Citation,
construction
and
commencement.
Amendment of
Article VI of
principal Letters Patent.
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 1993 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 1992 and these Our Letters may be cited together as the Hong Kong Letters Patent 1917 to 1993.
(3) These Our Letters shall be published in the Hong Kong Government Gazette and, subject to Article 2, shall come into operation upon the date of publication.
2. 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. In these Our Letters "appointed day" means the day (or, if more than one day, the first day) appointed under the laws in force in the Colony for the holding of an election in 1995 to elect the Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kông.
3.—(1) Article VI(1) of the principal Letters Patent is revoked and replaced by the following new paragraph (1):—
"(1) There shall be a Legislative Council in and for the Colony, and the said Council shall consist of sixty Members, being persons who are qualified for election and elected in accordance with laws in that behalf in force in the Colony and of whom—
(a) twenty shall have been returned in respect of geographical constituencies; (b) thirty shall have been returned in respect of functional constituencies; and (c) ten shall have been returned by an election committee."
(2) Article VI(2) is revoked.
(3) Article VI(3) is amended by deleting "Elected" and by deleting "a law" and substituting "laws".
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