(1) There shall be established an Institute which shall be called the National Institute of Fisheries and Nautical Engineering (hereinafter referred to as the "Institute").

(2) The Institute shall, by the name assigned to it by subsection (1), be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in such name.

(a) to formulate courses of study and training programmes in fisheries and nautical engineering, with a view to raising the technical and managerial skills of persons engaged in, or proposing to engage in, the fisheries industry ;

(b) to provide courses of study and training programmes in fisheries and nautical engineering leading to the award of certificates, diplomas and other academic distinctions ;

(c) to conduct, or arrange for the conduct of, conferences, seminars and symposia on education in the field of fisheries and nautical engineering with the assistance of national and international organisations ;

(d) to conduct, or promote the conduct of, research, surveys and investigations on education and extension training in the fields of fisheries and nautical engineering ;

(e) to cooperate, by way of exchange of teachers and students or otherwise, with institutions in Sri Lanka or abroad having objects similar to those of the Institute;

(f) to advise the Minister on all such matters relating to fisheries and nautical engineering as he may refer to the Council for advice.

(a) erect, equip and maintain for the purposes of the Institute, centres, libraries and laboratories and other facilities ;

(b) enter into agreements for co-operation with other national and international institutions discharging functions similar to those of the Institute ;

(c) enter into agreements with employers to provide training to the trainees selected by the Institute in relevant fields ;

(d) appoint, employ, remunerate and exercise disciplinary control over, and dismiss, such officers or servants as are necessary for the discharge of the functions of the Institute ;

(e) charge fees or any other payments for the courses of study and training programmes provided by the Institute ;

(f) acquire, hold, take or give on lease or hire, mortgage, pledge and sell or otherwise dispose of, any property ; Provided that no immovable property of the Institute shall be disposed of without the prior approval of the Minister in writing ;

(g) open and maintain current, savings, or deposit accounts in any bank or banks ;

(h) accept grants, gifts or donations from persons or bodies of persons, in or outside Sri Lanka ;

(i) invest any funds not immediately required for the purposes of the Institute in such manner as the Council may think fit or deposit any such funds in any fixed deposit in a bank ;

(j) establish and regulate provident fund schemes or pension schemes for the benefit of the officers and servants of the Institute and make contributions to any such scheme ;

(k) delegate any powers, duties and functions of the Institute to the members of the Council or to the Director-General of the Institute or to any officer of the Institute ;

(l) undertake advisory functions ;

(m) to conduct courses of study and training programmes in fisheries and nautical engineering ;

(n) to review and revise the curricula for such courses of study and training programmes :

(o) to publish educational materials on fisheries and nautical engineering;

(p) to make rules setting out the conditions and procedures for admission to such courses of study and training programmes ;

(q) to hold examinations for the purpose of ascertaining the persons who have acquired proficiency in the fields of study covered by such courses of study or training programmes ;

(r) to confer diplomas, certificates and other academic distinctions on persons who have followed such courses of study or training programmes and passed the relevant examinations ;

(s) to award scholarships, exhibitions, bursaries, medals and prizes to students of the Institute ;

(t) to regulate, and provide for, the discipline of students, teachers, officers and servants, of the Institute ;

(u) to do all such acts or things as may be necessary or incidental to the discharge of its functions.

(1) The administration, management and control of the affairs of the Institute shall be vested in the Governing Council of the Institute (on this Act referred to as the Council ).

(2) The Council shall, for the purpose of administering the affairs of the Institute exercise, discharge and perform the powers, functions and duties conferred or imposed on, or assigned to, the Institute by this Act.

(1) The Council shall consist of the following :-

(2) The Minister shall appoint one of the members of the Council, as Chairman of the Council.

(3) A Member of Parliament or a Member of a Provincial Council shall be disqualified from being appointed, or from continuing, as a member of the Council.

(4) Where any appointed member is by reason of illness, infirmity or absence from Sri Lanka for a period of not less than three months, temporarily unable to perform the duties of his office, another person, may, having regard to the provisions of section 6 be appointed to act in his place.

(5) Any appointed member of the Council who is absent without leave from three consecutive meetings of the Council shall be deemed to have vacated office with effect from the date of the last of such meetings.

