Legislative Council
LC Paper No. LS 66/98-99
Paper for the House Committee Meeting
of the Legislative Council
on 4 December 1998
Legal Service Division Report on
Adaptation of Laws (No. 10) Bill 1998
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. L/M (22/97) in G6/66C(98) IV issued by the Financial Services Bureau dated 17 November 1998.
Date of First Reading
3. 2 December 1998.
Comments
4. A list of the Ordinances affected by these amendments and a summary of the proposed amendments on terminology in the Bill are at
Annexes A and
B respectively. The main adaptations are made to Companies Ordinance. As for some other miscellaneous amendments, they are listed in
Annex C. The proposed amendments are essentially technical 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.
Public Consultation
6. There has not been any public consultation on the Bill.
Consultation with the LegCo Panel
7. No consultation with any LegCo Panel on the details of the Bill has been carried out.
Conclusion
8. Whilst no legal difficulties peculiar to this Bill have been detected, it is recommended that resumption of Second Reading debate of this Bill should only take place after the Bills Committee on the Adaptation of Laws Bill 1998 has made its report so that any general points on the adaptation of laws exercise which may be recommended by the Bills Committee could be considered in the context of this Bill.
Encls.
Prepared by
HO Ying-chu, Anita
Assistant Legal Adviser
Legislative Council Secretariat
30 November 1998
Annex A
List of Ordinances affected by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 10) Bill 1998
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Item No.
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Ordinances |
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1.
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Bills of Sale Ordinance (Cap. 20)
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2.
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Companies Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation (Cap. 32)
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3.
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Limited Partnerships Ordinance (Cap. 37)
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4.
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Money Lenders Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation (Cap. 163)
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Annex B
Adaptation of Laws (No. 10) Bill 1998
Summary of the proposed amendments on terminology
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Original Terms
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Proposed Amendments |
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Governor/Governor in Council
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Chief Executive/
Chief Executive in Council
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Her Majesty's1
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the Central People's
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Crown2
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Government
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NOTES
1 The adaptation is found in item 2(b)(ii) of Schedule 2 amending section 20 of the Companies Ordinance. Section 20 states that "except with the consent of the Chief Executive, no company shall be registered by a name which would be likely to give the impression that the company is connected with Her Majesty's Government ...." (now to be adapted as the Central People's Government).
2 References to "Crown" are made in section 265(1)(d) (item 14(a) of Schedule 2), section 290C (item 16) and section 290D(1) (item 17) of the Companies Ordinance. Members may refer to para. 4 of the LegCo Brief for background explanation.
Annex C
Adaptation of Laws (No. 10) Bill 1998
Miscellaneous Provisions repealed or amended
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Item No.
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Ordinance and Section
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Repealed Provision
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Amended Provision |
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14 (b) of
Schedule 2
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Companies Ordinance, s.265(6)
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"statutory debt" means a debt of the liability for which and the amount of which are determined by or under any provision in any Ordinance or imperial enactment;
|
|
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19 and 20 of Schedule 2
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Companies Ordinance, s.294(1) and s.295(2)
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Investment of surplus funds on general account
The Official Receiver ......may invest ......such excess on fixed deposit ......with such bank ......or in Government securities (including securities issued by the Government of the United Kingdom).
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23 and 24 of Schedule 2
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Companies Ordinance, s.312(b) and 313(b)
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1 of
Schedule 3
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Limited Partnerships Ordinance, s.2(2)
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This Ordinance shall apply to such partnerships carrying on business in the Colony as in the opinion of the Registrar of companies can properly be described as non-Chinese partnerships.
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This Ordinance shall apply to partnerships carrying on business in Hong Kong.
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7 of Schedule4
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Money Lenders Regulation 2(a)(ii)
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A form prescribed by these regulations shall be-
(i)......
(ii)in the English language, or in both the English and Chinese languages;
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A form prescribed by these regulations shall be-
(i)......
(ii)in the English or Chinese language;
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