XN000022-1995-07-12 — Page 42

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While society in Hong Kong has developed considerably during the last twenty years, our law of inheritance has remained largely unchanged. It was against this background that the Law Reform Commission in its report on the "Law of Wills, Intestate Succession and Provision for Deceased Persons' Families and Dependants" recommended changes to the law of inheritance. The changes recommended by the Law Reform Commission aim both to bring our inheritance law into line with current day community needs and expectations and to remove various anomalies that had come to light during its implementation. The three Bills that I am going to recommend to Members today, namely, the Wills (Amendment) Bill 1994, the Intestates' Estates (Amendment) Bill 1994 and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Bill, seek to implement the majority of the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission.

The first of the three Bills is the Wills (Amendment) Bill 1994. As I mentioned when I introduced this Bill into this Council, its main aims are to relax the formalities for making wills and to give the court new powers to validate, interpret and rectify wills.

Members of the Bills Committee expressed concern over the proposed repeal of the provision of the Wills Ordinance that gives special treatment to a will of a Chinese testator written in Chinese. Currently, such wills are valid even if they are not executed in accordance with the formalities. Let me take this opportunity to reiterate that the proposed repeal aims to prevent abuse of the existing provision, which lacks a formal check on the authenticity of such wills. It is to be replaced by a general power of the court to admit to probate wills not executed in accordance with the formalities but which the court is nevertheless satisfied embody the testamentary intentions of the deceased. It should also be noted that the application provisions of the Bill provide for the validity of wills made before its commencement, including wills in Chinese of Chinese testators, to be unaffected by its enactment.

The Bill also gives effect in Hong Kong to relevant provisions of the Convention on International Wills. Pending ratification of this Convention by the UK, we have proposed and the Members of the Bills Committee agree that it is appropriate for Hong Kong to follow the UK in delaying commencement of the relevant provisions.

With these remarks, Mr President, I recommend the Wills (Amendment) Bill 1994 to Members.

End/Wednesday, July 12, 1995