Hong Kong Regulations

UNITED NATIONS SANCTIONS (ARMS EMBARGOES) REGULATION - SECT 8

Investigation, etc. of suspected ships, aircraft and vehicles

(Past version on 04/12/1998).
(Past version on 22/08/1997).

(1) Where any authorized officer has reason to suspect that any ship
registered in the HKSAR has been or is being or is about to be used in
contravention of section 7(1) or (2), he may (either alone or accompanied and
assisted by persons under his authority) board the ship and search it and, for
that purpose, may use or authorize the use of reasonable force, and he may
request the master of the ship to furnish such information relating to the
ship and its cargo and produce for his inspection such documents so relating
and such cargo as he may specify; and an authorized officer (either there and
then or upon consideration of any information furnished or document or cargo
produced in pursuance of such a request) may, in the case of a ship that is
reasonably suspected of being or of being about to be used in contravention of
section 7, exercise the following further powers with a view to the prevention
of the commission (or the continued commission) of such contravention or in
order that inquiries into the matter may be pursued, that is to say, he may
either direct the master to refrain, except with the consent of an
authorized officer, from landing at any port specified by the officer any part
of the ship's cargo that is so specified or request the master to take any one
or more of the following steps- (L.N. 367 of 1998)

   (a)  to cause the ship not to proceed with the voyage on which it is then
        engaged or about to engage until the master is notified by any
        authorized officer that the ship may so proceed;

   (b)  if the ship is then in the HKSAR to cause it to remain there until the
        master is notified by any authorized officer that the ship may depart;

   (c)  if the ship is then in any other place, to take it to any such port
        specified by the officer and to cause it to remain there until the
        master is notified as mentioned in paragraph (b);

   (d)  to take it to any other destination that may be specified by the
        officer in agreement with the master, and the master shall comply with
        any such request or direction.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (10), where a master
refuses or fails to comply with a request made under this section that his
ship shall or shall not proceed to or from any place or where an
authorized officer otherwise has reason to suspect that such a request that
has been so made may not be complied with, any such officer may take such
steps as appear to him to be necessary to secure compliance with that request
and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may for that
purpose enter upon, or authorize entry upon, that ship and use, or authorize
the use of, reasonable force.

(3) Where the Chief Executive or any authorized officer has reason to suspect
that any aircraft registered in the HKSAR or any aircraft for the time being
chartered to any person specified in section 7(3) has been or is being or is
about to be used in contravention of section 7(1) or

(2), the Chief Executive or that authorized officer may request the charterer,
the operator and the commander of the aircraft or any of them to furnish such
information relating to the aircraft and its cargo and produce for his
inspection such documents so relating and such cargo as he may specify, and
the Chief Executive or that authorized officer may

(either alone or accompanied and assisted by persons under his authority)
board the aircraft and search it and, for that purpose, may use or authorize
the use of reasonable force; and, if the aircraft is then in the HKSAR, the
Chief Executive or any such authorized officer (either there and then or upon
consideration of any information furnished or document or cargo produced in
pursuance of such a request) may further request the charterer, the operator
and the commander or any of them to cause the aircraft to remain in the HKSAR
until notified that the aircraft may depart; and the charterer, the operator
and the commander shall comply with any such request. (L.N. 367 of 1998)

(4) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (10), where any
authorized officer has reason to suspect that any request that an aircraft
should remain in the HKSAR that has been made under this section may not be
complied with, that authorized officer may take such steps as appear to him to
be necessary to secure compliance with that request and, without prejudice to
the generality of the foregoing, may for that purpose-

   (a)  enter, or authorize entry, upon any land and upon that aircraft;

   (b)  detain, or authorize the detention of, that aircraft; and

   (c)  use, or authorize the use of, reasonable force.

(5) Where the Chief Executive or any authorized officer has reason to suspect
that any vehicle in the HKSAR has been or is being or is about to be used in
contravention of section 7(1) or (2), the Chief Executive or that
authorized officer may request the operator and driver of the vehicle or
either of them to furnish such information relating to the vehicle and any
goods contained in it and produce for his inspection such documents so
relating and such goods as he may specify, and the Chief Executive or that
authorized officer may (either alone or accompanied and assisted by persons
under his authority) board the vehicle and search it and, for the purpose, may
use or authorize the use of reasonable force; and the Chief Executive or any
such authorized officer (either there and then or upon consideration of any
information furnished or document or goods produced in pursuance of such a
request) may further require the operator or driver to cause the vehicle to
remain in the HKSAR until notified that the vehicle may depart; and the
operator and the driver shall comply with any such request.

(6) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (10), where the Chief
Executive or any authorized officer has reason to suspect that any request
that a vehicle should remain in the HKSAR that has been made under this
section may not be complied with, the Chief Executive or that
authorized officer may take such steps as appear to him to be necessary to
secure compliance with that request and, without prejudice to the generality
of the foregoing, may for that purpose-

   (a)  enter, or authorize entry, upon any land and upon that vehicle;

   (b)  detain, or authorize the detention of, that vehicle;

   (c)  use, or authorize the use of, reasonable force.

(7) Before or on exercising any power conferred by subsection (1),

(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6), an authorized officer shall, if requested so to do,
produce evidence of his authority.

(8) No information furnished or document produced by any person in pursuance
of a request made under this section shall be disclosed except-

   (a)  with the consent of the person by whom the information was furnished
        or the document was produced: Provided that a person who has obtained
        information or is in possession of a document only in his capacity as
        servant or agent of another person may not give consent for the
        purposes of this paragraph but such consent may instead be given by
        any person who is entitled to that information or to the possession of
        that document in his own right;

   (b)  to any person who would have been empowered under this section to
        request that it be furnished or produced;

   (c)  on the authority of the Chief Executive, subject to the information or
        document being transmitted through and with the approval of the
        instructing authority, to any organ of the United Nations or to any
        person in the service of the United Nations or to the Government of
        any place outside the People's Republic of China for the purpose of
        assisting the United Nations or that Government in securing compliance
        with or detecting evasion of measures in relation to Somalia, Rwanda,
        the Federal  Republic of Yugoslavia or Sierra Leone decided upon by
        the Security Council of the United Nations; or (L.N. 367 of 1998; L.N.
        281 of 2001)

   (d)  with a view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of,
        any proceedings for an offence under this Regulation or, with respect
        to any of the matters regulated by this Regulation, for an offence
        against any enactment relating to customs.

(9) Any power conferred by this section to request the furnishing of
information or the production of a document or of cargo for inspection shall
include a power to specify whether the information should be furnished orally
or in writing and in what form and to specify the time by which and the place
in which the information should be furnished or the document or cargo produced
for inspection. (L.N. 367 of 1998)

(10) Each of the following persons shall be guilty of an offence, that is to
say-

   (a)  a master of a ship who disobeys any direction given under subsection
        (1) with respect to the landing of any cargo;

   (b)  a master of a ship or charterer or an operator or a commander of an
        aircraft or an operator or a driver of a vehicle who-

        (i)    without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails within a reasonable
               time to comply with any request made under this section by any
               person empowered to make it; or

        (ii)   intentionally furnishes false information or produces false
               documents to such a person in response to such a request;

   (c)  a master or a member of a crew of a ship or a charterer or an operator
        or a commander or a member of a crew of an aircraft or an operator or
        a driver of a vehicle who intentionally obstructs any such person (or
        any person acting under the authority of any such person) in the
        exercise of his powers under this section.

(11) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prejudice any other
provision of law conferring powers or imposing restrictions or enabling
restrictions to be imposed with respect to ships, aircraft or vehicles.