) In the absence of both the Chairman and Deputy Chairman from any meting, the members present shall appoint one of their number to preside at that meeting.

(5) The person presiding at any meeting of the Council shall have a deliberate vote and, in the case of an equality of votes, shall have a casting vote.

(6) All operations before the Council shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present at a meeting of the Council.

(7) The Council shall cause minutes to be made in a book or books provided for that purpose.

6 Officers

There may be appointed by the Niue Public Service Commissioner such officers considered necessary to assist the Council in carrying out its functions and representatives.

7 Annual Report

The Council shall be responsible to and shall report to the Government annually through the Minister in charge of Cultural Affairs.

8 Use of the common seal

The common seal of the Council shall not be affixed to any document, writing or other instrument except in the presence of at least 3 members of the Council, and all the members of the Council present when such seal is affixed shall sign the document, writing or other instrument to which such seal is affixed.

9 Regulations

Cabinet may make all such regulations that may in its opinion be necessary or expedient for giving full effect to this Act and for the due administration of it.

10 Expenses of the Council

All payments made in the course of the administration of this Act shall be made out of money which the Council receives in exercise of its functions from fees and otherwise, and, to the extent that money is insufficient, shall be made out of money appreciated by the Assembly for the purposes of the Council.