Legislation of the Provisional Government of Hong Kong

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This is a list of bills that were introduced and passed into law and became ordinances of the territory by the Provisional Legislative Council that sat for a year from July 1997 to 1998.

The Provisional Legislative Council was the interim legislature of Hong Kong that operated from 1997 to 1998. The legislature was founded in Guangzhou and sat in Shenzhen from 1996 until the handover in 1997 and moved to Hong Kong to serve as the temporary replacement of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It was established by the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by resolution at its Second Plenary Session on 24 March 1996. The 60 members of the PLC were elected on 21 December 1996 by the 400-member Selection Committee for the First Government of the HKSAR, which also elected the first Chief Executive. The official start date for this council was on 25 January 1997.

Laws passed before 1 July 1997 were passed by the provisional legislature that sat while the outgoing legislature was still sitting. They were not in effect until the provisional legislature started its officially sittings and took over as the legislature of the territory on 1 July 1997.

Pre-Handover

British Hong Kong former Crown colony and British dependent territory in East Asia

British Hong Kong denotes the period during which Hong Kong was governed as a colony and British Dependent Territory of the United Kingdom. Excluding the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 to 1997. The colonial period began with the occupation of Hong Kong Island in 1841 during the First Opium War. The island was ceded by Qing China in the aftermath of the war in 1842 and established as a Crown colony in 1843. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War and was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Although Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were ceded in perpetuity, the leased area, which comprised 92 per cent of the territory, was vital to the integrity of Hong Kong that Britain agreed to transfer the entire colony to China upon the expiration of that lease in 1997. The transfer has been considered by many as marking the end of the British Empire.

Public Order Ordinance

The Public Order Ordinance is the Cap. 245 in the Laws of Hong Kong relating to the maintenance of public order, the control of organisations, meetings, processions, places, vessels and aircraft, unlawful assemblies and riots and matters incidental thereto or connected therewith. It has been one of the most controversial laws in Hong Kong of its restriction on people's freedom of expression and assembly.

Governor of Hong Kong head of the Hong Kong Government during British rule

The Governor of Hong Kong was the representative in Hong Kong of the British Crown from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions. Upon the end of British rule and the transfer of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997, most of the civil functions of this office went to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and military functions went to the Commander of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison.

Post Handover

Inland Revenue Ordinance Ordinance of Hong Kong

The Inland Revenue Ordinance is one of Hong Kong's Ordinances. It regulates the inland revenue of Hong Kong.

Electoral Affairs Commission

The Electoral Affairs Commission of Hong Kong is an independent, apolitical and impartial body established under the Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance. Its main functions include considering or reviewing the boundaries of Legislative Council geographical constituencies and constituencies of the 18 District Councils for the purpose of making recommendations, and overseeing the conduct and supervision of elections and regulating the procedures at an election. It is also responsible for supervision of the registration of electors and the promotional activities relating to registration.

Immigration Ordinance Ordinance of Hong Kong

The Immigration Ordinance is Chapter 115 of Hong Kong's Ordinances. It regulates the immigration issues of Hong Kong such as Right of Abode, immigration control, enforcement of illegal immigration by Immigration Department, etc...

Once passed, these bills became law or Ordinances.

See also

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Urban Council

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Establishment Day, formally the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, is celebrated annually on 1 July in Hong Kong since 1997. The holiday commemorates the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The similarly-named holiday in Macau occurs on 20 December, the day of its handover from Portugal.

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Protection of the Harbour Ordinance

The Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, Cap. 531 is an ordinance in Hong Kong Law that aims to limit land reclamation in the surviving waters of Victoria Harbour.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is a statutory body responsible for implementing the Sex, Race, Disability, and Family Status Discrimination Ordinances in Hong Kong. The Commission was established in 1996 as an independent body to investigate complaints, facilitate mediation and take legal action against offenders.

Minimum Wage Ordinance

The Minimum Wage OrdinanceCap. 608 is an ordinance enacted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong to introduce a minimum wage in Hong Kong in July 2010. The executive branch proposed a minimum wage of HK$28 (~US$3.61) per hour in November 2010, which the Legislative Council voted to accept after much debate in January 2011. It came into effect on 1 May 2011. Prior to this, there had also been a fixed minimum wage for one specific class of workers, foreign domestic helpers, of HK$3,740/month.

2nd Legislative Council of Hong Kong

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Employee’s Rights to Representation, Consultation and Collective Bargaining Ordinance

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Societies Ordinance

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References

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