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The Third Schedule of the Magistrates Ordinance provides defendants with an opportunity to plead guilty by letter without attending court to answer summonses if they decide not to dispute their liability for any of these offences.

Incorporating the two offences into the Third Schedule will have three benefits: first, each defendant need not spend time in court attendance; second, the time of prosecuting officers in the relevant departments will be saved; and third, the workload of the court will be reduced in terms of staff and time.

Mr President, I beg to move.

End/Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Hong Kong Association of Banks (Amendment) Bill 1995

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Financial Services, Mr Michael Cartland, in moving the second reading of the Hong Kong Association of Banks (Amendment) Bill 1995:

Mr President,

I move that the second reading of the Hong Kong Association of Banks (Amendment) Bill 1995.

The principal purpose of the Bill is to enable the Bank of China to rotate as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, along with the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and Standard Chartered Bank. We agree with the Committee of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, which has initiated the proposal, that this is a logical step forward in recognition of the increasingly important role played by the Bank of China in the local banking system. Members are aware that the Bank is one of the continuing members of the Committee of the Hong Kong Association of Banks and that it became the third note-issuing bank in 1993.

At present, there are no explicit criteria on eligibility as a continuing member. We have taken the opportunity to define continuing members by reference to their status as note-issuing banks, which is now their main distinguishing characteristic.