English Law/Patents Law (general) statutes

I'm translating the Statutes of an international centre (research) where, among other things, the duties of its Director are set out. I'm a little bit unsure about the term "discharge his duties", "in the discharge of their duties" as used in the following sentences:

Each Member undertakes to respect the international character of the responsibilities of the director and the staff, and not to seek to influence them *in the discharge of their duties*.

The Director shall discharge the following duties:
a) he shall direct the work of the Centre ...

Can "discharge" also mean "exercise"? If not, I think these sentences don't make sense. Thank you for your help!