### Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance 《非本地高等及專業敎育(規管)條例》

27. Constitution and powers of Appeal Board
(1) The Appeal Board shall consist of the Chairman or a Deputy Chairman who shall preside at the hearing and such number of persons, not being fewer than 2, from the panel referred to in section 26(5) as the Chairman may appoint to be members of the Appeal Board to hear any appeal.
(2) In relation to the hearing of appeals every question before the Appeal Board shall be determined by the opinion of the majority of the members hearing the appeal except a question of law which shall be determined by the Chairman or (where appropriate) the Deputy Chairman; in the case of an equality of votes the Chairman or Deputy Chairman shall have a casting vote.
(3) In hearing an appeal the Appeal Board may—
(a) receive and consider any material, whether by way of oral evidence, written statements, documents or otherwise, and whether or not it would be admissible in a court of law;
(b) by notice in writing signed by the Chairman, summon any person—
(i) to produce to it any document or article that is relevant to the appeal and is in his custody or under his control; or
(ii) to appear before it and to give evidence relevant to the appeal;
(c) administer oaths and affirmations;
(d) require evidence to be given on oath or affirmation;
(e) make an award of such sum, if any, in respect of the costs involved in the appeal as is just and equitable in all the circumstances of the case.
(4) After hearing an appeal made in respect of a registered course—
(a) under section 11, the Appeal Board may determine the appeal by confirming the Registrar’s decision or directing the Registrar to register the course;
(b) under section 12, the Appeal Board may determine the appeal by confirming the Registrar’s decision or directing the Registrar to withdraw the relevant condition or vary the condition in such manner as the Appeal Board decides;
(c) under section 15, the Appeal Board may determine the appeal by confirming the Registrar’s decision or directing the Registrar to restore the registration of the course.

28. Notification of certain decisions of Appeal Board
Where the Appeal Board determines an appeal by directing the Registrar to restore the registration of a course, the Registrar shall—
(a) publish a notice containing the decision of the Appeal Board in all newspapers in which a notice was published under section 14(2)(b) or (c) in respect of the cancellation of the registration of the course; and
(b) give a notice in writing of the decision of the Appeal Board to the operator of the course.

29. Appeal Board’s decision is final
Subject to section 31 the determination of an appeal by the Appeal Board or any order as to costs made by the Appeal Board shall be final.

### Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance 《非本地高等及專業敎育(規管)條例》

30. Supplementary provisions relating to appeals
(1) The procedure and practice of the Appeal Board shall, subject to this Ordinance, be determined by the Chairman.
(2) If the Chairman is precluded by illness, absence from Hong Kong or any other cause from exercising his functions, the Chief Executive may appoint a Deputy Chairman to act as Chairman and as such to exercise all the functions of the Chairman during the period of his appointment. (Amended 55 of 2000 s. 3)
(3) If a person appointed by the Chairman under section 27(1) to hear an appeal is precluded by illness, absence from Hong Kong or any other cause from exercising his functions, the Chairman may appoint any other person from the panel referred to in section 26(5) to act in his place.
(4) In the hearing of an appeal, the appellant and the Registrar shall be entitled to be heard either in person or through a representative authorized by him.
(5) In relation to any appeal to the Appeal Board, the members of the Appeal Board, the appellant, the Registrar and any witness, representative or other person appearing before the Appeal Board shall have the same privileges and immunities as they would have if the proceedings were civil proceedings before a court.
(6) Any sum awarded to the Registrar under section 27(3)(e) shall be a debt due from the appellant to the Government and recoverable in the District Court and any sum payable by the Registrar to the appellant pursuant to an award under that section shall be charged on the general revenue.

31. Case may be stated for Court of Appeal
(1) The Appeal Board may refer any question of law arising in an appeal to the Court of Appeal for determination by way of case stated.
(2) On the hearing of the case, the Court of Appeal may amend the case or order it to be sent back to the Appeal Board for amendment.
(3) Where a case is stated under subsection (1), the Appeal Board shall not determine the relevant appeal before the Court of Appeal determines the relevant point of law.
(4) Where the Court of Appeal determines a case stated under subsection (1), the Appeal Board shall determine the relevant appeal having regard to the decision of the Court.

### Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance 《非本地高等及專業敎育(規管)條例》

32. Offences relating to appeal
Any person who is summoned by a notice under section 27(3)(b) and who—
(a) without reasonable excuse refuses or fails—
(i) to attend and give evidence when required to do so by the Appeal Board;
(ii) being in attendance before the Appeal Board as a witness, to take an oath or make an affirmation required by the Appeal Board to be taken or made;
(iii) to answer truthfully and completely questions put to him by the Appeal Board; or
(iv) to produce any document or article which he is required by the Appeal Board to produce; or
(b) does any other thing which would, if the Appeal Board had been a court of law having power to commit for contempt, have been contempt of that court,
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 3 and to imprisonment for 6 months.

33. Offence
(1) Any person who in purported compliance with the provisions of this Ordinance or a requirement under this Ordinance makes any statement or representation of facts which is false in a material particular and which—
(a) he knows to be false in such particular; or
(b) he has no reasonable ground to believe to be true in such particular,
commits an offence.
(2) Any person who conceals, destroys, mutilates or falsifies any document or record affecting or relating to the affairs of any course with the intention of—
(a) concealing any offence against this Ordinance or contravention of any condition imposed under section 12; or
(b) obstructing any public officer in the performance of his functions under this Ordinance,
commits an offence.
(3) Any person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on conviction to a fine at level 4 and to imprisonment for 2 years.

### Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance 《非本地高等及專業敎育(規管)條例》

34. Restriction on advertisement relating to regulated course, etc.
(1) No person shall—
(a) publish, broadcast or otherwise disseminate; or
(b) cause to be published, broadcast or otherwise disseminated,
to the general public or a section of the general public any advertisement calculated to induce enrolment in any regulated course which is not an exempted course or a registered course.
(2) No person shall—
(a) publish, broadcast or otherwise disseminate; or
(b) cause to be published, broadcast or otherwise disseminated,
to the general public or a section of the general public any advertisement which falsely describes—
(i) any regulated course;
(ii) any course which, but for the operation of section 2(5) or (6), would have fallen within the definition of regulated course in section 2(1) by virtue of section 2(4),
or is likely to mislead as to the nature, purpose or quality of the course or the award to which the course is claimed to lead.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a proposed course.
(4) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 4 and to imprisonment for 2 years.
(5) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence. (Amended 32 of 2000 s. 48)

35. Time limitation for instituting certain prosecutions
Proceedings for an offence under section 3(2), 33(1) or (2) or 34(1) or (2) shall be instituted within 2 years of the commission of the offence.