Cap. 115 sub. leg. L

Immigration (Refugee Status Review Boards) (Procedure) Regulations(Cap. 115, section 59 as read with section 13F) [16 June 1989](Format changes—E.R. 7 of 2020) 1. Citation These regulations may be cited as the Immigration (Refugee Status Review Boards) (Procedure) Regulations. 2. Interpretation In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—applicant (申請人) means the person making application for a review under section 13F whether on his own behalf or on behalf of a child;Board (委員會) means a Board to which an application for review under section 13F is made;Chairman (主席) means the Chairman of the Boards;Commissioner (專員) means the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees acting through his representative in Hong Kong;Deputy Chairman (副主席) means a Deputy Chairman of the Boards;prescribed person (訂明人員) means an appeals counsellor engaged by the Agency for Volunteer Service. 3. Constitution of Boards (1) Subject to this regulation, a Board shall be constituted by a Deputy Chairman and one other member sitting together, being a Deputy Chairman and member designated by the Chairman.(2) The Chairman may sit as a member of a Board either instead of a Deputy Chairman or in addition to him. 4. Person presiding and manner of making decisions (1) Except where the Chairman is present, when he shall preside, the Deputy Chairman appointed to a Board shall preside at the sittings of a Board.(2) A Board shall allow an application for a review if either or, if there are more than 2, one of its members considers the review should be allowed.(3) Subject to subregulation (2), in the event of a difference of opinion between members of a 2-member board, the decision of the person presiding shall prevail and, in the case of a 3-member board, the decision of the majority shall prevail. 5. Manner of making application for a review (1) Any person desiring to apply to a Board for a review under section 13F may do so by giving written notice of such application, within the time prescribed in section 13F(1), to the Chairman.(2) The notice of application shall be accompanied by any representations and documentary evidence which the applicant wants the Board to consider. 6. The representative of the applicant (1) Anything which the applicant may do under these regulations, his representative may do on his behalf. (2) The legal representative of the applicant shall be such legal practitioner (being a legal practitioner entitled to practise in Hong Kong) as the applicant may designate to the Chairman and, if no such person is so designated, then the prescribed person shall be deemed to be the representative of the applicant for the purposes of these regulations. 7. Papers to be made available to the representative For the purpose of enabling the applicant to determine whether or not to apply to a Board for a review and to enable him to consider what representations to make in respect thereof, files containing copies of—(a) the determination of the immigration officer not to allow the person detained under section 13D(1) refugee status and the reasons for that determination; and(b) all material upon which this determination was based, including any questions put to that person and his answers in respect thereof,shall, at the time of serving notice under section 13D(3) on that person, be made available by the Director for inspection by the representative of the applicant and by the Commissioner. 8. Sittings to be in private A Board shall sit in private. 9. A Board not confined to grounds etc. set out in the notice of application A Board may consider any matter which appears to it to be relevant to the application notwithstanding the omission of any reference to such matter in the notice of application or representations made under regulation 5(2). 10. Appearance before a Board (1) A Board may if it thinks fit require—(a) the applicant in person; or(b) an immigration officer,to appear before it for the purpose of answering such questions as the Board may think fit, being questions arising on the papers before it.(2) If an immigration officer is required to attend under subregulation (1) the applicant shall be notified of the time and place thereof and of his entitlement under subregulation (3).(3) The applicant shall be entitled to be present when an immigration officer answers questions under subregulation (1) and an immigration officer when the applicant so answers questions and the person so entitled to be present shall also be entitled to comment on the answers.(4) An applicant desiring to be present in the circumstances specified in subregulation (3) shall notify the Chairman. 11. Evidence (1) A Board shall consider—(a) the notice of application and the representations or evidence accompanying it (if any) under regulation 5(2);(b) copies of the documents referred to in regulation 7;(c) answers to questions put under regulation 10 and any representations made in respect thereof under that regulation,and may further receive and consider any evidence which appears to it to be relevant to the issues before it notwithstanding that the evidence would not be admissible in a court of law.(2) Where any document before a Board is in a language other than English it shall be sufficient compliance with this regulation if the Board considers any document which purports to be an English translation thereof. 12. The Director (1) The Director shall—(a) cause every notice served under regulation 18(1)(a) to be delivered to the Chairman as soon as practicable;(b) secure the attendance of any person whom a Board notifies Director is required to attend under regulation 10(1) or who desires to be present for the purposes specified in regulation 10(4).(2) Subject to regulation 10(3), the Director shall not be entitled to be present or represented at any review. 13. Transfer of review to another Board (1) Where an application has not been disposed of by the Board considering it, the Chairman shall make arrangements, if he is of the opinion that it is not practicable for the review to be determined by that Board, or determined without undue delay by that Board, for the review to be dealt with by another Board; and the review may be dealt with accordingly.(2) A member who was a member of the first Board referred to in subregulation (1) may be a member of the other Board constituted for the purposes of that subregulation.(3) Where the Boards consider that the review should, for any reason, be dealt with by another Board its presiding officer inform the Chairman who may refer the review to another Board or otherwise give such directions as he may think fit for the manner in which the review is to be conducted. 14. Record of proceedings A Board shall keep a summary or record of proceedings and of its determinations in such form as the Chairman may determine. 15. Procedure in matters not dealt with by these regulations etc. (1) The Chairman may give such directions to the Boards as he thinks fit as to the procedure on any application, being a direction not inconsistent with the Ordinance or these regulations.(2) Subject to the Ordinance, these regulations and any such directions, a Board may determine its own procedure. 16. Notice of decisions As soon as practicable after a Board has made its decision under section 13F(5) it shall notify the Director to give notice thereof to the applicant in such form as the Chairman may determine. 17. Prescribed person The prescribed person shall be the prescribed person for the purposes of section 13F(3)(b). 18. Service of notices (1) Any notice to be given by the applicant to the Chairman under these regulations may be given by addressing it to the Chairman and—(a) by leaving it with the Superintendent of the place where the applicant, or the child on whose behalf the application is made, is detained; or(b) by serving it by post.(2) Any notice to be given to the applicant under these regulations may be given by addressing it to him and serving it in the manner in which a notice under section 13D(3) may be served under section 13D(4).