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and Hong Kong's 19 District Boards; and 12 who are elected by functional constituencies representing legal, commercial,
industrial, social services, medical, teaching, labour, financial
and professional groups.
OMELCO
4.
The Office of Members of the Executive and Legislative
Councils (OMELCO) funded by the Hong Kong Government, provides
research and administrative assistance to members. OMELCO is also
an established channel for the redress of grievances, and it handles
all public complaints, appeals and cases of maladministration.
Under the OMELCO redress system, members have the right of access
government records and senior officials and to challenge the
established practices and policies of government departments.
necessary they bring important issues to the attention of ExCo or
LegCo.
5.
When
Members study all Government Bills and any principal course of government action which is important or controversial, or about
which representations are received from public bodies or from
members of the public. The Police Group, which consists of a panel of eight Unofficial members and Justices of the Peace, together with
the Attorney General, monitors the handling of complaints against
the police. Similarly the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Complaints Committee, comprising seven non-Civil Servant
members and the Attorney General, monitors the handling of
complaints against the ICAC. Various OMELCO panels meet regularly with senior government officials. Issues and policies of importance are discussed at these meetings. These policies are also debated
and senior officials of the administration publicly questioned at
full LegCo meetings.
The Municipal Councils
6.
The only bodies participating in the government of Hong Kong that consist entirely of members of the public are the Urban Council
(UrbCo) and the Regional Council (RegCo). Half of UrbCo's 30
members are elected; the remainder are appointed by the Government
from among prominent members of the community. The most recent
elections were held in March 1986.
UrbCo's responsibilities are
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