Cap.
ANNEX II
OUR COMMENTS ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS
9. Interpretation & General Clauses Ordinance
10. Limitation Ordinance
1
347
11. Malicious Damage Ordinance
211
12. Married Women Ordinance
184
13. Married Women (Disposition of Property) Ordinance
182
14. Married Women's Property Ordinance
15. Partnership Ordinance
16. Police Force Ordinance
17. Rating Ordinance
18. Resettlement Ordinance
19. Sale of Goods Ordinance
20. Stamp Ordinance
183 38
SECTION A:
232
21. Tortfeasors Ordinance
116
304
26
117
28
277
THIRD STAGE
1. Agricultural Products (Marketing) Ordinance
2. Bills of Sale Ordinance
20
3. Boilers & Pressure Receivers Ordinance
56
4. Buildings Ordinance
123
-
5. Buildings Ordinance (Application to the New Territories) Ordinance
322
6. Co-operative Societies Ordinance
33
7. Copyright Ordinance
39
8. Corporal Punishment Ordinance
222
9. Dangerous Goods Ordinance
10. Dutiable Commodities Ordinance
295
109
11. Factories & Industrial Undertakings Ordinance
59
12. Fatal Accidents Ordinance
13. Fisheries Production Ordinance
14. Gambling Ordinance
15. Hawker Control Force Ordinance
22
171
148
325
16. Hotel Proprietors Ordinance
158
17. Illegal Strikes & Lock-outs Ordinance
61
18. Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Ordinance
25
19. Limited Partnership Ordinance
37
20. Marine Fish (Marketing) Ordinance
291
21. Marine Hawkers Ordinance
22. Mining Ordinance
23. Miscellaneous Licences Ordinance
24. New Territories Ordinance
25. New Territories (Renewable Crown Leases) Ordinance
26. Pawnbrokers Ordinance ...
27. Protection of Non-Government Certificates of Origin Ordinance
FOURTH STAGE
These consist of the remainder of the Ordinances not specified above.
22
160
285
114
97
152
166
324
OF THE LEGAL SUB-COMMITTEE
EQUAL STATUS FOR CHINESE AND ENGLISH IN THE Courts (Paragraphs 8-16 of the Legal Sub-Committee's Report)
We fully endorse our Sub-Committee's findings on this question.
SECTION B:
TRANSLATION OF HONG KONG LAWS INTO CHINESE
(Paragraphs 17 - 20 of the Legal Sub-Committee's Report)
2. On the principle that members of our community should have as much access to the Law as is practicably possible, the majority of the Com- mittee endorse our Sub-Committee's recommendations in this section.
3. A preliminary estimate, given by the Legal Department, is that it would take a team of 5 translators with the necessary skill and experience, a period of 6-8 years to complete a translation of existing ordinances and subsidiary legislation. However, in view of the Legal Sub-Committee's recom- mendation that future bills and ordinances should be published in both languages, we envisage a continuing need for such a team of skilled transla- tors. On the assumption that these translators would come from the Inter- preter/Translator Grade, the annual recurrent direct cost, calculated at mid-point, would be $128,680 p.a.
4. We should also like to draw attention to the possibility of contracting out translation tasks to suitably qualified non-Government agencies or private individuals as a means of reducing the time for completing a full translation of the 'Laws of Hong Kong' as well as relieving some of the strain on Government's own translation facilities which will almost certainly be very heavily taxed through implementation of the proposals contained in our Second Report.
5. One member of the Committee, while not altogether disagreeing with the principle involved in paragraph 2, considers that the translation of all 470 local ordinances and relevant subsidiary legislation, even if it is practicable, is not essential, and at best should have very low priority. He considers that probably not 0.1% of our population would even attempt to 'search' for the law in either Chinese or English, leaving this to lawyers who are trained for this purpose, but fully concurs with the view that the produc- tion of explanatory booklets (see paragraph 8(a) below), possibly in more detailed form, is desirable.
23