Legislative Council

LC Paper No. LS103/98-99

Paper for the House Committee Meeting
of the Legislative Council
on 26 February 1999

Legal Service Division Report on
Adaptation of Laws (No. 2) Bill 1999


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. EMBCR 1/3/3231/88 issued by the Education and Manpower Bureau in January 1999.

Date of First Reading

3. 10 February 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 Ordinances set out at Annex A relate to the incorporation of educational and related institutions. The proposed amendments are intended to be technical and drafting changes to individual Ordinances.

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.

Public Consultation

6. There has not been any public consultation on the Bill.

Consultation with LegCo Panel

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

Conclusion

8. Some of the amendments proposed by the Bill are similar to those now being studied by the Bills Committees on earlier adaptation bills. Members may therefore wish to wait until their work has been concluded before deciding on how this Bill should be dealt with.


Prepared by

CHEUNG Ping-Kam, Arthur
Assistant Legal Adviser
Legislative Council Secretariat
22 February 1999


Annex A

List of Ordinances affected by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 2) Bill 1999


  1. Hong Kong Examinations Authority Ordinance (Cap. 261)

  2. Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320), including the Post Secondary Colleges Regulations

  3. Lingnan College Ordinance (Cap. 422)

  4. The Hong Kong Institute of Education Ordinance (Cap. 444)

  5. University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1053)

  6. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Ordinance (Cap. 1075)

  7. St. John's College Ordinance (Cap. 1089)

  8. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1109)

  9. Hong Kong Baptist University Ordinance (Cap. 1126)

  10. City University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1132)

  11. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Ordinance (Cap. 1141) and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Amendment) Ordinance 1995 (27 of 1995)

  12. The Open University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1145)


Annex B

Adaptation of Laws (No. 2) Bill 1999

Summary of the proposed amendments


A. Terms



Notes :

  1. References to "Crown" are adapted to "Government" or "State" depending on context. For example, such a reference in the Hong Kong Examinations Authority Ordinance is amended to refer to the "State" where it is provided that the Hong Kong Examinations Authority is not the servant or agent of the Crown and does not enjoy any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown. In the Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance, such a reference is amended to refer to the "Government" where the provision is about payment of rent to the Crown in respect of land granted to the University.

  2. These terms are so amended where they appear in clauses saving the rights of the Queen etc.