Article 10 Conduct of hearings

The hearing officer shall be responsible for the conduct of hearings. The hearing officer shall ensure that the hearing is held in a fair and impartial manner.

Hearings shall not be public. The hearing officer shall decide which persons are to be heard on behalf of an interested party and whether the persons concerned are to be heard separately or in the presence of other persons invited to attend. In the latter case, the legitimate interest of the interested parties in the protection of their business secrets and other confidential information shall be taken into consideration.

The hearing officer may allow the participants to pose and answer questions during the hearing.

If the hearing officer has admitted external experts, those experts shall have the opportunity to present their views and to answer questions from other participants in the hearing.

Where appropriate after a hearing, in view of the need to ensure the right to be heard, and after hearing the Director responsible or their delegate, the hearing officer may afford interested parties the opportunity to submit further written comments. The hearing officer shall fix a date by which such submissions are to be made. The hearing officer may decide not to take into account written comments received after that date.