EXISTING POWERS OF THE GOVERNOR AND OF THE SECRETARY OF
STATE AND THE POWERS OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE IN RELATION TO
THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AFTER 1997
1. The Governor's powers, although considerable in practice, are in theory severely constrained by the provisions of the Letters Patent and the Royal Instructions. Ultimately the Governor is obliged to do anything he is told
to do, either directly by the Queen or by the Secretary of
State (LP II). The Sovereign has reserved powers, through the Secretary of State, to legislate for Hong Kong direct from London "as may appear necessary for the peace, order and good government of the Colony" (LP IX). The Sovereign also has reserve powers to disallow any ordinance passed by LegCo (LP VIII); although this right has not been exercised since 1913. Finally the Sovereign has reserved powers "to
revoke, alter or amend" the Letters Patent themselves as he
or she sees fit.
A
2. Many of the powers regarded as belonging to the Governor eg appointments to and dismissals from the Executive and Legislative Councils, formally derive from "instructions"
from the Secretary of State. The Governor is empowered to
make laws "by and with the advice and consent of the
Legislative Council (LP VII)". However, the Royal
Instructions specify ten areas where the Governor may not
legislate without instructions transmitted through the Secretary of State (or in certain special circumstances subsequent approval) (RI XXVI). The Secretary of State may,
of course, remove the Governor at any time.
3.
Despite the important powers reserved to the Crown, described in para 1, it has for a long time been politically and practically unthinkable to use them to intervene in the day-to-day running of Hong Kong, except in the event of an
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