(1) An appointed member of the Council shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) and subsection (5) of section 6, hold office for a period of three years from the date of his appointment.

(2) The Minister may for reasons assigned therefor remove any appointed member of the Council from office.

(3) An appointed member of the Council may at any time resign his office by a letter addressed to the Minister.

(4) in the event of a vacancy occurring in the membership of the Council as a result of any appointed member vacating office by death, resignation, removal from office or otherwise, another person shall, having regard to the provisions of section 6, be appointed to fill such vacancy.

(5) Where another person is appointed to fill a vacancy caused by the death, resignation removal from office or otherwise of an appointed member, the person so appointed shall hold such office for the unexpired part of the term of office of the member of the Council whom he succeeds.

(1) The Chairman of the Council may at any time resign from office of Chairman by letter addressed to the Minister.

(2) The Minister may at any time, for reasons assigned, remove the Chairman from the office of Chairman.

(3) If the Chairman is by reason of illness or absence from Sri Lanka, temporarily unable to perform the duties of his office, the Minister may appoint another member of the Council to act in his place.

(4) Subject to the provisions of subsections (1) and (2), the term of office of the Chairman shall be the period of his membership in the Council.

(a) shall be in the custody of such persons as the Council may from time to time determine ;

(b) may be altered in such manner as may be determined by the Council ; and

(c) shall not be affixed to any document except with the sanction of the Council and in the presence of the Chairman and a member of the Council or the Chairman and the Director-General of the Institute or two members of the Council, who shall sign the document in token of their presence.

(1) The Chairman or in his absence a member elected by the members present shall preside at any meeting of the Council.

(2) The quorum for a meeting of the Council, shall be five members of the Council

(3) All questions for decisions at any meeting of the Council shall be decided by the vote of a majority of the members present. In the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman or any other member presiding at the meeting of the council shall, in addition to his own vote, have a casting vote.

(4) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Council may regulate the procedure in regard to its meetings and the transaction of business at such meetings.

(1) There shall be an Academic Board (hereinafter referred to as the "Board") of the Institute and such Board shall consist of the following persons :-

(1) The Board shall be responsible to the Council and shall exercise and discharge the following powers and functions :-

(2) The Council or any officer to whom power or function in respect of that matter has been delegated shall not take any decision on any academic matter referred to in subsection (1) without obtaining the recommendation of the Board. Where the decision of the Council or such officer is contrary to the recommendation of the Board, the Council or such officer shall adduce reasons for not adhering to the recommendation of the Board.

(3) No act, recommendation or report of the Board shall be invalidated by reason only of the existence of a vacancy among its members or any defect in the appointment of a member thereof.

(4) The members of the Board may be paid such remuneration as may be determined by the Minister in consultation with the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance.

(1) The Minister shall, on the recommendation of the Council, appoint to the staff of the Institute, a Director- General (hereinafter referred to as the "Director-General") who shall be the principal executive officer and the principal academic officer of the Institute.

(2) The Director-General appointed under subsection (1) shall, unless he vacates office earlier by death, resignation, retirement from service, or removal from office, hold office for a period of three years from the date of his appointment.

(3) The Director-General shall, subject to the general direction of the Council, be charged with the administration of the affairs of the Institute and control of the staff of the Institute. He shall also be responsible for the execution of all the decisions of the Council.

(4) The Director-General shall, exercise or perform such powers or duties as may be delegated to him by the Council.

(5) Upon a request in that behalf, made by the Council, the Ministry may in writing remove the Director-General from office-

(6) The office of the Director-General shall become vacant upon the death, removal from office under subsection (5) or resignation by letter in that behalf addressed to the Minister, of the holder of that office.

(7) Unless any person who has been appointed as Director-General retires from service or is removed from office under subsection (5), he shall be eligible for re-appointment as Director-General.

(1) At the request of the Council any officer in the public service may, with the consent of the Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister in charge of the subject of Public Administration and of that officer, be temporarily appointed to the staff of the Institute for such period as may be determined by the Institute with like consent or with like consent be permanently appointed to such staff.

(2) Where any officer in the public service is temporarily appointed to the staff of the Institute, the provisions of subsection (2) of section 14 of the National Transport Commission Act, No. 37 of 1991 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to, and in relation to, him.

