PLC Paper No. LS 9

Paper for the House Committee Meeting
of the Provisional Legislative Council
on 8 August 1997

Legal Service Division Report on
Subsidiary Legislation Gazetted on 18 July 1997

Date of Tabling in Provisional LegCo : 23 July 1997

Amendment to be made by : 20 August 1997 (or 27 August 1997 if extended by resolution)

Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230) Schedule of Routes (Kowloon Motor Bus Company) (No. 2) Order 1997 (L.N. 394)

This Order updates the schedules of bus routes operated by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (㞠MB� following the decision of the Chief Executive in Council to grant a new franchise to KMB under section 5 of the Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230) (懀he Ordinance�. The new franchise will confer upon the KMB the right to operate a public bus service on 368 routes for 9 years and 11 months from 1 September 1997.

This Order will come into operation on 1 September 1997 to tie in with the commencement of the new franchise.

Members may wish to note that the new franchise granted to KMB will no longer be subject to the Profit Control Scheme and the bus routes covered by the new franchise will all be operated on a non-exclusive basis. This will bring KMB franchise into line with franchises granted to the Citybus Limited and the New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited. For Members�information, the Secretary for Transport has given notice to move a motion under section 5(3)(b) of the Ordinance at the Provisional Legislative Council meeting to be held on 20 August 1997 to exclude the operation of the Profit Control Scheme from the KMB new franchise (PLC Paper No. LS 13 refers).

For background information, Members may refer to PLC Brief ref. : TBCR 3/5591/94(97) Pt.9 issued by the Transport Bureau on 15 July 1997.

Banking Ordinance (Cap. 155) Banking Ordinance (Declaration under section 2(14)(d)) (No. 2) Notice 1997 (L.N. 395)

This Notice declares that the stored value card known as 幈ctopus�to be issued by the Creative Star Limited is not a stored value card for the purpose of the definition of ulti-purpose card�under the Banking Ordinance (Cap. 155) (懀he Ordinance�. Under the Ordinance, only authorized institutions (i.e. banks and deposit-taking companies) approved by the Monetary Authority may issue multi-purpose cards.

The effect of this Notice is to ensure that, subject to the conditions specified in section 4, the 幈ctopus�is exempted from the approval requirements. One of the conditions specified in section 4 is that the aggregate value of goods or services supplied in the course of non-core use shall not exceed 15% of the aggregate value of goods or services purchased with the 幈ctopus�during the same period. The core use is the payment of transport services specified in the Schedule to this Notice. The non-core use is for paying vending machines, photo booths or telephone calls within station premises or on transport carriers, parking fee and tunnel or road tolls.

This Notice will come into operation on 28 August 1997.

According to paragraph 8 of the PLC Brief (no reference number provided) dated 17 July 1997 issued by the Financial Services Bureau, the Hong Kong Association of Banks, the Deposit-taking Companies Association, the Banking Advisory Committee and the Deposit-taking Companies Advisory Committee have been consulted on the exemption.

Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (46 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997 (L.N. 396)

By this Notice, 21 July 1997 is appointed to be the day on which section 14 of the Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (46 of 1997) shall come into operation.

The purpose of the Amendment Ordinance is to implement the 1992 Protocols adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (MO� to amend the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1969 (懀he Liability Convention� and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1971. The 1992 Protocols entered into force internationally on 30 May 1996.

Section 14 of the Amendment Ordinance adds a new provision to the principal Ordinance to provide for a limitation on the enforcement of judgments by a court in a country that is not a party to the Liability Convention. According to the Administration, the remaining provisions of the Amendment Ordinance will be brought into operation pending IMO agreement to extend the 1992 Protocols to Hong Kong.

Prepared by

FUNG Sau-kuen, Connie
Assistant Legal Adviser

Provisional Legislative Council Secretariat
5 August 1997