HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 15 February 1989
香港立法局 一九八九年二月十五日
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Officers Ordinance should be reviewed to specify the qualifications and experience required of a legal officer. The Chief Justice's Committee endorsed that recommendation, which the Government accepts. Accordingly, the Bill, when read with the proposed new Schedule to the Legal Practitioners Ordinance, would provide that only lawyers qualified in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada (except Quebec), New Zealand, The Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe would be eligible for appointment as legal officers.
Sir, I move that the debate on this motion be now adjourned.
Question on adjournment proposed, put and agreed to.
LIFTS AND ESCALATORS (SAFETY) (AMENDMENT) BILL 1989
The SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS moved the Second Reading of:
'A Bill to amend the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance".
He said: Sir, I rise to move the Second Reading of the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) (Amendment) Bill 1989.
The Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance was originally enacted in 1960. In July 1987 an amendment Bill was enacted which improved and updated procedures and standards. This was necessary to match the increase in use and sophistication of lifts and escalators.
When this was introduced to this Council, an OMELCO panel generally supported the Bill. The panel was, however, concerned that the continuing exclusion from the Ordinance of lifts and escalators in Government and Housing Authority buildings means that registered lift and escalator contractors and engineers who do substandard work on such installations are not liable under the Ordinance. A government inter-departmental review committee was set up to examine this issue and they agreed with the OMELCO panel.
To rectify this it is proposed in clause 2 of the Bill that section 3 of the Ordinance be amended, so that lifts and escalators of the Government, Commonwealth governments, the Housing Authority, Her Majesty's naval, military or air force services, and consular officers of foreign countries would be brought within Parts I, II, IIA and IIIA and most of parts V and VI of the Ordinance. This would ensure that controls over registered lift and escalator engineers, and registered lift and escalator contractors, apply in relation to work done by them on those lifts and escalators.