Press Releases
Deadline for filing appeals to the Fishermen Claims Appeal Board extended
The Fishermen Claims Appeal Board (FCAB) set up for the trawl ban
announced today (January 28) that the deadline for filing appeals will
be extended till February 28, 2013.
An inter-departmental working group (IWG) set up for the trawl ban has
received a total of 1 117 applications for ex-gratia allowance (EGA).
Apart from 14 applications where the notification letters have yet to
be issued for various reasons (for example, waiting for applicants to
submit supplementary information or documents), the IWG has made
decisions on 1 103 cases and issued the notification letters by
batches since November 2012. In addition to conveying its decisions
and the considerations that had been taken into account, the IWG also
stated in the notification letters that appeals may be lodged to the
FCAB in writing within 30 days if the applicants are not satisfied
with the decisions. So far, the FCAB has received a total of 567
appeals.
The Chairman of the FCAB, Ms Tennessy Hui, said, "Some fishermen have
reflected to the FCAB that the actual follow-up time is less than 30
days because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. The fishermen
also wish to have more time to compile the appeals in view of the
complexity of the relevant information. Therefore, they request the
FCAB to adopt a liberal approach in handling the deadline for filing
appeals.
"Drawing from the experience of other appeal boards, in general, a
time limit of 30 days is common and reasonable. An appeal board may
consider extending the deadline for filing appeals on the merits of
individual cases, subject to the appeal applicants being able to
provide reasonable justifications. Notwithstanding this, the FCAB
appreciates the long-term impact of the trawl ban on fishermen's
livelihoods, and notes the unique tradition of the fishing community
whereby most fisherfolk would return to and stay in Hong Kong around
the Lunar New Year period, during which time they could handle the
filing of appeals in person. As such, the FCAB has decided that if an
appeal applicant is unable to file his/her appeal within the 30-day
deadline, the Board would still accept his/her appeal application on
or before February 28, 2013. For those who have not received the
notification letters, the FCAB would keep in view future development,
and handle this separately," Ms Hui said.
"Those who wish to file appeals should put forward their applications
as soon as possible. As the FCAB has already adopted a liberal
approach in handling the deadline for filing appeals, the FCAB will in
general not accept appeal applications submitted after February 28,
2013 (for those who have not yet received the notification letters,
the FCAB will handle this separately). In other words, only in
exceptional circumstances will the FCAB exercise discretion in
considering an appeal application submitted after the extended
deadline. For an appeal application lodged after February 28, 2013, it
would be incumbent upon the appeal applicant to satisfy the FCAB that
he/she has made due diligence in making the appeals, and the delay is
not due to his/her own fault and/or such delay is attributable to
reasons beyond his/her control," she said.
"As the FCAB has responsibility to handle the 567 appeals already
received first, those who file their appeal applications between
January 28 and February 28 should understand that it is likely that
their appeals may be heard later."
The FCAB will have its meeting on January 31, 2013 to discuss the way
forward, including formulating a schedule for hearing the
aforementioned 567 appeals. Having regard to the scheduled hearing
sessions, appellants and respondents will be invited by batches to
submit the relevant information, including their statements, evidence
and responses, in accordance with the work-flow.
The ban of trawling in Hong Kong waters, under statute, came into
operation on December 31, 2012. Under a one-off assistance package
approved by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council on June
10, 2011, an EGA is payable to eligible trawler owners affected by the
trawl ban. An IWG has been set up by the Government to handle matters
relating to applications received from parties affected by the trawl
ban. Applicants who are not satisfied with the decisions of the IWG on
the aforementioned EGA may lodge appeals to the FCAB in writing within
30 days after receiving the notification letters. The FCAB comprises
one non-official Chairman and four non-official members. According to
its terms of reference, the FCAB will determine whether the IWG's
decisions comply with government policy and are fair and reasonable
(in the public law sense) to the applicants.
The secretariat of the FCAB is located at the Food and Health Bureau,
17/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar,
Hong Kong.
Ends/Monday, January 28, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:04
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