National Drug Commission Act 1993

(a) results or may result in a person developing a psychological or physical, or both a psychological and physical, reliance on the substance; or

(b) alters or may alter a person's mood, perception, consciousness or behaviour;

"drug abuse" means the use or administration of a drug to the apparent detriment of a person, or society, or both and "drug abuser" shall be construed accordingly;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Drugs;

"financial year" means the financial year of the Commission as specified in section 18;

"funds" includes moneys, stocks, shares and other securities;

"treatment centre" means any premises, which a person licensed under this Act, uses or intends to use for the treatment or rehabilitation of drug abusers or for the care of connected persons.

(2) For the purposes of this Act the expression "drug" shall be deemed to include "alcohol".

[Section 2 amended by BR 54/1994 effective 16 December 1994]

Commencement

3 This Act shall come into operation on a day to be appointed by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette.

PART II
THE NATIONAL DRUG COMMISSION

Establishment of the Commission

4 (1) There is hereby established a body to be called "the National Drug Commission" which shall perform the functions assigned to it by this Act and by any other statutory provision.

(2) The Commission shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name.

Functions of the Commission

5 The functions of the Commission are -

(a) in consultation with such persons or organisations, or both, as it considers appropriate—

(i) to formulate policies and develop programmes intended to prevent or reduce drug abuse and to promote and encourage the implementation of such policies and programmes; and

(ii) to promote and encourage the establishment of a system to co-ordinate the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers and the care of connected persons;

(b) to advise the Minister and such persons, groups, organisations or bodies as request it so to do, on policies and programmes related to the prevention of drug abuse, the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers and the care of connected persons;

(d) to promote and encourage the award of scholarships, and, with the approval of the Minister, to award scholarships or other financial assistance, to persons wishing to pursue courses in basic or advanced training in matters relating to drug abuse;

(e) to initiate, sponsor and support conferences, seminars and meetings related to drug abuse;

(f) to initiate, support and publish studies, reports and other documentation on drug abuse;

(g) to establish, maintain and operate information systems and facilities, and to encourage and support the exchange of information of all kinds in respect of policies, programmes and research, related to drug abuse;

(h) to establish and operate treatment centres;

(i) to keep under review the situation in Bermuda with respect to drugs which are being or appear to the Commission likely to be abused and of which the abuse is having or appears to the Commission capable of having harmful effects sufficient to constitute a problem, and to give to the Minister, where either the Minister so requests or the Commission considers it

expedient so to do, advice on measures which in the opinion of the Commission ought to be taken for restricting the availability of such drugs or supervising the arrangements for their supply; and

(j) to conduct research into, and develop and maintain a database of information on, drug abuse in Bermuda.

Powers of the Commission

6 Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commission shall have power to do, in Bermuda or elsewhere, all things necessary or convenient to be done in or in connection with the performance of its functions and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Commission shall have power—

(a) to appoint committees which may, but need not, include members of the Board and to delegate to any such committee any of the functions conferred on the Commission by section 5;

(b) with the prior approval of the Minister, but not otherwise, to acquire by purchase, gift or demise, any land in Bermuda bona fide required to further the purposes of the Commission; and

(c) to charge rental in respect of any property owned or otherwise controlled by the Commission and, with the prior approval of the Minister, to levy fees and other charges for its services.

Minister may give policy directions

7 The Minister may, after consultation with the Commission, give such general directions as to the policy to be followed by the Commission in the performance of its functions as appear to the Minister to be necessary in the public interest; and the Commission shall give effect to any such directions.

PART III
ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMISSION

Management of the Commission, etc

8 (1) There shall be a Board of Directors of the Commission which, subject to the provisions of this Act, shall be responsible to devise and execute the policy of the Commission and to administer and manage its affairs.

(2) The provisions of the Schedule shall have effect with respect to the constitution of the Board and otherwise in relation thereto.

Employment of staff

9 (1) Subject to sections 10 and 11, the Board may appoint such officers and engage such employees as it considers necessary for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Subject as aforesaid, the terms and conditions of employment of persons appointed or engaged shall be as determined by the Board.

Chief Executive Officer

10 (1) There shall be a Chief Executive Officer of the Commission who shall be appointed by the Board with the approval of the Minister and whose services shall not be terminated by the Board except with the like approval.

(2) The remuneration, emoluments, terms and period of service of the Chief Executive Officer shall be fixed by the Board with the approval of the Minister and shall not be altered except with the like approval.

(3) The Chief Executive Officer shall be responsible for the day to day management of the Commission and, subject to the directions of the Board, shall be responsible for carrying out the functions of the Commission.

