(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order approves Rules of the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) relating to the constitution of its four statutory committees: the Education Committee; the Investigating Committee; the Professional Conduct Committee; and the Health Committee.
Part 1 of the Rules contains introductory provisions. Part 2 contains the provisions specific to each statutory committee, including those relating to the committees’ compositions, the terms of office of their members and their quora. Each committee has ordinary members who are appointed by the GCC, and may also have co-opted members, whom the committees themselves may put forward but whose co-option must be approved by the GCC in accordance with a set procedure (rules 2, 5, 7, 9 and 11).
For the Education Committee, some of the ordinary members must also be members of the GCC, and if more GCC members are nominated for membership of the committee than there are vacancies to fill, the selection of members to fill those vacancies is done by a ballot of GCC members (rule 3). The Education Committee will also have a chair and deputy chair, both appointed by the GCC (rule 4). For the Health and Professional Conduct Committees, panels of members drawn from the membership list of each committee will be invited to attend particular proceedings, and each panel will be chaired by a panel chair, appointed by the GCC – and one of the panel chairs will be designated by the GCC as the overall chair of the committee (rules 7 to 10).
Part 3 contains common provisions for all of the statutory committees. In addition to the provisions relating to the approval and terms of office of co-opted members (rule 11), there are common provisions relating to the grounds for disqualification from appointment to one of the committees, and to the removal of committee members from office (rules 12 and 13). The GCC is also given powers to suspend committee members where, for example, it is considering removing them from office (rule 14). There are also provisions to ensure that the validity of the committees’ proceedings is not affected by defects in appointments, vacancies or disciplinary action that is being taken, or needs to be taken, against their members (rule 15).
Part 4 deals with cases before the Health and Professional Conduct Committees that are ongoing on the day the Rules come into force. Provision is made so that these cases can be taken forward by these committees as constituted on the day before the Rules come into force, where the Registrar of the GCC so directs, rather than by these committees as newly constituted on 9th February 2009.