HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—10th July 1968. 317
OFFICIAL REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS
Meeting of 10th July 1968
PRESENT
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR (PRESIDENT)
SIR DAVID CLIVE CROSBIE TRENCH, KCMG, MC
THE HONOURABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY
MR MICHAEL DAVID IRVING GASS, CMG
THE HONOURABLE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Acting) MR GRAHAM RUPERT SNEATH, QC
THE HONOURABLE THE SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS (Acting) MR PAUL TSUI KA-CHEUNG, OBE
THE HONOURABLE THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY
SIR JOHN COWPERTHWAITE, KBE, CMG
DR THE HONOURABLE TENG PIN-HUI, CMG, OBE
DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
THE HONOURABLE ALEC MICHAEL JOHN WRIGHT, CMG DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM DAVID GREGG, CBE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
THE HONOURABLE ROBERT MARSHALL HETHERINGTON, DFC COMMISSIONER OF LABOUR
THE HONOURABLE TERENCE DARE SORBY
DIRECTOR OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
THE HONOURABLE KENNETH STRATHMORE KINGHORN DISTRICT COMMISSIONER, NEW TERRITORIES
THE HONOURABLE DAVID RICHARD WATSON ALEXANDER, MBE DIRECTOR OF URBAN SERVICES
THE HONOURABLE ALASTAIR TREVOR CLARK
DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE
THE HONOURABLE KAN YUET-KEUNG, CBE
THE HONOURABLE TSE YU-CHUEN, OBE;
THE HONOURABLE KENNETH ALBERT WATSON, OBE THE HONOURABLE WOO PAK-CHUEN, OBE
THE HONOURABLE SZETO WAI, OBE
THE HONOURABLE WILFRED WONG SIEN-BING, OBE THE HONOURABLE ELLEN LI SHU-PUI, OBE
THE HONOURABLE WILSON WANG TZE-SAM
THE HONOURABLE HERBERT JOHN CHARLES BROWNE DR THE HONOURABLE CHUNG SZE-YUEN, OBE
THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL ALEXANDER ROBERT HERRIES, OBE, MC THE HONOURABLE LEE QUO-WEI
THE HONOURABLE ANN TSE-KAI
IN ATTENDANCE
THE DEPUTY CLERK OF COUNCILS
MR DONALD BARTON
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—10th July 1968. 318
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 26th June were confirmed.
AFFIRMATION
MR LEE QUO-WEI made an Affirmation of Allegiance and assumed his seat as a Member of the Council.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR:—May I welcome Mr LEE to this Council and also Mr WANG, Mr BROWNE, Dr CHUNG and Mr HERRIES who are here as substantive Members for the first time.
PAPERS
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, by Command of His Excellency the Governor, laid upon the table the following papers: —
Subject LN No
Subsidiary Legislation: —
Banking Ordinance.
Specification of Specified Liquid Assets.
Corrigendum ................................………........... 63 Merchant Shipping Ordinance.
Merchant Shipping (Minor Fisheries)
(Amendment) Regulations 1968 ............……....... 64 Road Traffic Ordinance.
Road Traffic (Driving Licences) (Amendment)
Regulations 1968 ....................................………. 65 Road Traffic Ordinance.
Road Traffic (Taxis, Public Omnibuses and Public
Cars) (Amendment) Regulations 1968 .........……. 66 Sessional Paper 1968:—
No 16—Annual Report by the Director of Commerce and Industry for the year 1966-67.
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, by Command of His Excellency the Governor, laid upon the table the following paper: —
Subject
Report: —
Report of the Inland Revenue Ordinance Review Committee.
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He said: —This Report examines the principles and provisions embodied in the Inland Revenue Ordinance in the light of comments and suggestions made by the Commissioner and by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and a number of other public bodies invited by the Committee to make submissions to it.
The Report is in two parts. The first past is concerned mainly with the Commissioner’s powers for the prevention of evasion of tax and a number of minor and generally uncontroversial matters. Part I was initially produced as an interim Report because the Committee considered that some of its recommendations were urgent enough to require early implementation. Drafting is about to begin on the basis of this part of the Report in the light of comment received from the invited public bodies.
Part II contains a number of far-reaching and largely technical proposals designed to simplify the operation of the tax, such as a proposal to eliminate commencement and cessation provisions for both salaries and profits. These will require time for study before decisions are taken on further action on them.
I should add that the question of introducing a full income tax instead of our present schedular form was not within the terms of reference of the Committee and the Report does not consider it.
QUESTIONS
DR S. Y. CHUNG, pursuant to notice, asked the following question: —
Referring to the recent disclosure by the Honourable Director of Education that there are over 400 vacancies in the six existing secondary technical schools, will my honourable Friend clarify (a) how many of these vacancies are in the first year Form One and (b) whether the vacancies in Form One are due to initial insufficient applications or subsequent normal wastage during the year?
