{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-section-63-inquiries-rules-1997/article-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-section-63-inquiries-rules-1997/article-2.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1997/347",
  "legislation_title": "The Merchant Shipping (Section 63 Inquiries) Rules 1997",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-section-63-inquiries-rules-1997",
  "path": "article/2",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) In these Rules—\n“the 1995 Act” means the Merchant Shipping Act 1995;\n“allegation” means an allegation by the Secretary of State that a certificate holder is unfit to be the holder of such a certificate, whether by reason of incompetence or misconduct or for any other reason, within the meaning of section 62(1) of the 1995 Act;\n“certificate holder” means the holder of a certificate of competency issued under either section 47, other than one certifying that a person is qualified as an officer, or 54 of the 1995 Act;\n“person appointed” means the person or persons appointed by the Secretary of State to hold a section 63 inquiry;\n“inquiry” means any inquiry, and any re-hearing of such an inquiry, to which these Regulations apply.\n(2) Any period of time specified in these Rules by reference to days shall be exclusive of the first day and inclusive of the last day unless the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or any day appointed by law to be a bank holiday in the part of the United Kingdom where the inquiry is to be held, in which case the time shall be reckoned exclusively of that day also.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "applied (with modifications)",
      "affecting": "uksi/2014/1613",
      "affecting_title": "The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/347/article/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T12:25:29.190385+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}