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Once again, I thank members of the Bills Committee for their dedicated efforts in scrutinizing the Bill. I also thank the Law Draftsman's valuable assistance and advice.

Mr President, I recommend the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill to Honourable Members.

End

Law Amendment and Reform (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 1995

Following is the speech by the acting Secretary for Home Affairs, Mrs Stella Hung, in resuming the second reading debate of the Law Amendment and Reform (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 1995 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

1 would like to thank the Bills Committee chaired by the Honourable Mrs Miriam Lau which studied the Law Amendment and Reform (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 1995 for its work in scrutinising the Bill.

The Bill is the last substantive change to Hong Kong's law of inheritance in the package of reforms proposed by the Law Reform Commission. It relates to the so- called "forfeiture rule". This is a legal rule of public policy that prohibits a person who has unlawfully killed another from gaining any beneficial interest as a result. The problem with the forfeiture rule is that it applies strictly even where a person who has unlawfully killed another is not morally blameworthy or there are mitigating circumstances that justify its relaxation.

The Bill addresses this deficiency by empowering the court to relax, or waive, the forfeiture rule in cases other than murder where justice demands this. Giving the court this discretionary power to modify the effect of the forfeiture rule will bring Hong Kong into line with other common law jurisdictions.