10
Devolution of Powers to make Subsidiary Legislation
Clauses 2 to 24 of the Bill continue a process started some years ago of transferring the power to make subsidiary legislation of a technical nature from the Executive Council to more appropriate bodies.
In all, subsidiary law-making powers under thirteen Ordinances are affected. Depending on the circumstances, the powers are transferred to a Branch Secretary, a Departmental Head or a statutory board or committee. In three instances the power to be transferred is a power to amend Schedules to Ordinances, but in each case the schedule consists of technical detail of the kind normally found in subsidiary legislation.
Family Law Reforms
The Bill proposes to bring about reforms in four areas of family law.
Age of majority
The first area relates to the age of majority. Clauses 25 to 26 of the Bill make some minor changes to the Domestic Violence Ordinance and the Adoption Ordinance to reflect the reduction in the age of majority from 21 to 18 which was introduced in 1990. It is also proposed by clause 27 to amend the Adoption Ordinance so as to eliminate an inequality in the treatment of male and female children. At present, the power of officers of the Social Welfare Department to visit and examine a child pending proceedings for adoption cease to apply once an adoption order is made in the case of a male child, but not in the case of a female child. Under the Bill the power would cease upon the making of an adoption order irrespective of the sex of the child.
Consent to marriage
The second area of family law reform relates to consent to marriage. As the law now stands, normally only the father is legally competent to give a valid legal consent to the marriage of a child who is under 21 years of age. The mother can only do so if the father is either dead or insane. Subject to such consent, a child aged 16 or over, but under 21, may marry.
Clause 28 of the Bill seeks to place the father and the mother in the same position by amending the relevant provisions of the Marriage Ordinance and introducing a new Third Schedule which sets out in detail the persons whose consents are required in various specified circumstances.