TNAG-1360-FCO40-1806-Procedural-changes-in-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 26

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Notice of motion

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Under Standing Order 21(1), four clear days notice is required before any motion can be considered by the Legislative Council. This means that a copy of the motion signed by the Member who wishes to move it (as required under Standing Order 22(1)) must reach the Clerk to the Legislative Council by 5 p.m. on the Thursday before the Legislative Council sitting.

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It has been agreed that advance notice should be given of any motion to be moved by an Official Member, so as to enable the Unofficial Members to consider the motion at the LegCo in-house meeting on non-LegCo Wednesday mornings prior to the Legislative Council sitting. In order to meet this requirement, the Clerk to the Legislative Council must receive the notice of motion and the mover's speech or explanatory note not later than noon on the Tuesday of the week preceding the sitting of the Council at which it is to be moved. The motion should be accompanied either by a copy of the mover's draft speech or, where this is not possible, by a brief explanatory note on the purpose of the motion.

Right of reply

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The mover of a motion may reply after all other Members have spoken, but the mover of an amendment may not (other than to withdraw the amendment, by leave of the Council.)

ADJOURNMENT DEBATES

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Adjournment debates are shorter than debates on motions, and do not have a specific proposition they thus allow

allow for a wider expression of opinion (Standing Order 9) - but

but they must be about a public matter for which Government is responsible. The notice that an Unofficial Member proposes to speak should reach the Clerk to the Legislative Council not less than seven clear days before the sitting at which the matter is to be raised.

is In these circumstances the motion that the Council should adjourn would be moved by an ex officio Member. (For the purpose of discussing a specific matter

specific matter of urgent public importance, however, an adjournment may be moved without notice by an Unofficial Member.)