PLC Paper No. LS 14

Paper for the House Committee Meeting
of the Provisional Legislative Council
on 15 August 1997

Legal Service Division Report on
Subsidiary Legislation Gazetted on 8 August 1997

Date of Tabling in Provisional LegCo : 20 August 1997

Amendment to be made by : 10 September 1997 (or 24 September 1997 if extended by resolution)

Commodities Trading Ordinance (Cap. 250) Commodities Trading (Trading Limits and Position Limits) (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 1997 (L.N. 410)

Under section 59 of the Commodities Trading Ordinance (Cap. 250) (懀he Ordinance�, the Securities and Futures Commission may, by rule, establish and fix limits on the amount of trading which may be done, or positions which may be held, by any person under futures contracts in respect of a specified commodity on the Hong Kong Futures Exchange. Such trading and position limits are necessary to facilitate market surveillance and risk management and are specified in the Schedule to the Commodities Trading (Trading Limits and Position Limits) Rules (Cap. 250, sub. leg.).

The present Amendment Rules add to the said Schedule Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index futures contract and Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index options contract. The Amendment Rules will come into operation on 12 September 1997.

Members may refer to the Provisional Legislative Council Brief dated 28 July 1997 issued by the Securities and Futures Commission for details.

Estate Agents Ordinance Estate Agents Ordinance (48 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997 (L.N. 411)

By this Notice, the Secretary for Housing appoints 8 August 1997 as the day on which Part I, Part II, section 41, 54(1), 56 , 57 and the Schedule of the Estate Agents Ordinance shall come into operation.

The relevant provisions relate mainly to the establishment of The Estate Agents Authority which is to determine licensing requirements and to deal with regulatory matters. In the Schedule, it is provided that the Authority shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice-chairman and not more than 18 ordinary members to be appointed by the Chief Executive.

The remaining parts will come into operation at a later date after the Authority has been established.

Mental Health (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 Mental Health (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (81 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997 (L.N. 412)

By this Notice, the Secretary for Health and Welfare appoints 15 August 1997 as the day on which sections 55(1)(a), 59(1) (as affects item 3(b) of Schedule 2) and item 3(b) of Schedule 2 of the Mental Health (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 shall come into operation.

Section 55(1)(a) shifts the regulation making power from the Chief Executive in Council to the Secretary for Health and Welfare.

Section 59(1) and item 3(b) of Schedule 2 enables a District Judge or Magistrate to return a special verdict that the accused person is not guilty by reason of insanity.

Legal Services Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 1997 Legal Services Legislation (Miscellaneous amendments) Ordinance 1997 (94 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997 (L.N. 413)

This is a corrigendum which arises out of a procedural error in making the Legal Services Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 1997 (94 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997 (L.N. 378 of 1997). The procedural error was that the said Notice was signed by the Attorney General on 29 June 1997, but the Ordinance was published in the Gazette on 30 June 1997. Under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1), the appointment of commencement date cannot be made before an Ordinance is published in the Gazette. To remove doubt on the validity of the previous appointment, the Secretary for Justice now appoints 8 August 1997 as the day on which the provisions named in the previous Notice (i.e. section 14 and section 4 of Schedule 2 of the Ordinance) came into operation.

The effect of the two provisions is that any provision in an agreement on the sale of units in new developments that require the purchaser to pay the vendor legal costs, entered into after the commencement of these provisions, would be void.

Prepared by

Ho Ying-chu, Anita
Assistant Legal Adviser
Provisional Legislative Council Secretariat
12 August 1997