TNAG-1286-FCO40-16372-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong.-Part-2-of-2-1984 — Page 243

*

1964 Ed.]

Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges)

[CAP. 87.

of witnesses.

12. (1) Every person summoned to attend to give evidence Privileges or to produce any paper, book, record or document before the Council or an authorized committee shall be entitled, in respect of such evidence or the disclosure of any communication or the production of any such paper, book, record or document, to the same rights and privileges as before a court of law.

(2) Except with the general or special consent of the Gover- nor, no public officer shall

(a) produce before the Council or a committee any paper,

book, record or document; or

(b) give before the Council or a committee evidence on any

matter,

which relates to the correspondence of any naval, military, air force or civil department or to any matter affecting the public service. Secondary evidence shall not be received by or pro- duced before the Council or a committee of the contents of any such paper, book, record or document.

13. (1) Every witness before the Council or an authorized committee who shall answer fully and faithfully any questions put to him by the Council or such committee to its satisfaction shall be entitled to receive a certificate stating that such wit- ness was upon his examination so required to answer and did answer any such questions.

(2) Every certificate under subsection (1) of this section shall, in the case of a witness before the Council, be under the hand of the Speaker, and in the case of a witness before a committee, be under the hand of the chairman thereof.

Certificate

issued to witnesses making full disclosure to be a bar to civil or criminal proceedings.

(3) On production of such certificate to any court of law such court shall stay any proceedings, civil or criminal, except for a charge under Section 203 of the Criminal Offences Ordin- Cap. 37. ance, against such witness for any act or thing done by him before the time and revealed by the evidence of such witness, and may, in its discretion, award to such witness the expenses to which he may have been put.

14. Any person who before the Council or any authorized committee intentionally gives a false answer to any question evidence. material to the subject of inquiry which may be put to him during the course of any examination shall be guilty of an offence against Section 203 of the Criminal Offences Ordinance,

7