Citation,
construction, and
commencement.
Amendment of Article VI of
principal
Letters Patent.
Amendment of Article VII of principal
Letters Patent.
Reservations.
HONG KONG
LETTERS PATENT passed under the Great Seal of the Realm amending the Hong Kong Letters Patent 1917 to 1988.
Dated: 30th August 1990.
ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Our other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
TO ALL TO Whom these Presents shall come, GreetiNG!
Know Ye that We have declared and by these Presents do declare Our Will and Pleasure as follows:-
1. (1) These Our Letters may be cited as the Hong Kong Letters Patent 1990 and shall be construed as one with the Hong Kong Letters Patent 1917 as amended (hereinafter called "the principal Letters Patent").
(2) The Hong Kong Letters Patent 1917 to 1988 and these Our Letters may be cited together as the Hong Kong Letters Patent 1917 to 1990.
(3) These Our Letters shall be published in the Hong Kong Government Gazette and, subject to paragraph (4), shall come into operation upon the date of publication.
(4) Subject to any Instructions addressed to the Governor of Hong Kong under Our Sign Manual and Signet or through one of Our Principal Secretaries of State, laws may be made for giving effect to these Our Letters and for the holding of elections in accordance therewith but, until the appointed day, nothing in these Our Letters or the said Instructions or laws shall affect the membership or powers and privileges of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong as constituted under the principal Letters Patent immediately before the date of coming into operation of these Our Letters.
(5) In these Our Letters "the appointed day" means the day (or, if more than one day, the first day) appointed under a law in force in the Colony for the holding of an election in 1991 for all the Elected Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
2. (1) Article VI(1) of the principal Letters Patent is amended-
(a) by deleting sub-paragraph (c);
(b) in sub-paragraph (d), by deleting the word "twenty" and substituting the
word "eighteen”; and
(c) in sub-paragraph (e), by deleting the word "twenty-six" and substituting
the word "thirty-nine".
(2) Article VI(2) of the principal Letters Patent is amended by deleting the words "Official Members and".
3. Article VII(2) of the principal Letters Patent is amended by adding at the end— "The law of the Colony may make provision for different categories of Elected Members and separate provision as regards the constituencies, qualifications and disqualifications relating to such categories of Elected Members.".
4. We do hereby reserve to Ourself, Our Heirs and Successors full power and authority to amend or revoke these Presents.