### Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) Ordinance 《商船(海員)條例》

112. Inquiry into fitness or conduct of officer
(1) Where it appears to the Authority that an officer—
(a) is unfit to discharge his duties, whether by reason of incompetence or misconduct or for any other reason;
(b) has been seriously negligent in the discharge of his duties; or
(c) has failed to comply with the provisions of section 78 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety) Ordinance (Cap. 369),
the Authority may cause an inquiry to be held and may, if he thinks fit, suspend, pending the outcome of the inquiry, any certificate or licence issued to the officer and require the officer to deliver it to him.
(2) Where an inquiry is to be held under this section—
(a) the inquiry shall be—
(i) held by one or more persons appointed by the Chief Justice; and
(ii) conducted in accordance with rules made under section 115 (which rules shall require the persons holding the inquiry to hold it with the assistance of one or more assessors); and
(b) the persons holding the inquiry shall for the purpose of the inquiry have the powers specified in section 113(1).
(3)  The persons holding an inquiry under this section and the assessors assisting them shall be remunerated at a rate which shall take account of the amount of work and time occupied by them upon the business of the inquiry and such remuneration shall be determined by the Chief Executive either generally from time to time or specifically in any particular case: (Amended 64 of 1999 s. 3)
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize the payment of remuneration to any person employed full time in any office of emolument under the Government. 
(4) The persons holding an inquiry under this section into the fitness or conduct of an officer—
(a) may, if satisfied of any of the matters specified in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c), cancel or suspend any certificate or licence issued to him or censure him;
(b) may make such order with regard to the costs of the inquiry or any part thereof (including witnesses’ costs) as they think just, and such order shall be enforced by them in the same way as an order for costs under the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap. 227); and
(c) shall make a report on the case to the Authority, and if the certificate or licence is cancelled or suspended the officer, unless he has delivered it to the Authority pursuant to subsection (1), shall deliver it forthwith to the persons holding the inquiry or to the Authority.
(5) Any costs which a person is ordered to pay under subsection (4)(b) may be recovered from him by the Authority.

### Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) Ordinance 《商船(海員)條例》

113. Powers of persons holding inquiry
(1) The persons holding an inquiry under section 112 may—
(a) make such examination and investigation as they consider necessary for the purpose of the inquiry;
(b) require any person who they have reasonable cause to believe is able to give any information relevant to any examination or investigation under paragraph (a)—
(i) to attend at a place and time specified by the persons holding the inquiry;
(ii) to answer (in the absence of persons other than any persons whom the persons holding the inquiry may allow to be present and a person nominated to be present by the person on whom the requirement is imposed) such questions as the persons holding the inquiry think fit to ask;
(iii) to sign a declaration of the truth of his answers;
(c) may require the production of, and inspect and take copies of or of any entry in—
(i) any books or documents which by virtue of any provision of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Cap. 281), the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap. 313), the Merchant Shipping (Safety) Ordinance (Cap. 369) or this Ordinance are required to be kept;
(ii) any other books or documents which they consider it necessary for them to see for the purposes of any examination or investigation under paragraph (a);
(d) may require any person to afford them such facilities and assistance with respect to any matters or things within that person’s control, or in relation to which that person has responsibilities as the persons holding the inquiry consider are necessary to enable them to exercise any of the powers conferred on them by this section.
(2) A person shall be obliged to answer questions put to him under this section by the persons holding the inquiry, but if the answers might tend to incriminate him, and he so claims before answering the question, neither the question nor the answer shall be admissible in evidence against him in criminal proceedings other than proceedings for an offence under section 116 or under section 36 of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200), or for perjury, in respect of the answer, and the persons holding the inquiry shall, before asking any question under this section, inform the person concerned of the limitation imposed by this subsection in respect of the admissibility in evidence of the question and any answer given.

### Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) Ordinance 《商船(海員)條例》

115. Rules as to inquiries, etc.
(1) The Chief Justice may make rules for the conduct of inquiries under section 112 and for the conduct of any re-hearing under section 114.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), rules made under this section may provide for the appointment and summoning of assessors, the manner in which any facts may be proved, the persons allowed to appear, and the notices to be given to persons affected.

116. Penalty for refusing to attend as witness, etc.
Any person who refuses to attend as a witness before any person having the powers specified in section 113(1), after having been required in the exercise of any such power to do so, or refuses or neglects to make any answer, or to give any return, or to produce any document in his possession or under his control, or to make or subscribe any declarations required by any such person in the exercise of any such power, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 2.

117. Failure to deliver cancelled or suspended certificate, etc.
Where a person fails to deliver a certificate or licence as required under section 112(1) or (4), he commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 2.

118. Power to restore certificate, etc.
Where a certificate or licence has been cancelled or suspended under this Part, the Authority, if required to do so by the Court of First Instance or the persons holding the inquiry concerned, shall re-issue the certificate or licence or, as the case may be, reduce the period of suspension and return the certificate or licence, or shall grant a new certificate or licence of the same or a lower grade in place of the cancelled or suspended certificate or licence.
(Amended 43 of 1999 s. 91)

118A. Interpretation
In this Part—

certifying authority (核證當局) means—
(a) the Authority; or
(b) a recognized organization;

e-cert database (電子證書資料庫), in relation to a certifying authority, means an electronic database that is maintained or managed by or for the certifying authority in accordance with the e-cert guidelines;
e-cert guidelines (電子證書指引) means the documents listed in Division 1 of Part 3 of Schedule 3, as from time to time revised or amended by revisions or amendments to those documents;
recognized organization (認可機構) means an organization recognized by the Authority under section 111(1) of the Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) (Working and Living Conditions) Regulation (Cap. 478 sub. leg. AF).