1971-HKRS29-8-38_Part03 — Page 7

Application to personi recognized as having been legitimated.

1926 «. 60, 4 80.

Right of illegitimate child and mother of illegitimate child to succeed on intestacy of the other. 1926 c. 60, 1. §.

Legitimacy of children of certain void marriages,

1999 c. 73. » 2

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legitimated from the commencement of this Ordinance or from the date of the marriage, whichever last happens, notwithstanding that his father was not at the time of the birth of such person domiciled in or did not have a substantial connexion with a country in which legitimation by subsequent marriage was permitted by law.

(2) For the purposes of this section the expression "country" includes any Commonwealth country and any foreign country.

9. All the provisions of this Ordinance relating to legiti- mated persons and to the taking of interests in property by or in succession to a legitimated person and the spouse, children and remoter issue of a legitimated person shall apply in the case of a person recognized as having been legitimated under section 8, or who would, bad he survived the marriage of his parents, have been so recognized; and accordingly this Ordinance shall have effect as if reference therein to a legitimated person included persons so recognized as baving been legitimated.

10. (1) Where, after the commencement of this Ordinance. the mother of an illegitimate child, such child not being a legitimated person, dies intestate as respects all or any of her property, and does not leave any legitimate issue her surviving. the illegitimate child, or, if he is dead, his issue, shall be entitled to take any interest therein to which he or such issue would have been entitled if he had been born legitimate.

(2) Where, after the commencement of this Ordinance, an illegitimate child not being a legitimated person, dies intestate in respect of all or any of his property, his mother if surviving shall be entitled to take any interest therein to which she would have been entitled if the child had been born legitimate and she had been the only surviving parent.

11. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the child of a void marriage, whether bom before or after the commence- ment of this Ordinance, shall be treated as the legitimate child of his parents if at the time of the act of intercourse resulting in the birth (or at the time of the celebration of the marriage if later) both or either of the parties reasonably believed that the marriage was valid.

(2) This section applies, and applies only, where the father of the child was domiciled in or had a substantial connexion with Hong Kong at the time of the birth or, if he died before the birth, was so domiciled or had such a connexion immediately before his death.

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(3) In this section, "void marriage" means a marriage, not being voidable only, in respect of which the Court has or had jurisdiction to grant a decree of cullity, or would have or would have had such jurisdiction if the parties were domiciled in or had a substantial connexion with Hong Kong.

Legitimacy of

voidable marriages, 1963 £ 72, * 11.

12. Where a decree of oullity is granted in respect of a voidable marriage, any child who would have been the legitimate children of child of the parties to the marriage if it had been dissolved. instead of being anculled, at the date of the decree shall be deemed to be their legitimate child notwithstanding the annulment

13. Nothing in this Ordinance shall affect the operation or construction of any disposition coming into operation before the commencement of this Ordinance, or affect any rights under the intestacy of a person dying before the commencement of this Ordinance.

14. (1) For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that any person who is the child of

(a) a modern marriage validated by the Marriage Reform

Ordinance:

(b) a customary marriage declared to be valid by the

Marriage Reform Ordinance;

(c) a union of concubinage; or

(d) a kim tiu marriage entered in accordance with Chinese law and custom applicable thereto in Hong Kong before the appointed day under the Marriage Reform Ordinance.

shall be a legitimate child of the marriage or union and shall be deemed always to have been so legitimate, for all purposes.

(2) In this section, "union of concubinage" means a union of concubinage, entered by a male partner and a female partner before the appointed day under the Marriage Reform Ordinance, under which union the female partner has, during the lifetime of the male partner, been accepted by his wife as his concubine and recognized as such by bis family generally.

15. (1) The Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance is amended in section 12 by deleting the words from "For the purposes" to the end of the section.

(2) Section 23 of the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance is repealed.

Saving. 1926 c. 60, 1. 10024.

Avoidance of doubt.

(Cap. 178)

(CAD 178)

Amendments. (Cap. 174)

(CHE. (7)