(4) A person appointed to the panel shall, unless his appointment is revoked by the Council under subsection (6) or he resigns, be a member of the panel for a period of 2 years or for such shorter period as the Council may in any case determine, but shall be eligible for reappointment.
(5) Where a person ceases to be a member of the panel, the Council shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable, take steps to fill the vacancy in the Committee of which he is a member, but the existence of any vacancy in the Committee shall not invalidate the acts of the Committee.
(6) The Council may at any time revoke the appointment of a member of the panel.
(7) There shall be paid to the members of the panel such salaries, fees and allowances as the Council may determine.
Committee to hear and determine applications for family exclusion orders
158.—(1) A Committee shall hear and determine in accordance with this Part all applications for family exclusion orders referred to the Committee under section 159(2).
(2) Sittings of a Committee shall be held at such places and times as the chairman of the Committee may determine.
(3) No party to any proceedings before a Committee may be represented by an advocate and solicitor except that the person making the application on behalf of an applicant under section 160 or 161 may represent the applicant before a Committee although he may be an advocate and solicitor.
(4) A Committee shall have the power to—
- (a) summon any person whom it may consider able to give evidence to attend at the hearing of an application; and
- (b) examine such person as a witness and to require such person to produce such records, documents or articles as the Committee may think necessary for the purposes of the proceedings.
(5) Every person examined as a witness by or before a Committee shall, notwithstanding any written law or rule of law relating to the confidentiality of medical information or any rule of practice relating to client confidentiality, be legally bound to state the truth and to produce
