### Mental Health Ordinance 《精神健康條例》

3. Declaration of mental hospitals
(1) The Chief Executive may by order declare any place which is the property of the Government to be a mental hospital for the detention, custody, treatment and care of mentally disordered persons.
(2) The Chief Executive on the application of the owner thereof, may, by order, declare any place which is not the property of the Government to be a mental hospital for the detention, custody, treatment and care of mentally disordered persons.
(3) Notification of every such order shall be published in the Gazette.
(Amended 60 of 2000 s. 3)

4. Appointment of medical superintendents and assistant medical superintendents
(1) The Chief Executive may appoint any medical officer to be the medical superintendent or an assistant medical superintendent of a mental hospital.
(2) On the application of any registered medical practitioner who is not a medical officer, the Chief Executive may appoint the registered medical practitioner to be the medical superintendent or an assistant medical superintendent of a mental hospital. (Amended 81 of 1997 s. 4)
(3) Notification of every such appointment shall be published in the Gazette.
(Amended 60 of 2000 s. 3)

5. Appointment and duties of visitors
(1) The Chief Executive may appoint mental hospital visitors for every mental hospital. (Amended 60 of 2000 s. 3)
(2) Two or more mental hospital visitors appointed in accordance with subsection (1) shall once at least in every month, together inspect every part of the mental hospital of which they are mental hospital visitors and shall see and examine so far as circumstances permit, every patient therein and shall enter in a book to be kept for that purpose any remarks which they may deem proper in regard to the management and condition of the mental hospital and the patients therein. (Amended 46 of 1988 s. 3)

6. Delegation
A medical superintendent may delegate any of his powers and functions under this Ordinance to any registered medical practitioner and may use and employ to carry out his functions under this Ordinance any employee in a mental hospital.

### Mental Health Ordinance 《精神健康條例》

7. Court may order inquiry
(1) The Court may, on application under this section, make an order directing an inquiry whether any person subject to the jurisdiction of the Court who is alleged to be mentally incapacitated is incapable, by reason of mental incapacity, of managing and administering his property and affairs. (Replaced 81 of 1997 s. 6)
(2) Such order may also contain directions for inquiries concerning the nature of the property belonging to the person alleged to be mentally incapacitated, the persons who are his relative or next-of-kin, the time during which he has been mentally incapacitated or such other questions as to the Court shall seem proper. (Amended 81 of 1997 ss. 6 & 58 )
(3) Application for such inquiry may be made by any relative of the person alleged to be a mentally incapacitated person, but if no such application is made by the relative, then by—
(a) the Director of Social Welfare;
(b) the Official Solicitor; or
(c) any guardian of that person appointed under Part IVB. (Replaced 81 of 1997 s. 6)
(4) The application referred to in subsection (3) shall be made by an originating summons (within the meaning of the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4 sub. leg. A)) and those Rules shall apply accordingly. (Added 81 of 1997 s. 6. Amended 25 of 1998 s. 2; E.R. 4 of 2019)
(5) Despite subsection (4), the application referred to in subsection (3) shall be accompanied by 2 medical certificates and evidence of the relatives or next-of-kin and the property (if any) of the mentally incapacitated person, and such other documents or evidence as may be required by the Court. (Added 81 of 1997 s. 6)
(6) In this section—
evidence of the relatives or next-of-kin and the property (關於親屬或最近親及財產的證據) means a certificate made and signed by the applicant or, if the Court so orders in a particular case, an affidavit, giving particulars of the mentally incapacitated person’s relatives or next-of-kin, property and affairs and of the circumstances giving rise to the application;
medical certificate (醫生證明書) means a certificate made and signed by a registered medical practitioner that the mentally incapacitated person is incapable, by reason of mental incapacity, of managing and administering his property and affairs. (Added 81 of 1997 s. 6)

### Mental Health Ordinance 《精神健康條例》

8. Provision as to notice of inquiry
(1)  Reasonable notice of the time and place appointed for the inquiry shall be given to the person alleged to be a mentally incapacitated person:
Provided that if it shall appear that the person alleged to be a mentally incapacitated person is in such a state that personal service on him would be ineffectual, the Court may direct such substituted service of the notice as it shall think proper. 
(2) The Court may also, if it thinks fit, direct a copy of such notice to be served upon any relative of the person alleged to be a mentally incapacitated person.
(Amended 81 of 1997 ss. 7 & 58)

9. Power to examine person alleged to be mentally incapacitated
At any time after the application for the inquiry the Court may require the person alleged to be a mentally incapacitated person to attend at such convenient time and place within Hong Kong as the Court may appoint, for the purpose of being personally examined by the Court or by any person from whom the Court may desire to have a report of his mental capacity and condition, and the Court may also make an order authorizing any person or persons named therein to have access to the person alleged to be a mentally incapacitated person for the purpose of a personal examination.
(Amended 46 of 1988 s. 32; 81 of 1997 s. 58)

10. Questions to be decided by Court
(1) At the inquiry, after receiving such reports and hearing such evidence and arguments as it may think fit, the Court shall decide whether the person who is alleged to be a mentally incapacitated person is incapable, by reason of mental incapacity, of managing and administering his property and affairs and shall also decide any other questions as to which an inquiry has been directed. (Replaced 81 of 1997 s. 8)
(2) The Court may make such order as may appear just respecting the costs of the inquiry and may include therein such remuneration to physicians and surgeons as the Court shall deem reasonable:
Provided that no order for the payment of costs shall be made against an applicant under section 7(3)(a) or (b). (Amended 81 of 1997 s. 8)

### Mental Health Ordinance 《精神健康條例》

10A. General functions of Court with respect to property and affairs of mentally incapacitated person
(1) The Court may, with respect to the property and affairs of a mentally incapacitated person, do or secure the doing of all such things as appear necessary or expedient—
(a) for the maintenance or other benefit of that person;
(b) for the maintenance or other benefit of members of that person’s family;
(c) for making provision for any other person or purposes for whom or for which the mentally incapacitated person might be expected to provide if he were not mentally incapacitated; or
(d) otherwise for administering the mentally incapacitated person’s property and affairs.
(2) In the performance of the functions under subsection (1) the Court shall have regard—
(a) as a paramount consideration, to the requirements of the mentally incapacitated person;
(b) subject to paragraph (c), to the interest of creditors;
(c) to the rules of common law which formerly restricted the enforcement by a creditor of rights against the property of a mentally incapacitated person under the control of the Court or other judicial authority (if any), which rules shall apply to property under the protection and management of the Court; and 
(d) to the desirability of making provision for obligations of the mentally incapacitated person notwithstanding that those obligations may not be legally enforceable.
(Added 81 of 1997 s. 9)