C482
Amendment of
section 63.
Release of successful
appellant.
Establishment
of Immigration Tribunal.
Practice and procedure of Tribunal.
(Cap. 227.)
IMMIGRATION (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) BILL
(2) The decision of the Tribunal under this tion or section 53C shall be final.
53E. Where an appeal under section 53A is successful the appellant shall be released forthwith unless he may be held in lawful custody on some other matter.
53F. (1) There is hereby established a tribunal to be known as the Immigration Tribunal.
(2) For the purpose of exercising the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, the Governor shall appoint a chief adjudicator and such number of other adjudicators as from time to time may be necessary.
(3) The remuneration, if any, of the chief adjudicator and other adjudicators shall be determined by the Governor.
53G. (1) The practice and procedure on appeals under section 53A, and of the Tribunal shall be such as shall be prescribed, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing and of section 59, the following matters may be prescribed and provided for under section 59-
(a) the number of adjudicators who shall hear and
determine any appeal;
(b) provision as to witnesses and the production of documents similar to that in sections 21 and 22 of the Magistrates Ordinance;
(c) the hearing of an appeal in the absence of the appellant where he cannot attend by reason of illness or injury or where his attendance would present a threat to the health or safety of other persons at the hearing or in other circumstances; and
(d) provision empowering the Tribunal to allow, if it thinks fit, the appellant and respondent to be represented by counsel or a solicitor.
(2) The Tribunal and any adjudicator may in the discharge of any function under this Ordinance consult any member of a panel of legal advisers to the Tribunal appointed by the Attorney General.".
10. Section 63(1) of the principal Ordinance is amended by deleting paragraph (a) and substituting the following-
"(a) a removal order signed by the Governor or by the Director of Immigration or Deputy Director of Immigration, or a deportation order signed by the Clerk of Councils; or”.
Explanatory Memorandum
The principal object of this Bill is to make improved provision for the detection and removal of illegal immigrants in Hong Kong and to amend the existing procedures for their removal, subject to a right of appeal to an immigration tribunal. It also amends section 42 of the principal Ordinance ("False statements, forgery of documents and use and possession of forged documents") by increasing the maximum fines that may be imposed and by bringing additional documents within the ambit of the section.
2.
IMMIGRATION (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) BILL
Clause 3 introduces two new Parts into the principal Ordinance, namely is IVA and IVB.
New Part IVA (Requirement to carry proof of identity)
3.
New Part IVA (containing new sections 17A to 17E) requires— (a) all persons over 15 who are required to be registered under the
Registration of Persons Ordinance; and
(b) all refugees from Vietnam who are over 15,
to carry with them proof of their identity at all times. Any of the documents specified in new section 17B will be proof of identity for this purpose. Failure to produce proof of identity on demand to a person authorized by new section 17C(2) to require it will be an offence punishable with a fine of $1,000. Further, a person who is found not to have proof of identity with him may, under new sections 17D and 17E, be arrested and examined to determine whether he is an illegal immigrant.
4. A person authorized to require production of proof of identity will have to be in uniform or will have to produce proof of his appoint- ment if so required.
New Part IVB (Prohibition of employment of illegal immigrants)
5.
The principal object of new Part IVB (new sections 17F to 17N) is to prevent the employment of any person who is not "lawfully employ- able" i.e. who is not the holder of an identity card or, in the case of a person exempt from the provisions of the Registration of Persons Ordinance, of a valid travel document, a police warrant card, a Vietnamese refugee card or a certificate exempting the holder from registering under that Ordinance by reason of old age, blindness or infirmity (new section 17G(2)).
6. New section 171(1) prohibits the employment of persons who are not lawfully employable. Since some employees may be absent from work when new section 171 comes into effect, and employers will not have had the opportunity to determine whether such persons are lawfully employable, a special defence is given by new section 171(2).
7. New section 17H contains provisions to enable employers to establish whether existing employees are lawfully employable and, if not, to dismiss them summarily. This new section provides in subsections (2)(b) and (3)(b) for an extended period in which it may be established whether existing employees, who are absent from work when new section 171 becomes operative, are lawfully employable.
8. New section 17J requires all employers to inspect the documents of prospective employees before taking them on as employees. The sanction is the same as that provided for in new section 171, namely, a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for 1 year.
9. New section 17K requires employers to keep records of their employees, and new section 17L gives labour inspectors and senior labour inspectors power to inspect the records and also employees' proof of identity.
10. Penalties are provided for in new section 17M, and new section 17N creates a presumption that persons not lawfully employable who are found at a place of employment are employees.
Removal Orders and Appeals
11. Clause 4 replaces section 19 of the principal Ordinance so as to transfer to the Director and Deputy Director of Immigration the power to
C483
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