4. Tenure of Tribunal members
(1) A Tribunal member may resign from office by giving notice in writing to the Financial Secretary. A notice of resignation takes effect on the date specified in the notice or, if no date is specified, on the date of receipt by the Financial Secretary of the notice.
(2) If a Tribunal member ceases to be a panel member, he ceases to be such Tribunal member.
5. Sittings
(1) The Chairman of the Tribunal shall convene such sittings of the Tribunal as are necessary to determine a review.
(2) Before convening a sitting under subsection (1) in respect of a review, the Chairman of the Tribunal may give directions to the parties to the review concerning—
- (a) procedural matters to be complied with by the parties; and
- (b) the time within which the parties are required to comply with such matters.
(3) At a sitting of the Tribunal—
- (a) the Chairman of the Tribunal shall preside;
- (b) not fewer than 2 Tribunal members shall also be present; and
- (c) every question before the Tribunal shall be determined by the opinion of the majority of those referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) except a question of law which shall be determined by the Chairman of the Tribunal alone.
(4) Every sitting of the Tribunal shall be held in public unless the Tribunal, on its own motion or on the application of any of the parties to the review, determines that in the interests of justice a sitting, or any part of a sitting, shall not be held in public in which case it may hold the sitting, or the relevant part of the sitting, as the case may be, in camera.
(5) If an application is made pursuant to subsection (4) for a determination that a sitting, or any part of a sitting, shall not be held in public, a hearing of the application shall be held in camera.
(6) The parties to a review shall, at any sitting of the Tribunal relating to the review, be entitled to be heard—
- (a) in person, or—
- (i) in the case of the Board or a corporation, through its officer or its employee;
- (ii) in the case of the Monetary Authority, through a person appointed under section 5A(3) of the Exchange Fund Ordinance (Cap. 66) to assist the Monetary Authority; and
- (b) through counsel or a solicitor or, with the leave of the Tribunal, through any other person.
(7) The Chairman of the Tribunal shall prepare or cause to be prepared a record of the proceedings at any sitting of the Tribunal, which shall contain such particulars relating to the proceedings as he considers appropriate.
6. Miscellaneous
Except as otherwise provided in this Ordinance, the Tribunal, its Chairman and its members, and the parties to, and any witness, counsel, solicitor, or any other person involved in, a review, shall have the same privileges and immunities in respect of the review as they would have if the review were civil proceedings before the Court of First Instance.