Employment of public officers

11 (1) The Governor, acting on the advice of the Minister may, subject to such conditions, if any, as the Governor, so acting, may impose, approve the appointment of any public officer by way of secondment to employment with the Commission.

(2) A public officer seconded in accordance with subsection (1) to employment with the Commission shall, in relation to pension, gratuity or other allowance and rights and obligations of a public officer, be treated as continuing in a public office notwithstanding the secondment.

(3) The Governor, acting on the advice of the Minister, may authorize any public officer to exercise, without secondment in accordance with subsection (1), any function or class of functions under the control of the Commission; and for the purpose of the exercise of any such function any public officer so authorized shall be deemed to be in the employment of the Commission.

PART IV
FINANCE

Funds of the Commission

12 The funds of the Commission shall consist of -

(a) grants from the Government out of moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of the Commission;

(b) any moneys accruing to the Commission in the course of the Commission's discharge of its functions; and

(c) any moneys borrowed by the Commission pursuant to section 15, and any endowment, contribution or other sum given or paid to, or otherwise vested in, the Commission lawfully.

Gifts and bequests to Commission

13 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Commission shall have power to receive all funds or gifts in kind given or bequeathed to the Commission, or to the Bermuda Government, for the purposes of the Commission, or given or bequeathed by words showing an intention that the funds or gifts should enure to or for the benefit of the Commission; and, subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commission shall apply all such funds or gifts or, if such funds are invested, the income derived therefrom, to furthering the purposes of the Commission in such manner as the Commission thinks fit.

(2) The powers conferred by subsection (1) shall not be exercised in any manner inconsistent with any condition imposed or any direction given by the donor or testator with respect to any such fund or gift.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in the Trustee Act 1975, the following provisions shall have effect with respect to funds received by the Commission by way of gift or bequest for the purposes of the Commission, that is to say—

(a) the Commission may invest liquid funds in such securities as the Commission may determine, and shall so invest any such funds that are given or bequeathed for the endowment of the Commission;

(b) subject to subsection (4), the Commission may realise any funds that are in a state of investment; and

(c) funds which when received by the Commission are in any investment may be retained by the Commission in that investment.

(4) Funds given or bequeathed for the endowment of the Commission which, pursuant to subsection (3)(b), are realised shall, as soon as may be practicable or expedient, be reinvested by the Commission.

Commission to meet expenses out of revenue

14 The Commission shall so manage its affairs as to be able to meet its financial obligations out of the funds available to the Commission.

Borrowing powers

15 The Commission shall not, except with the prior written consent of the Minister, borrow any moneys for the purpose of discharging its functions under this Act.

Application of funds

16 (1) Subject to sections 13 and 14 and subsection (2) of this section and without prejudice to section 17, any income derived from rents, fees or other charges and any other income of the Commission shall be held and applied to furthering the purposes of the Commission in such manner as the Commission may think fit.

(2) Any funds appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of the Commission shall, subject to the terms of the appropriation, be applied by the Commission as the Minister may direct.

Accounts of Commission

17 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Commission shall cause proper accounts of its financial affairs to be maintained and shall prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of its accounts in such form as may be acceptable to the Minister.

(2) The Minister may give general or special directions with respect to the accounting procedures of the Commission and the Commission shall act in accordance with such directions.

Financial year

18 The financial year of the Commission shall be the Government financial year.

Audit

19 (1) The accounts of the Commission shall be audited annually by the Auditor.

(2) In addition to, or in substitution for, the audit carried out for the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister may at any time require the Auditor to examine and report upon the accounts of the Commission or any part of those accounts and the Commission shall provide the facilities necessary for such examination.

Budget

20 (1) The Commission shall submit to the Minister for his approval—

(a) not later than seven months prior to the commencement of each financial year, income and expenditure estimates, in such detail as the Minister may require, relating to the programmes planned for that financial year of operation of the Commission; and

(b) as soon as may be, any subsequent proposal to amend such estimates,

and the estimates, together with any amendments, upon being approved by the Minister, shall be the Commission's budget for the financial year to which it relates.

(2) The Minister may in any case, on the application of the Commission, increase or decrease the period of seven months specified in subsection (1)(a).

Reports of the Commission

21 (1) The Commission shall, within six months after the end of each financial year, forward to the Minister—

(a) a report on the operations of the Commission during that financial year and on the Commission's policy and programme for future years; and

(b) a copy of the statement of accounts, referred to in section 17(1), which shall be certified by the Auditor.

(2) The report referred to in subsection (1)(a) shall specify—

(a) any directions given by the Minister to the Commission during that year; and

(b) the scales of salaries and wages paid to officers and servants of the Commission.

