XN000022-1991-11-29 — Page 12

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IT WAY, LASTING OR

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THE FOURTH CONTAINS 25 MISCELLANEOUS ENACTED SINCE APRIL LAST YEAR.

BILINGUAL

ORDINANCES

ΤΟ

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, MR JEREMY MATHEWS, SAID IN A FOREWORD THE FIRST LOOSE-LEAF EDITION OF THE LAWS OF HONG KONG THAT THE EDITION WAS DESIGNED TO BE CONSTANTLY AND EASILY UPDATED.

"THE FORMAT IS SUITED TO THE PRESENTATION OF CORRESPONDING CHINESE AND ENGLISH TEXTS ON THE SAME PAGE. ULTIMATELY, THE ENTIRE EDITION WILL BE IN BILINGUAL FORM, MR MATHEWS SAID.

HE WAS CONFIDENT THAT USERS WOULD FIND THE ECONOMICAL, EFFICIENT AND EASY TO USE.

TO ASSIST THE PHASING-IN OF THE LOOSE-LEAF ARE BEING PUBLISHED IN TWO STREAMS.

FIRSTLY.

LOOSE-LEAF EDITION

SYSTEM, THE LAWS

LEGISLATION IS REING PRINTED IN LOOSE-LEAF SEQUENTIALLY BY CHAPTER NUMBER AND ISSUED IN GROUPS AT REGULAR INTERVALS.

LAWS THAT ARE ENACTED IN BILINGUAL FORM SINCE LAST YEAR, OR BECOME AVAILABLE IN BOTH OFFICIAL LANGUAGES FOLLOWING THE APPROVAL OF AN AUTHENTIC CHINESE TEXT, WILL BE PUBLISHED IN LOOSE-LEAF FORM REGARDLESS OF CHAPTER NUMBER, AS WILL SOME ORDINANCES THAT HAVE A LARGE READERSHIP.

THE NEW FORMAT LAWS ARE PUBLISHED TO REPLACE THE OLD FORMAT, WHICH IS GENERALLY KNOWN AS THE REVISED EDITION OF THE LAWS.

THE PUBLICATION OF THE ENTIRE SET OF LOOSE-LEAF EDITION SHOULD BE COMPLETED IN ABOUT THREE YEARS.

WITH A STEADY GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF NEW ORDINANCES EVERY YEAR AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BILINGUAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMME, A WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDED IN 1989 THE ADOPTION OF THE LOOSE-LEAF FORMAT IN ORDER TO BRING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE REVISED EDITION, WHICH HAS BEEN IN USE SINCE 1965.

THE NOTER-UP SERVICE, WHICH INVOLVED A CUT AND PASTE SYSTEM, FOR MAINTAINING AND UPDATING THE TEXT OF THE LAWS WAS ALSO CONSIDERED UNSATISFACTORY DUE TO THE VAST MANUAL EFFORT INVOLVED AND HAD CEASED WITH EFFECT FROM THE END OF LAST YEAR.

THE NEW LOOSE-LEAF EDITION CAN BE KEPT UP TO DATE BY INSERTING NEW PAGES AS THEY ARE ISSUED AND DISCARDING OLD ONES.

TO ENSURE THAT USERS CAN CHECK THAT THEY HAVE THE MOST RECENTLY PUBLISHED PAGES OF TEXT, EACH ORDINANCE HAS A CHECK LIST AND INSTRUCTIONS, AND EACH NEW ISSUE OF THE LOOSE-LEAF EDITION WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY A MASTER CHECKLIST.

FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF USERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, SOME ORDINANCES AND SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION ARE PUBLISHED AS SEPARATE BOOKLETS AND ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, GROUND FLOORA GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE, CENTRAL.

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