XN000022-1972-11-10 — Page 11

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Friday, November 10, 1972

AMENDING LEGISLATION ON CONTRACT INFORCEMENTS

The existing requirement that some types of contract must satisfy

formalities if they are to be enforceable is done away with under an

amending bill to be introduced into the Legislative Council shortly.

The bill seeks to repeal a section in the principal Ordinance which

provides that no action may be brought to enforce these contracts unless

there is a note or memorandum in writing evidencing the agreement signed by

the person to be charged.

It is the Law Amendment and Reform (Consolidation) (Amendment)

Bill 1972, published in today's Government Gazette for general information.

A Government spokesman said that over the years, in England and

in Hong Kong, formal requirements of proof have been relaxed in many branches

of the law, and now most contracts may be proved by a variety of types of

evidence.

"The retention of this section in the law of Hong Kong, which imposes

formal requirements on four dissmilar types of contract, is thus no longer

With one exception, the comparable provisions were repealed in

necessary.

England some years ago," he said,

The four types of contract concerned are (i) on a special promise

by an executor or administrator to answer damages out of his own estates;

(ii) on a special promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of

another; (iii) upon an agreement made in consideration of marriage; and (iv)

upon an agreement that is not to be performed within one year of the making

thereof.

The amending