provides that there shall be at least one
meeting of the Commission every two
months (s.11(5)) but the Commission
can decide to meet more regularly if
this is necessary. Commissioners are
expected to attend all meetings of the
Commission unless agreed otherwise with
the Chairman. The Secretary is responsible
for keeping minutes of Commission
meetings, ensuring they are accurate and
distributing them in a timely manner.
The Chairman and the Full-time Member
set the times and places for Commission
meetings and the Secretary will ensure
that Commissioners are promptly advised
of the time and date of the meeting. A
quorum is three Commissioners and either
the Chairman or the Full-time Member if
the Chairman is absent. Decision-making
is by consensus where possible, but where
a vote is taken, each Commissioner has
one vote and the Chair of the meeting
has a casting vote. Commissioners are
presumed to have agreed to a resolution
of the Commission unless he or she
expressly dissents from it. A resolution
signed or assented to in writing (including
by electronic communication) by all
Commissioners is as valid and effective as
if it had been passed at a meeting of the
Commission.
The Secretary, the Chairman and the Fulltime Member liaise over meeting agendas
to ensure adequate coverage of key issues
and an appropriate balance of strategic,
performance and compliance matters. The
Secretary and Directors attend the meeting
as requested by the Chairman and liaise
with Commissioners as necessary between
meetings. The Secretary and the Directors
are responsible for providing reports and
other papers for the Commission agenda
that provide high quality advice and
analysis, propose strategy, provide quality
performance information for monitoring
purposes and propose parameters and
framework policies for implementation
by management of the Commission’s
decisions.
2.2 Commissioner-only Meetings
Commissioners also hold informal
meetings attended only by Commissioners,
which are private meetings for the
purpose of:
• Canvassing matters relating to the
Commission itself;
• Dealing with staff matters in
confidence, including the performance
of the Directors and Secretary;
• Discussions about the external
environment in which the Commission
operates.
Such informal meetings may be held
before or after regular meetings of the
Commission or on other occasions.
Minutes may not be kept of all matters
dealt with at informal meetings, but where
decisions are taken for implementation by
management or the staff, these may be
reduced to writing.
2.3 Framework for Delegation of
Authority
Decisions relating to the operations of
the Commission may be delegated to
management and staff. Specific standing
delegations to the Secretary include:
• Implementing the Commission’s
decisions;
• Developing
recommendations,
in consultation with the Director
of the relevant Department, for
the appointment, assigning and
management of staff. Directors are
appointed by the Commission in
consultation with the Secretary;
• Approving and varying expenditure
National Human Rights Commission (JAMAKON)
Annual Report 2014
57