(3) The Minister shall cause copies of the report referred to in subsection (1)(a) and of the statement of accounts referred to in subsection 1(b) to be laid before both Houses of the Legislature.

Minister may require returns

22 Without prejudice to the generality of section 21, the Commission shall forward to the Minister such returns, statistics or other information as the Minister may, by notice in writing, require.

Inspection of treatment centres

23 Where, pursuant to section 5(h), the Commission operates a treatment centre then, at the request of the Minister, the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Works and Engineering, or any officer of that Department authorized by him in that behalf, may, at all reasonable times and upon reasonable notice being given to the Commission, enter into and inspect all premises within the control and management of the Commission and so operated, and the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Works and Engineering shall report to the Minister upon the state of such premises and the Minister shall forward a copy of each such report to the Commission.

Disposals of surplus premises

24 (1) The Commission shall from time to time review its requirements for premises and any premises in the possession of the Commission which are no longer required for the purposes of the Commission shall be disposed of in accordance with this section.

(2) Premises which were transferred to the Commission by the Government for no consideration or for a nominal consideration shall be transferred by the Commission to the Government for no consideration or for the same nominal consideration, as the case may be.

(3) Premises other than those to which subsection (2) applies shall be offered to the Government for purchase by agreement and, unless notice is given on behalf of the Government that it does not wish to purchase, the premises, in default of agreement, shall, for the purpose of the Acquisition of Land Act 1970, be deemed to be land required by the Government in respect of which purchase by agreement is, in the opinion of the Minister for the time being responsible for Works and Engineering, impracticable.

(4) If notice is given on behalf of the Government that it does not wish to purchase the premises offered to it pursuant to subsection (3) the Commission may dispose of the premises on the open market to the Commission's best advantage.

PART V
MISCELLANEOUS

Information confidential

25 No person employed for any of the purposes of this Act shall reveal or in any manner communicate to any other person, except for the purposes of this Act or as required by law, any information which may come to his knowledge in the course of his duties and employment.

Protection of members

26 (1) No action or suit, prosecution or other proceeding shall be instituted against any member of the Board personally in respect of any act or omission bona fide done or made by him in execution or intended execution of any function of the Commission under this Act.

(2) Where a member of the Board is exempt from liability for an act or omission by reason only of subsection (1), the Commission shall be liable for the act or omission to the extent that it would be if the member were the Commission's servant or agent.

Offences

27 (1) A person who contravenes section 25 is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction by a court of summary jurisdiction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars and in default of payment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

Attorney-General's Fiat

28 Proceedings for an offence against this Act shall not be commenced without the consent in writing of the Attorney-General.

Licensing of Treatment centres

29 The Minister responsible for Health may, on being satisfied that it is appropriate so to do, issue to any person a licence to operate a treatment centre.

[Section 29 amended by BR 54/1994 effective 16 December 1994]

Minister may make regulations

30 (1) The Minister responsible for Health may, after consultation with the Commission, make regulations—

(a) prescribing professional and other qualifications required by persons wishing—

(i) to operate treatment centres; or

(ii) to engage in the treatment or rehabilitation of drug abusers or the care of connected persons;

(b) prescribing the requirements for the licensing of premises used or intended to be used as treatment centres;

(d) prescribing a scale of charges and fees in respect of treatment centres; and

(e) generally, prescribing all other matters which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

(2) Regulations made under this section may provide for the imposition of a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, for any contravention of, or failure to comply with, the provisions of such regulations.

(3) The affirmative resolution procedure shall apply to regulations made under this section.

[Section 30 amended by BR 54/1994 effective 16 December 1994]

Land tax exemption

31 All property, real or personal, appertaining to the Commission shall be exempted from land and other taxes of like nature.

Amendment of Misuse of Drugs Act 1972

32 The Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 is amended—

(a) in section 1(1), by deleting the definition of the expression "the Advisory Board"; and

(b) by repealing section 2 and Schedule 1.

SCHEDULE (Section 8(2))

Appointment, etc., of Members

1 (1) The Board shall consist of eleven members appointed as hereinafter provided and the ex officio members specified in sub-paragraph (5).

(2) Seven members, one of whom shall be appointed Chairman and another Deputy Chairman by the Governor, shall be appointed by the Governor acting with, and in accordance with, the advice of the Premier who shall, prior to giving such advice, consult with the Opposition Leader.

(3) Subject to sub-paragraph (4), the members referred to in sub-paragraph (2) shall, immediately after their appointment, select four other persons to be members of the Board and the Chairman shall appoint the persons so selected to be members of the Board and shall forthwith notify the Minister of the members so appointed.

