A witness who attends an appeal hearing may apply for a witness allowance, but the application must be made within 14 days. The Board may grant certain allowances, subject to a cap linked to magistrates’ allowances, and any approved sum must be claimed within 3 months.
Municipal Services Appeals Board (Witnesses’ Allowances) Regulation(Cap. 220, section 20)(Enacting provision omitted—E.R. 3 of 2023)[21 September 2001] L.N. 186 of 2001(Format changes—E.R. 3 of 2023) 1. (Omitted as spent—E.R. 3 of 2023) 2. Interpretation In this Regulation, unless the context otherwise requires—witness (證人) means a witness summoned under the Ordinance but does not include a public officer acting in the course of his duties. 3. Application for payment of witnesses’ allowances (1) Subject to subsection (2), where a witness attends the hearing of an appeal to give evidence (including professional or expert evidence) or to produce documents, the witness may apply—(a) in writing to the Secretary; or(b) orally to the Board during the hearing of the appeal,for payment of an allowance referred to in section 4.(2) An application under subsection (1) shall be made within 14 days beginning with the day on which the witness attends the hearing of an appeal, and in the case where he attends the hearing in respect of the same appeal for more than one day, the last of those days. 4. Allowances for witnesses (1) The Board may, upon an application under section 3 or on its own motion, allow in respect of a witness a professional witness allowance, expert witness allowance or loss allowance, as the case may be, not exceeding the professional witness allowance, expert witness allowance or loss allowance that a magistrate may allow under the Criminal Procedure (Witnesses’ Allowances) Rules (Cap. 221 sub. leg. B) in respect of a witness who attends to give evidence in criminal proceedings. (E.R. 3 of 2023)(2) The expenses of allowances allowed under this Regulation shall be a charge on the general revenue. 5. Allowance to be claimed within 3 months Any sum allowed under this Regulation shall cease to be payable unless claimed within 3 months from the date on which it was allowed.