Hong Kong Ordinances

MENTAL HEALTH ORDINANCE - SECT 59G

Procedure of the tribunal

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

(1) Rules may be made by the Chief Justice with respect to the making of
applications to the tribunal and with respect to its proceedings and matters
incidental to or consequential on such proceedings.

(2) Rules made under subsection (1) may in particular make provision-

   (a)  for enabling the tribunal to dispose of an application without a
        formal hearing where such a hearing is not requested by the applicant
        or it appears to the tribunal that such a hearing would be detrimental
        to the health of the relevant person;

   (b)  for enabling the tribunal to exclude members of the public, or any
        specified class of members of the public, from any proceedings of the
        tribunal, or to prohibit the publication of reports of any such
        proceedings or the names of any persons concerned in such proceedings;

   (c)  for regulating the circumstances in which, and the persons by whom,
        applicants and relevant persons in respect of whom applications are
        made to a tribunal may, if not desiring to conduct their own case, be
        represented for the purposes of those applications;

   (d)  for regulating the methods by which information relevant to an
        application may be obtained by or furnished to the tribunal, and in
        particular for authorizing members of the tribunal, or any one or more
        of them, to visit and interview in private any relevant person by or
        in respect of whom an application has been made;

   (e)  for making available to any applicant, and to any relevant person in
        respect of whom an application is made to the tribunal, copies of any
        documents obtained by or furnished to the tribunal in connection with
        the application, and a statement of the substance of any oral
        information so obtained or furnished except where the tribunal
        considers it undesirable in the interests of the relevant person or
        for other special reasons;

   (f)  for requiring the tribunal, if so requested in accordance with the
        rules, to furnish such statements of the reasons for any decision
        given by the tribunal as may be prescribed by the rules, subject to
        any provision made by the rules for withholding such a statement from
        a relevant person or any other person in cases where the tribunal
        considers that furnishing it would be undesirable in the interests of
        the relevant person or for other special reasons;

   (g)  for conferring on the tribunal such ancillary powers as the Chief
        Justice thinks necessary for the purposes of the exercise of its
        functions under this Ordinance;

   (h)  for enabling any functions of the tribunal which relate to matters
        preliminary or incidental to an application to be performed by the
        chairman of the tribunal;

   (i)  for consolidating applications or restricting the number of
        applications under section 59B which may be made within any specified
        period. (Amended 81 of 1997 s. 50)

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) apply in relation to references to the tribunal as
they apply in relation to applications to the tribunal by or in respect of
relevant persons. (Amended 81 of 1997 s. 50)

(4) The rules may be so framed as to apply to all applications or references
to the tribunal, or to applications or references of any specified class, and
may make different provision in relation to different cases.

(5) Any functions conferred on the chairman by the rules may, if for any
reason he is unable to act, be exercised by another member of the tribunal
appointed by him for the purpose. (Part IVA added 46 of 1988 s. 23)