Chapter 4 - Absence of President, Deputy President and officers

13 Absence of President

  1. When the Senate at the commencement of a sitting is informed by the Clerk of the absence of the President, the Deputy President shall perform the duties and exercise the authority of President in relation to all proceedings of the Senate until the next meeting of the Senate, subject to any order of the Senate.
  2. If the Senate adjourns for more than 24 hours, the Deputy President shall continue to perform the duties and exercise the authority of President for 24 hours only after the adjournment, unless the Senate otherwise provides.

14 Absence of both officers

If both the President and the Deputy President are absent, the senators present, if a quorum, shall elect a senator present to act as President for that day only, the question being put to the Senate by the Clerk.

15 Relief of President

  1. The Deputy President shall take the chair whenever requested so to do by the President during a sitting of the Senate, without any formal communication to the Senate.
  2. During the absence of the Deputy President, the President may call upon any one of the Temporary Chairs of Committees to relieve temporarily in the chair, without any formal communication to the Senate.

16 Absence of Clerk

In case of absence of the Clerk of the Senate, the Clerk's duties shall be performed by the Deputy Clerk, or, should the latter be absent, by a Clerk Assistant.