LC Paper No. LS164/98-99
| Proposed adaptations on which queries have been raised
| Administration's response
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| Proposed adaptation of the provision on saving the rights of the Majesty the Queen, Her Heirs or Successors.(section 12 of Schedule 1 to the Bill)
| As a CSA will be proposed to the savings provision by the Administration in the Adaptation of Laws Bill 1998, similar CSA to the savings provision in this Bill will be moved following enactment of the Adaptation of Laws Bill 1998.
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| Proposed adaptation of "country" in the contexts of "a country outside Hong Kong" and "a country which is a party to an international agreement". (Schedule 8)
| Given that there are precedents to the adaptation of similar terms in the Adaptation of Laws Bill 1998 and the Adaptation of Laws (No. 7) Bill 1999, the Administration will move CSAs to adapt the references to "country" to "country or place".
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| Proposed adaptation of "person or vehicle in the service/public service of the Crown".(Schedules 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10)
| The provisions containing the reference to "person or vehicle in the service/public service of the Crown" deal with provisions that would either apply the relevant enactments to vehicles or persons in the service of the Crown or otherwise affect the rights of the Crown. According to item 7(1) of Schedule 9 to Cap. 1 1, references to the "Crown" in the these cases should be replaced by references to the "State".
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| Inconsistency between the proposed adaptation of "person or vehicle in the service/public service of the Crown" and section 31(1) of the Tsing Ma Control Area Ordinance (Cap. 498) and sections 3, 26, and 27 of the Western Harbour Crossing Bylaw (Cap. 436 sub. leg.) and the Tai Lam and Yuen Long Approach Road Bylaw (Cap. 474 sub. leg.)2 | While there may be inconsistencies between the proposed adaptation of "person or vehicle in the service/public service of the Crown" in this Bill and other tunnel legislation in the scope of their application in (i.e. to Crown/State or only to Government/HKSAR), the inconsistencies rest with the original drafting of the legislation rather than from the adaptation of laws exercise.
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| Proposed adaptation of section 2(3) of Cap. 215, Cap. 393, Cap. 436 and Cap. 474 (section 1 of Schedules 2, 10, 11 and 12).
| The proposed amendment to section 2(3) of Cap. 215 will bring it in line with the 2nd paragraph of Article 56 of the Basic Law. The existing section 2(3) provides for a subjective test of "urgency". This was consistent with Article X of the Royal Instructions, according to which the then Governor could exercise similar power if "in his judgment" the matters were too urgent to be submitted to ExCo for advice. BL56 is, however, silent on whether the test of "emergencies" is subjective or objective. The deletion of the words "of the opinion that" from section 2(3) of Cap. 215 will therefore make it consistent with the provision in BL56. This reason also applies to the amendments proposed in section 1 of Schedules 10, 11 and 12.
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| Proposed adaptation of "utility under the control of the Government or any agency of the Crown" in section 34(2) of Cap. 215 (section 6 of Schedule 2).
| The choice of the word "Crown" in section 34(2) of Cap. 215 reflected the intention to include organs of the Crown other than the Government; otherwise the original wording could have been expressed as "under the control of the Government or any agency of the Government" for consistency. "Crown" in section 34(2) is therefore proposed to be adapted to the "State" instead of the "Government".
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| Deletion of "fixed by the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company, Limited, and approved by the Governor in Council" in the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Tolls (Cap. 203 sub. leg.) (section 15 of Schedule 1).
| The lead paragraph of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Tolls (Cap. 203 sub. leg.) cross-refers to section 40 of Cap. 203 3 where the references to the "Governor in Council" are historical and need not be adapted. However, the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Tolls has also incorporated the textual amendments effected by the Variation of Cross-Harbour Tunnel Tolls Notice (L.N. 269 of 1992), which was made under section 41 of Cap. 203. References to the "Governor in Council" in section 41 are proposed to be adapted to the "Chief Executive in Council". Following the principle set out in paragraph 9 of the Adaptation of Laws Programme-Guiding Principles and Guideline Glossory of Terms, we consider it appropriate to delete the historical reference to "Governor in Council" in the lead paragraph of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Tolls because keeping that reference will present problems for the adaptation of other references (i.e. those in section 41).
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| Proposed adaptation of "Her Majesty or the Government" in section 4(4)(a) of Cap. 272 (section 3(a) of Schedule 5).
| Section 4(4)(a) exempts motor vehicles which are the property of Her Majesty or the Government from the requirement of having a valid policy of third party insurance. This provision does not use the ordinary expression "property of the Crown" which would be adapted to "property of the Government" in normal cases. As it refers to the property of "Her Majesty or the Government", the "State" is considered a comparable term in the context. According to the record of the Transport Department, all applications for vehicle registration will have to be accompanied by a valid policy of insurance. Government vehicles are the only exception to this rule.
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| References to "the Majesty's forces" or "Her Majesty's armed forces".(Schedule 8)
| Such references will be dealt with in the Garrison Bill.
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| Consultation with tunnel operators
| The adaptation exercise does not seek to vary the binding effect of the relevant tunnel legislation. The rights and liabilities of tunnel operators will not be altered in any way. The tunnel operators have been consulted and they have not expressed any objection.
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