MR W. D. GREGG replied as follows: —
He said: —Your Excellency, the vacancies in the first year are negligible (not more than five). When pupils who have been allocated places do not take them up, the Principals take steps to fill them on their own initiative. This is possible in the first two years, but it is more difficult in the higher forms because new pupils do not normally have the technical background that these forms require. Wastage generally occurs at the end of the school year rather than during the year and is generally highest in the top forms. It cannot be regarded
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[MR GREGG]
as normal because this does not happen to nearly the same extent in other government or aided secondary schools. One of the reasons for this is that the secondary technical schools do not yet enjoy parity of esteem with other secondary schools and in general parents place these schools much lower than other schools in their order of priority, but the position is slowly improving.
DR CHUNG, pursuant to notice, asked the following questions: —
Is the Honourable Director of Education aware of the criticisms which have been made that the curriculum of the six existing secondary technical schools is not sufficiently technical and that the graduates produced are not suitable for immediate employment in industry?
Does the Honourable Director of Education intend to make any changes in the curriculum of these six schools in order to ensure that the graduates are qualified for immediate employment in industry?
Could the Honourable Director of Education say whether any changes could be made in the two new secondary technical schools which are being planned, to enable a truly technical curriculum to be introduced so that the needs of industry for junior technicians can be satisfied?
MR W. D. GREGG replied as follows:—
He said:—With your permission, Sir, I propose to answer this Question and the two following Questions together, since they are closely related. It appears that the purpose of secondary technical schools continues to be misunderstood. These schools form part of that group of schools—government aided and private—through which Government has undertaken to provide a full five year secondary course to the top 15% - 20% of ‘the primary schools output. It has always been felt that unless the secondary technical schools were able to give the pupils the same opportunities as other schools to acquire what used to be called a School Certificate they would not attract pupils of real ability nor would they be able to secure as many places in the Technical College for technician training as they do at present. Nevertheless, I agree with my honourable Friend that it is desirable for the technical content of these courses to be increased and I propose to look into this both for existing schools and the new schools that are planned. The new Certificate of Education which is subject-based rather than group based will facilitate such changes. It might even be possible, as a result, to cut down the time it takes for such students to acquire a Technical College Certificate or Diploma. I shall be considering this
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in consultation with the Principal of the Technical College, since it will involve some modification in the structure of the courses at the Technical College. But this is about as far as I can go. The technician training which the majority of the 15,000 students of the Technical College follow is a two or three year full-time course (longer of course if it is part-time) following a full five year secondary course in which a high performance in mathematics, science and language comprehension has been demonstrated. The standard achieved in these courses depends largely on the sound academic foundations that have been laid in the secondary schools. The student then goes on to acquire more specialized technological knowledge in his chosen sphere and some familiarity with the manipulative skills involved. At the end he will be on his way to becoming a technician, but he will still require a good deal of experience in the specialized undertaking in which he is employed, before being able to tackle effectively those duties which characterize the work of a qualified technician, such as product inspection and testing, installation, maintenance and servicing of equipment and appliances or the supervision of industrial processes and the like. To sum up, while I agree that some increase in the technical content of the curriculum of these schools is desirable I cannot help feeling that the suggestion that these young boys whose main studies consist of mathematics, including applied mathematics, physics and chemistry and technical drawing together with such practical activities as woodwork and metalwork cannot immediately be usefully employed by industry, simply because they will not have acquired the skills and techniques associated with the particular industry is most unreasonable. Of course, they will not be technicians; but they are potential technicians and there is no reason why they should not rapidly acquire the necessary technical skills if they are given reasonable opportunities for on the job training and the necessary encouragement by their employers.
DR S. Y. CHUNG, pursuant to notice, asked the following question: —
In view of the facts that in 1966, 5,300 students applied for 670 vacancies in full-time day courses at the Technical College, and in 1967, 6,300 applied for 720 vacancies, does the Honourable Director of Education have plans for the expansion of the Technical College?
MR W. D. GREGG replied as follows:—
He said:—I am, of course, fully aware of the great demand for admission to courses at the Technical College. Honourable Members will recall that during the last five years three major extensions have been completed at the College, the Abraham Lincoln Workshop, the Wool School and a five-storey classroom block.
This September it is proposed to start full-time higher diploma courses in Electronic Engineering and Industrial Design. Full-time
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[MR GREGG]
certificate courses are also planned in Television Mechanics, Plumbing and Pipe-fitting. These courses will mean an increase of 20% in the number of vacancies available at the beginning of the new academic year in September.
When the proposed Technical Institute is completed the number of places both full-time and part-time that can be made available will be greatly increased and this should help considerably to reduce the present pressures on admission to the Technical College.
DR CHUNG:—Thank you, Sir.
STATEMENT ON HOURS OF WORK OF WOMEN AND YOUNG PERSONS IN INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT BY MR R. M. HETHERINGTON, COMMISSIONER OF LABOUR
MR R. M. HETHERINGTON addressed the Council.
He said:—The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) Regulations 1967, introducing a phased programme for the progressive reduction of hours of work for women and young persons in industrial employment, were made by me on 21st November 1967. They were approved by a resolution of the Legislative Council on 29th November 1967 and became effective on 1st December 1967*.
