Legislative Council

LC Paper No. LS248/98-99

Object of the Bill

To adapt certain ordinances and their subsidiary legislation to bring them into conformity with the Basic Law and with the status of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

LegCo Brief Reference

2. EMBCR 3/3231/88 Pt. XIII issued by the Education and Manpower Bureau and dated 7 July 1999.

Date of First Reading

3. 14 July 1999.

Comments

4. A list of the ordinances affected by the Bill and a summary of the proposed amendments are at Annexes A and B respectively. Members may note that the affected ordinances are related to employment matters. The proposed amendments are intended to be technical and drafting changes.

5. If enacted, the Bill will take retrospective effect from 1 July 1997 to ensure that there is consistency in the interpretation of all laws on and after 1 July 1997. An exception is however made of certain amendments which will come into operation on the day appointed for the commencement of the provisions to be amended. Public Consultation

6. Consultation with the public is considered not necessary.

Consultation with LegCo Panel

7. No consultation with any LegCo Panel on the details of the Bill has been carried out.

Recommendation

8. The Bill includes amendments that involve the adaptation of "Crown" to "State" where existing provisions provide that a particular statutory body (such as the Vocational Training Council) is not a servant of the "Crown" and therefore does not enjoy the status, immunity or privilege of the "Crown". This approach will be discussed by the Bills Committee to study the Adaptation of Laws (No. 16) Bill 1999.

9. Unless Members have other concern, Members may wish to defer the consideration of the Bill until that Bills Committee has concluded its work.

Prepared by

CHEUNG Ping-Kam, Arthur
Assistant Legal Adviser
Legislative Council Secretariat
21 September 1999

Encl

Annex A

1. Labour Relations Ordinance (Cap. 55)

2. Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) and Employment of Children Regulations (Cap. 57 sub. leg.)

3. Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 78), Labour Tribunal Ordinance (Cap. 25), Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) and Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board Ordinance (Cap. 453)

4. Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) and Employees' Compensation (Rules of Court) Rules (Cap 282 sub. leg.)

5. Industrial Training (Clothing Industry) Ordinance (Cap. 318)

6. Trade Unions Ordinance (Cap. 332)

7. Employees Compensation Assistance Ordinance (Cap. 365)

8. Employees' Compensation Insurance Levies Ordinance (Cap. 411)

9. Employees Retraining Ordinance (Cap. 423)

10. Vocational Training Council Ordinance (Cap. 1130)

Annex B

* Reasons for the adaptation of these items are explained in Annex B to the LegCo Brief.