Legislative Council

LC Paper No. LS 254/98-99

Object(s) of the Bill

To adapt certain Ordinances 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. S/F (26) to HAB/CR/1/19/45 issued on 7 July 1999 by the Home Affairs Bureau.

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 in the Bill are at Annexes A and B respectively. Members may note that all of the Ordinances set out at Annex A relate to statutory bodies and trust funds.

5. The Bill does not seek to introduce any change in policy. The proposed amendments are essentially technical drafting changes to individual ordinances.

6. The Bill proposes to adapt "Crown" to "Government" in section 6(1) of the Church of England Trust Ordinance (Cap. 1014) in relation to the reversion of Saint John's Cathedral Church and the precincts thereof and in the Schedule to Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps Ordinance (Cap. 1134) in relation to land and buildings held from the Crown. Under section 6 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap.1), where reference is made in any Ordinance to land and natural resources within the HKSAR and the expressions used in relation thereto imply that such land and natural resources are owned by, belong to, or revert to, the Government, or convey a similar meaning, the reference shall be construed in accordance with Article 7 of the Basic Law. Article 7 of the Basic Law provides, inter alia, that such land and natural resources shall be State property. The HKSAR Government shall be responsible for their management, use and development and for their lease or grant to individuals, legal persons or organizations for use or development.

7. The Administration proposes to retain the reference "Crown lease" in section 6(2) of the same Ordinance. The term specifically refers to the lease granted by the Crown before 1 July 1997 in respect of Kowloon Inland Lot No. 1153, and falls within the meaning of "Crown lease" in Cap. 1.

8. 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. The retrospective effect will not apply to provisions involving criminal offences or penalties.

Public Consultation

9. There has not been any public consultation on the Bill. According to the LegCo Brief, the private bodies concerned have been consulted and have not raised any objection to the proposed amendments.

Consultation with the LegCo Panel

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

Conclusion

11. The Legal Service Division is seeking clarification from the Administration on certain technical points. The Bill would be followed up in the usual manner.

Encl

Prepared by
Wong Sze-man, Bernice
Assistant Legal Adviser
Legislative Council Secretariat
20 September 1999

LS/B/118/98-99

Annex A

Item No.	Ordinances
1.	Scout Association of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1005)
2.	Church of England Trust Ordinance (Cap. 1014)
3.	Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Ordinance (Cap. 1020)
4.	Po Leung Kuk Ordinance (Cap. 1040)
5.	Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Ordinance (Cap. 1051)
6.	Young Men's Christian Association Ordinance (Cap. 1054)
7.	Church of Christ in China, Wanchai Church, Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1063)
8.	Pentecostal Holiness Church Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1064)
9.	Brewin Trust Fund Ordinance (Cap. 1077)
10.	Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1090)
11.	Caritas - Hong Kong Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1092)
12.	Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1095)
13.	Heung Yee Kuk Ordinance (Cap. 1097)
14.	Prior of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1107)
15.	Hong Kong Conference of Youth Organizations Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1108)
16.	Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund Ordinance (Cap. 1110)
17.	Chinese Permanent Cemeteries Ordinance (Cap. 1112)
18.	Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps Ordinance (Cap. 1134)
19.	The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Hong Kong Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1143)
20.	The Christian and Missionary Alliance (Transfer of Hong Kong Immovable Property) Ordinance (Cap. 1155)
21.	Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Ordinance (Cap. 1157)
22.	Church Body of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Ordinance (Cap. 1158)
23.	Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Foundation Ordinance (Cap. 1159)
24.	The Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia Ordinance (Cap. 1163)

Annex B

A. Adaptation

B. Repeal

The Bill proposes to repeal "or with the Sea Cadet Corps incorporated in England by Royal Charter" in section 15 of the Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps Ordinance (Cap. 1134) so as to remove the prohibition for a person to knowingly form or work in connection with or be a member of any organization which, by the use of title or otherwise, without due authority purports or claims to be connected with the Sea Cadet Corps incorporated in England by Royal Charter.

Notes:

¹   Section 6(2) of the Church of England Trust Ordinance (Cap. 1014) imposes the restriction that without the previous consent of Her Majesty the Queen, Her Heirs, Successors or Assigns, the church building erected on Kowloon Inland Lot No. 1153 shall not be used for any purpose other than for a church and for erection of schools or parsonage in connection therewith, nor shall it be let, underlet, mortgaged assigned or otherwise parted with. The proposed adaptation is in accordance with Article 7 of the Basic Law.

²   Section 6(1)(a) of the Church of England Trust Ordinance (Cap. 1014) and the Schedule to Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps Ordinance (Cap. 1134). See paragraph 6 of the Report for comments.

³   Under section 6 of the Heung Yee Kuk Ordinance (Cap. 1097), a person is disqualified to hold office as a chairman, vice-chairman, member of the Executive Committee or councillor of the Full Council if he has been convicted by any of Her Majesty's Courts, whether or not within Hong Kong of any offence for which he has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding 6 months. The proposed adaptation excludes Her Majesty's Courts outside Hong Kong.

⁴   The effect of the proposed adaptation is that citizens of places outside Hong Kong, including citizens of the People's Republic of China, whose transfers to the Baha'i community of Hong Kong have been recognized by the Assembly would be included in the definition of "voting member" in the First Schedule to The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Hong Kong Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1143).