Establishment of Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents
13.—(1)  For the purposes of this Act, there shall be established a Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents consisting of a President, up to 4 deputy Presidents, and such number of members, not being less than 2, as the Minister may think fit.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(2)  The President, every deputy President and every member of the Tribunal shall be appointed by the Minister and upon appointment the names of the President, every deputy President and every member of the Tribunal shall be published in the Gazette.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(3)  The President and every deputy President of the Tribunal shall possess the qualifications required for a District Judge under section 9(3) of the State Courts Act or be a District Judge appointed under section 9(1) of that Act [Cap. 321].
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
[Act 5 of 2014 wef 07/03/2014]
(3A)  A deputy President of the Tribunal shall have and may exercise and perform all the powers, duties and functions of the President of the Tribunal conferred by this Act, subject to such limitations as the President may think fit to impose.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(4)  Three members of the Tribunal, of whom the President or a deputy President shall be one, shall form a quorum, and the opinion of the majority of the Tribunal present shall be decisive upon any matter, except that in the case of an equality the President or a deputy President shall decide which opinion shall prevail.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(5)  The President, every deputy President and every member of the Tribunal shall hold office for a period of 3 years or for such shorter period as the Minister may determine and shall be eligible for reappointment.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(6)  The President, a deputy President or a member of the Tribunal shall vacate his office where —
(a)he resigns; or
(b)the Minister has revoked his appointment on the ground of his unfitness to continue in office or incapacity to perform the duties thereof.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(7)  Where a person ceases to be the President, a deputy President or a member of the Tribunal, the Minister shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable, take steps to fill the vacancy but the existence of any vacancy in the Tribunal shall not invalidate the acts of the Tribunal.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(8)  If the President, a deputy President or any member of the Tribunal is for the time being unable to perform the duties of his office, either generally or in relation to any particular proceedings, the Minister may appoint some other person to discharge the duties of the President, a deputy President or that member for any period, not exceeding 6 months at one time, or, as the case may be, in relation to those proceedings; and a person so appointed shall, during that period or in relation to those proceedings, have the same powers as the person in whose place he is appointed.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(9)  The President, every deputy President and every member of the Tribunal shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code [Cap. 224] and the proceedings of the Tribunal shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(10)  There shall be paid to the President, every deputy President and the members of the Tribunal such salaries, fees and allowances as the Minister may determine.
[37/2010 wef 15/03/2011]
(11)  The Minister may appoint a Secretary to the Tribunal, conciliation officers and such other officers and employees of the Tribunal as may be necessary.
(12)  The exercise of the powers of the Tribunal shall not be affected by any vacancy in the membership of the Tribunal if a quorum is present at the commencement of the proceedings.