XN000022-1996-05-15 — Page 29

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Reply:

Mr President,

The Governor's power to appoint the end date of a LegCo session derives from Clause XXIA(1) of the Royal Instructions (RI). There is no legal constraint in our existing constitutional instruments that would prevent the Governor from making an order to appoint a date after 30 June 1997 as the end date of the 1996/97 LegCo session, so long as the order is made whilst the RI are in force. However, any such appointment will cease to have legal effect after 30 June 1997 since, by operation of the Hong Kong Act 1985, the RI will lapse after that date when Britain ceases to have sovereignty over Hong Kong.

According to past practice, the end of a LegCo session is usually fixed shortly before the last sitting date of that session, which would have been determined previously by the President of LegCo. We see no reason to depart from this normal practice in appointing the end date of the 1996-97 LegCo session.

End

Unauthorised late night construction works

Following is a question by the Hon Lee Wing-tat and a written reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

As the contractor of the project for the construction of the Lai King station of the Airport Railway has repeatedly carried out construction works late at night without the permission of the authority concerned, will the Government inform this Council whether the contractor has been prosecuted; if so, what the result was; and how it will prevent such unauthorised activities from recurring?