(3) Where any officer in the public service is permanently appointed to the staff of the Institute, the provisions of subsection (2) of section 14 of the National Transport Commission Act, No. 37 of 1991, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to, and in relation to him.

(a) Every public officer of the National Institute of Fisheries Training of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (in this part referred to as " the NIFT ") not being any such officer as is in a transferable service of the Government shall, after the date on which this Act is passed by Parliament but before the appointed date, give notice in writing to the Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister in charge of the subject of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development that such officer intends, on the appointed date-

(b) A notice given to the Secretary to the Minister in charge of the subject of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development before the appointed date by a public officer of the NIFT under paragraph (a), shall be final.

(1) Any public officer of the NIFT who gives notice under sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) or (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (a) of section 18 before the appointed date shall-

(2) In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of subsection (1) of this section and any other provision of this Act, the provisions of that subsection shall be to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency prevail over such other provision.

(a) Such employee shall be employed by the Institute on such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by such employee and the Institute : provided, however, that such terms and conditions shall be not less favourable than the terms and conditions on which such employee was previously employed in the NIFT;

(b) If on the day preceding the appointed date, such employee was a public officer of the NIFT holding a post declared to be pensionable and who had less than ten and not less than eight years' pensionable service, then-

(1) The initial capital of the Institute shall be such sums as may be allocated by the Treasury under the vote of the Minister in charge of the subject of Fisheries and such sums as may be granted by resolution of Parliament.

(2) The capital of the Institute may be increased from time to time by such amounts as may be authorized by an Appropriation Act or by any resolution of Parliament.

(1) The Institute shall have its own fund.

(2) There shall be credited in to such Fund-

(3) There shall he paid out of such fund-

(1) The Minister may give the Council such general or special directions, in writing, as to the exercise, performance and discharge by the Council, of its powers, functions and duties in so far as they relates to matters of policy and the Council shall carry out such directions.

(2) The Minister may, from time to time, order all or any of the activities of the Institute to be investigated and reported upon by such person or persons as he may specify, and upon such order being made the Council shall afford all such facilities and furnish all such information to such person or persons as may be necessary to give effect to such order.

(3) The Council shall submit to the Minister a three year plan of work, annual plan and programmes of work of the Institute.

(1) Where any immovable property is required to be acquired for any specified purpose of the Institute and the Minister by Order published in the Gazette approves the proposed acquisition for that purpose, that property shall be deemed to be required for a public purpose and may accordingly be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act and transferred to the Institute.

(2) Any sum payable for the acquisition of any immovable property under the Land Acquisition Act for the Institute, shall be paid out of the Fund of the Institute.

(1) No suit or prosecution, shall lie-

(2) Any expenses incurred by the Institute in any suit or prosecution brought against the Institute before any court in respect of any act shall, if the Court holds that such act was done in good faith, be paid out of the Fund of the Institute.

(3) Any expenses incurred by any such person as is referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) in any suit or prosecution brought against him before any Court in respect of any act which is done, or purported to be done, by him under this Act or on the direction of the Council shall, if the Court holds that such act was done in good faith, be paid out of the Fund of the Institute, unless such expenses is recovered by him in such suit or prosecution.

(a) every agreement for training entered into by the Government for and on behalf of the National Institute of Fisheries Training with any trainee and subsisting on the date immediately preceding the appointed date, shall be deemed with effect from the appointed date, to be an agreement entered into under this Act, by the Institute with such trainee; and

(b) all rules or standards of training made or prescribed by the National Institute of Fisheries Training and subsisting on the date immediately preceding the appointed date shall be deemed, from and after the appointed date, to be rules made and standards prescribed under this Act.

(1) The Minister may make regulations in respect of any matter, in respect of which regulations are required or authorized by this Act to be made or which are required by this Act to be prescribed.

(2) Every regulation made by the Minister shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into operation on the date of such publication or on such later date as may be specified in the regulation.

(3) Every regulation shall, as soon as convenient after its publication in the Gazette he brought before Parliament for approval. Any regulation which is not so approved shall be deemed to be rescinded as from the date of its disapproval, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.

(4) Notification of the date on which any regulation made by the Minister is so deemed to be rescinded shall be published in the Gazette.