Hong Kong Ordinances

PERSONAL DATA (PRIVACY) ORDINANCE - SECT 46

Commissioner, etc. to maintain secrecy

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the Commissioner and every
prescribed officer shall maintain secrecy in respect of all matters that come
to their actual knowledge in the performance of their functions and the
exercise of their powers under this Part.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not operate so as to prevent the Commissioner or any
prescribed officer from-

   (a)  disclosing in the course of proceedings-

        (i)    for an offence under this Ordinance; and

        (ii)   before any court or magistrate, any matter relevant to those
               proceedings;

   (b)  reporting evidence of any crime to such authority as he considers
        appropriate;

   (c)  disclosing to a person any matter referred to in subsection (1) which,
        in the opinion of the Commissioner or prescribed officer, may be
        ground for a complaint by that person.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), the Commissioner may disclose in any report
made by him under this Ordinance any matter that in his opinion ought to be
disclosed in order to establish grounds for his findings and recommendations
other than a matter the disclosure of which in his opinion would involve the
disclosure of personal data that are exempt from data  protection principle 6
by virtue of an exemption under Part VIII.

(4) The Commissioner shall not publish a report under this Ordinance after
completing an inspection or investigation unless-

   (a)  a copy of the report in the form in which it is to be published has
        been supplied to the relevant data user;

   (b)  that copy is accompanied by a notice in writing inviting the data user
        to advise the Commissioner, in writing and not later than 28 days
        after being served with the copy, whether-

        (i)    in the opinion of the data user there is any matter in the copy
               the disclosure of which would involve the disclosure of
               personal data that are exempt from the provisions of
               data protection principle 6 by virtue of an exemption under
               Part VIII; and

        (ii)   the data user objects to the disclosure of the matter; and

   (c)  either-

        (i)    the period referred to in paragraph (b) has expired without the
               Commissioner receiving any such advice; or

        (ii)   such advice is received by the Commissioner and- (A) the
               Commissioner deletes from the report the matter the subject of
               the advice; or (B) the Commissioner decides not to delete that
               matter from the report and- (I) the period referred to in
               subsection (6) expires without the data user making an appeal
               under that subsection against that decision; or (II) such an
               appeal is unsuccessful or withdrawn.

(5) Where the Commissioner makes a decision referred to in subsection
(4)(c)(ii)(B), he shall serve on the relevant data user who gave the advice
concerned a notice in writing-

   (a)  stating his decision;

   (b)  informing the data user that he may appeal under subsection (6)
        against that decision; and

   (c)  accompanied by a copy of this section.

(6) An appeal may be made to the Administrative Appeals Board against a
decision of the Commissioner referred to in subsection

(4)(c)(ii)(B) by the relevant data user not later than 14 days after the
notice under subsection (5) stating that decision has been served on the
data user. (Enacted 1995)