When I moved the resolution in the Legislative Council I acknowl edged that inadequate notice was given of the introduction of the amending regulations. I recognized that it would be unreasonable to expect labour and management to resolve quickly all the problems which they might create. I offered the sympathetic help and guidance of the Labour Department and I expressed the hope that I would receive, in return, the co-operation of all concerned. I especially undertook to exercise sympathetically certain transitional powers vested in me in respect of the operation of the regulations during the first six months up to the end of May 1968.
When the Labour Advisory Board considered the regulations I was requested to make a report to its members in due course on how the first stage of the phased programme was carried out. I made such a report at a meeting of the board held on 4th July. The recommendation of the board, which I have accepted, was that progress in carrying out the phased programme should be reported at regular intervals of six months so that the situation could be kept periodically under review.
* 1967 Hansard, pages 481-7.
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When I spoke in this Council last November I expressed the hope that I would be permitted to give a similar report to honourable Members. I am now able to do so with some additional information which became available after the issue of the report to the Labour Advisory Board.
Generally speaking, the first stage of the programme was carried out without serious difficulties. In December 1967 the Labour Department had on record 12,573 factories and industrial undertakings. It was known that, of these, 7,144 employed women and young persons. Because there was always the possibility that any concern, not then employing them, might at any time engage women and young persons, a free copy of a brief guide to the regulations, published by the Labour Department in both Chinese and English, together with an explanatory letter, also in Chinese and English, was sent to every factory and industrial undertakings on record in December 1967. Additional copies were made available on application.
It was known that, out of the 7,144 concerns employing women and young persons, 1,217 were already working a standard day of 9½ hours or less before 1st December 1967. Consequently, the number of establishments immediately affected by the regulations was 5,927.
As might be expected there was a slow response initially from managements but, after the Lunar New Year, the position improved considerably. By February, 1,974 concerns had introduced a standard 9½ hours day and 227 had applied for a period of grace to continue to operate 10 hours a day. At the beginning of March a systematic drive was conducted by officers of the labour inspectorate on the remaining 3,800 or so factories. Investigations revealed that some had ceased either to operate or to employ women and young persons and that, during the month, about 1,500 had complied with the new regulations. A further drive was inaugurated in April on the remaining 2,000 factories and continued throughout May. But 31st May, enforcement was almost complete. On that date the number of outstanding cases was only 101. The latest report available to me shows that this number has now been reduced to 17.
Only 364 applications were received for permission to defer the introduction of the new standard working day and to continue to work 10 hours a day. Of these, 341 were for the maximum period of six months and 23 for various lesser periods. The distribution of these applications was spread among several industries. The largest numbers were 69 for garments, 68 for plastics, 60 for metal products, 55 for spinning and weaving, and 25 for knitting. I refused only four applications because, in each case, the applicant had not previously been working a standard working day of 10 hours.
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[MR HETHERINGTON]
There were few complaints about the regulations by managements who generally co-operated with officers of the labour inspectorate. One of the main reasons for this state of affairs was undoubtedly the length of time which managements were given to adjust working schedules. It is possible that there would have been more applications for a period of grace if it had been physically possible for officers of the labour inspectorate to deal with all managements immediately. It is probable that many managements were technically in breach of the law for varying periods. Nevertheless, it became apparent that this situation, which could not be avoided because of the limited resources of the department, was in the long run beneficial to the successful conclusion of the operation. The tactful but sustained drive throughout the period of six months achieved its purpose without resort to prosecutions of any concern.
There were also few complaints from workers. In some cases the new working schedules proved unacceptable to employees and adjustments were made by managements to meet objections. No reports were received of reductions in earnings by workers and it is believed that wage adjustments were generally made to counter-balance the effect of restrictions on standard daily working hours.
The new regulations permitted an increase in overtime during the year from the previous figure of 100 hours to 150 hours. It was expected that, with the reduction of standard working hours, more overtime would be worked. This in fact happened. For a period of six months from December 1966 to May 1967, 10,997 hours of reportable overtime were workd by 343 factories. For a comparable period of six months from December 1967 to May 1968, 13,780 hours of reportable overtime were worked by 378 factories. Comparing the two periods, permissible overtime was increased by 50 hours a year for each worker, the industrial labour force of women rose from 195,000 to 214,000 but the increase in overtime worked was less than 2,800 hours. It is clear from the statistics available that a very small proportion of the additional overtime permissible under the new regulations was in fact worked.
The operation taxed severely the resources of the labour inspectorate. The first stage of the phased programme was completed successfully with the co-operation of workers and managements. The period of grace of six months permitted by the regulations was sufficiently long enough to enable all concerned to adjust themselves to the new requirements. The experience gained during this first stage of the programme will be valuable when subsequent stages are brought into effect. As honourable Members are aware, the second stage will start on 1st December 1968 when the standard working day for women and young persons will be reduced from the present 9½ hours to nine hours.
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BANK NOTES ISSUE ORDINANCE
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY moved the following resolution: —
Resolved, pursuant to the proviso to section 5 of the Bank Notes Issue Ordinance, