PLC Paper No. LS 74

Paper for the House Committee Meeting
of the Provisional Legislative Council
on 9 January 1998

Legal Service Division Report on Resolution under Section 20B(3) of the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance (Cap. 237) and Resolution under Section 9(3) of the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance (Cap. 240)

The Secretary for Transport has given notice to move the above two resolutions at the Provisional LegCo meeting on 21 January 1998. Both resolutions are concerned with the increase of court costs in proceedings to recover fixed penalty.

Resolution under Section 20B(3) of the Fixed Penalty
(Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance (Cap. 237)

2.Cap. 237 provides for fixed penalty in respect of various parking offences. A person liable for the fixed penalty may dispute liability, in which case, the matter will be determined by a magistrate on complaint in a summary way. Under section 20B(1) of the Ordinance, the person who initially disputes liability may subsequently terminate the proceedings by paying the fixed penalty together with an additional penalty of the same amount and the court costs of $440 specified in that subsection. Section 20B(3) of the Ordinance provides that the Provisional LegCo may by resolution amend the specified court costs.

3.The existing amount of court costs has been in place since May 1995. By this resolution, the Administration is seeking the approval of the Provisional LegCo to increase the court costs to $500 to maintain the costs in real terms. If the resolution is passed, the increase will take effect on 1 March 1998.

Resolution under Section 9(3) of the Fixed Penalty
(Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance (Cap. 240)

4.Cap. 240 provides for fixed penalty in respect of certain driving offences and other traffic contraventions. There are similar provisions as in Cap. 237 for the person liable to dispute liability and for proceedings to be instituted by way of summons. Under section 9(1) of the Ordinance, the person who initially disputes liability may subsequently terminate the proceedings by paying the fixed penalty together with an additional penalty of the same amount and the court costs specified in that subsection. The court costs specified is $440, which may be amended by the Provisional LegCo by resolution under section 9(3) of the Ordinance.

5.The existing amount of court costs was introduced in May 1995. By this resolution, the Administration is seeking the approval of the Provisional LegCo to increase the court costs to $500 for the same reason given in paragraph 3 above. If the resolution is passed, the increase will also take effect on 1 March 1998.

Conclusion

6.The drafting and legal aspects of the two resolutions are in order.

Prepared by

Wong Sze-man, Bernice
Assistant Legal Adviser
Provisional Legislative Council Secretariat
2 January 1998