(4) So far as practicable, the persons selected under sub-paragraph (3) shall be by consensus, so, however, that where there is no consensus, the persons shall be selected by a majority of the members appointed under sub-paragraph (2).

(5) The following persons shall be ex officio members of the Board, that is to say—

(a) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for Health, or his alternate;

(b) the Financial Secretary, or his alternate;

(d) the Commissioner of Police, or his alternate;

(e) the Chief Executive Officer; and

(f) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for Drugs

(6) So far as practicable, members of the Board, other than the ex officio members referred to in sub-paragraph (5), shall be representative of the various sectors of the community, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, business, labour, education, religion and voluntary and youth organisations and shall consist of persons who, having regard to their training, knowledge or experience might reasonably be expected to assist the Commission in the performance of its functions.

(7) Notice of appointment of a member shall be published in the Gazette.

2 (1) An appointed member shall hold office for such term, not exceeding three years, as is specified in the instrument of appointment, and may from time to time be re-appointed.

(2) The term of office of appointed members shall be such as to ensure, so far as possible, the expiration in any year of not more than one half of the terms of office of those members.

(3) An appointed member, unless he sooner resigns or is removed from office, shall continue in office until his successor comes into office, notwithstanding that the term for which he was appointed may have expired.

(4) An appointed member may resign his office by notice in writing delivered—

(a) in the case of a member appointed by the Governor, to the Governor; and

(b) in the case of a member appointed by the Chairman, to the Chairman.

(5) The Governor, in the case of a member appointed by the Governor, or the Chairman, in the case of a member appointed by the Chairman, may terminate the appointment of an appointed member at any time and shall terminate the appointment if he is satisfied that the member—

(a) is incapacitated by physical or mental illness; or

(b) is otherwise unable or unfit to discharge the functions of a member.

3 A person appointed to fill a vacancy left by a member who did not complete his term of office shall hold office for the unexpired portion of that member's term and no longer, but an appointment to such a vacancy need not be made where the unexpired portion of the term is less than three months.

Procedure at Meetings

4 No fewer than six appointed members shall form a quorum at a meeting of the Board.

5. An ex officio member may attend a meeting of the Board and may assist the Board in its deliberations on any matter, but an ex officio member shall not be counted for the purpose of constituting a quorum and shall have no vote.

6 (1) The Chairman or, in his absence, the Deputy Chairman, shall preside at a meeting of the Board.

(2) If both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman are absent the members present shall elect from among their numbers an appointed member to preside at that meeting.

7 (1) Any question proposed for a decision by the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the appointed members present and voting at a meeting of the Board.

(2) The Chairman or other person presiding at a meeting of the Board shall have a deliberative, and in the event of an equality of votes, a second or casting, vote.

8 (1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), the Board shall meet as often as it considers it necessary so to do for the exercise and performance of its functions under this Act and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, shall, in any event, meet no fewer than ten times in a financial year.

(2) The Chairman may at any time, and shall, at the request in writing of the Minister or of any two members of the Board, convene a special meeting of the board.

(3) A notice convening a special meeting of the board shall state the purpose for which the special meeting is being convened.

(4) Meetings of the Board shall be held at such places, on such dates and at such times as the Chairman may determine and notice of such place, date and time shall be given in writing, to each member of the Board at least forty-eight hours before the time fixed for such meeting.

(5) The Chairman shall cause minutes of all meetings of the Board to be kept.

9 (1) A member who is in any way directly or indirectly interested in any matter which falls to be considered by the Board shall disclose the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Board, and the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

(2) The member shall not take part in any deliberation or decision with respect to the matter if the Board decides that the interest in question might prejudicially affect the member's consideration of the matter.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph, a notice given by a member at a meeting to the effect that he is a member of a specified body corporate or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any matter concerning that body or firm which falls to be considered after the date of the notice shall be sufficient disclosure of his interest.

Miscellaneous

10 (1) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the Chairman or Deputy Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer and shall be judicially and officially noticed.

(2) All documents, other than those required by law to be under seal, made by the Board and all decisions of the Board may be signified under the hand of the Chairman or any other member or officer authorized to act in that behalf.

11 The validity of any act or proceeding of the Board shall not be affected by any vacancy among the members, or by any defect in the appointment of a member, or by any failure to comply with any requirement of paragraph 8.

12 Appointed members shall be paid such fees and allowances out of the funds of the Commission as the Board may, with the approval of the Minister, determine.

13 Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall meet for the despatch of business, and otherwise regulate its affairs, as it thinks fit.

[Amended by
BR 54/1994]

Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

National Drug Commission Act 1993