１９９６年１０月１日起施行的《行政处罚法》，首次明确规定了行政机关在给与当事人严厉行政处罚的特定案件中适用听证程序的法定要求。从五年来的实践看，听证程序的适用对于海事机关依法处罚、提高办案质量、减少行政复议案件和行政诉讼案件数量，从而有效地保护当事人的合 The Administrative Punishment Law, which came into effect on October 1, 1996, clearly stipulates, for the first time, the statutory requirement that the administrative organ should apply the hearing procedure in specific cases in which the party concerned is given severe administrative penalties. From the practice of the past five years, the application of the hearing procedure can punish the maritime authorities according to law, improve the quality of handling cases and reduce the number of administrative reconsideration cases and administrative litigation cases, so as to effectively protect the cooperation between the parties