### Merchant Shipping (Marine Courts) Regulations 《商船(海事法庭)規例》

8. Notice to produce
(1) Any party to an investigation may serve on any other such party notice in writing requiring him to produce any document relating to the matters in question and which is in the possession of or under the control of such other party.
(2) Where a notice to produce a document is not complied with, secondary evidence of the document may be given by the party who gave the notice.

9. Notice to admit documents
(1) Any party to an investigation may serve on any other such party notice in writing requiring him to admit the documents specified in the notice.
(2) If the party on whom a notice is served under paragraph (1) does not admit any document specified therein, he shall, within fourteen days after the service of the notice, serve on the party by whom it was given a notice in writing stating that he does not admit the document and requires it to be proved.
(3) A party who does not serve notice in accordance with paragraph (2) in relation to any document shall be deemed to have admitted the document unless the marine court otherwise orders.

10. Summons to witness
A summons requiring any person to attend before a marine court to give evidence or to produce any document shall be in the prescribed form.

11. Court not bound by rules of evidence
(1) A marine court may receive and consider any evidence which in the opinion of the court is material to the questions which it is to determine, notwithstanding that the evidence would not be admissible in the courts of Hong Kong under the law relating to evidence:
Provided that neither a party to the investigation nor any person who is required to give evidence before the court shall be bound to answer any question tending to incriminate him.
(2) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), a marine court may receive and consider any affidavit or statutory declaration.

12. Hearing
A marine court may proceed with the investigation whether or not the parties to the investigation, or any of them, are present.

13. Commencement of proceedings
The proceedings before a marine court shall commence with the production and examination of witnesses by the Director.

14. Cross-examination of witnesses
The marine court shall determine in which order the parties to the investigation may question a witness produced and examined by any other party.

15. Certain questions, etc. not to be objected to
No objection shall be allowed to any evidence adduced in the course of the examination of witnesses produced by the Director on the ground that such evidence is not relevant to any question in the statement of questions accompanying the notice of investigation served pursuant to paragraph (2) of regulation 3.

### Merchant Shipping (Marine Courts) Regulations 《商船(海事法庭)規例》

16. Framing of questions for court
(1) At the conclusion of the examination of the witnesses produced by the Director, he shall state to the marine court, having regard to the evidence given by those witnesses, the questions which the court is to determine.
(2) In framing such questions, the Director shall not be bound by any question in the statement of questions accompanying the notice of investigation served pursuant to paragraph (2) of regulation 3.
(3) Any party may request the marine court to add further questions as questions which the court is to determine and if any other party objects to the addition of those questions the court, after considering the objections, shall determine whether or not those questions shall be questions which it is to determine.

17. Calling of witnesses, etc. by other parties
(1) After the questions which the marine court is to determine have been settled, each party to the investigation may address the court and produce witnesses, including any witness produced by the Director.
(2) A marine court shall determine the order in which the parties to the investigation (other than the Director) may so address the court and produce witnesses.

18. Director of Marine may call further witnesses
At the conclusion of the examination of the witnesses called by the other parties to the investigation, the Director may produce further witnesses.

19. Any party may put further questions to a witness
A marine court may at any time permit any party to the investigation to put further questions to any witness.

20. Final address by parties
(1) Each party to the investigation may make a final address to the court on the evidence.
(2) At the conclusion of all the addresses made to the court pursuant to paragraph (1), the Director may make a final address in reply on the whole case.

21. Adjournment of investigation
A marine court may adjourn an investigation from time to time.

22. Decision of court
(1) Save as provided in subsection (2) of section 55 of the Ordinance, a marine court may give its decision in writing.
(2) Where the decision of a marine court is given in open court, the decision may be given in the absence of the assessors.
(3) Where the decision of a marine court is given in writing, the decision shall be served on each of the parties to the investigation.

23. Service of notice, etc.
(1) Any notice, summons or other document to be served under these regulations may be served personally or by registered post.
(2) The service of any such notice, summons or other document may be proved by affidavit.

24. Regulations to apply to re-hearing of investigation
These regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to a re-hearing ordered by the Chief Executive under subsection (1) of section 56 of the Ordinance.
(64 of 1999 s. 3)

### Merchant Shipping (Marine Courts) Regulations 《商船(海事法庭)規例》

25. Prescribed forms
The forms in the Schedule are prescribed for the purposes of these regulations.

### Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 《商船(費用)規例》

1. Citation
These regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations.

2. Interpretation
In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
hourly rate (每小時收費率) means the rate per hour calculated in accordance with regulation 7; (L.N. 352 of 1983)
office hours (辦公時間) means the hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and 9 a.m. and noon on Saturday, excluding general holidays within the meaning of the General Holidays Ordinance (Cap. 149); (35 of 1998 s. 5)
surveyor (驗船師) means a Government surveyor;
tons (噸) means gross tons, and in the case of a ship having alternative gross tonnages, the larger of those gross tonnages. (L.N. 139 of 1970)

3. Schedule of fees
(1) Subject to regulation 5, the fees prescribed in the Schedule shall be payable in respect of the matters specified in relation thereto in that Schedule. (L.N. 247 of 1992; L.N. 252 of 1994)
(2) Except where otherwise specified in the Schedule or by necessary implication, the fees prescribed for the issue of any certificate shall be in respect of a certificate valid for a period of 12 months.

4. Fees for service within Hong Kong
Where the issue of any certificate or clearance is dependent upon the carrying out of any survey or inspection within Hong Kong during office hours any fee prescribed by these regulations shall include the services of a surveyor together with any travelling or other expenses involved.
(L.N. 352 of 1983)