67. (1) The Judicial Conduct Committee shall appoint 3 persons to be members of a panel of inquiry for the purposes of this Chapter, namely—

(a) two judges (other than an ex officio member of the Judicial Conduct Committee or an elected member of the Judicial Conduct Committee), one of whom shall be a judge of the court of which the judge concerned is a judge and the other of whom shall be a judge of another court, and

(b) one lay member nominated under section 66.

(2) The Judicial Conduct Committee shall appoint one member of a panel of inquiry appointed under subsection (1) to be its chairperson.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), where the judge concerned whose conduct is being investigated is—

(a) the President of the Court of Appeal, he or she shall be considered to be a judge of the Supreme Court,

(b) the President of the High Court, he or she shall be considered to be a judge of the Court of Appeal,

(c) the President of the Circuit Court, he or she shall be considered to be a judge of the High Court, or

(d) the President of the District Court, he or she shall be considered to be a judge of the Circuit Court.

(4) A member of a panel of inquiry appointed under subsection (1) may resign from the panel of inquiry by notice in writing given or sent to the chairperson of the Judicial Conduct Committee and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the chairperson of the Committee receives the notice, but such resignation shall not of itself prevent his or her appointment to, or continued membership of, another panel of inquiry.

(5) (a) Where a member of a panel of inquiry appointed under subsection (1)(a) was, at the time of his or her appointment to be such a member, a judge of the court of which the judge concerned is a judge and he or she subsequently ceases to be a judge of that court, he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of the panel of inquiry.

(b) Where a member of a panel of inquiry appointed under subsection (1)(a) ceases to be a judge, he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of the panel of inquiry.

(6) If a member of a panel of inquiry resigns or otherwise ceases to be a member of a panel of inquiry, the Judicial Conduct Committee may—

(a) if the member was a judge of the court of which the judge concerned is a judge, appoint a judge of that court,

(b) if the member was a judge of a court other than the court of which the judge concerned is a judge, appoint a judge of a court other than the latter court but who may be a judge of a court other than the former court, or

(c) if the member was a lay member of the panel of inquiry, appoint a person standing nominated for the time being under section 66,

to replace the member of the panel of inquiry who resigned or otherwise ceased to be a member thereof.

(7) A member of the staff of the Council (other than the Registrar), nominated by the chairperson of the Judicial Conduct Committee, shall act as registrar to a panel of inquiry (in this Act referred to as “registrar to a panel of inquiry”).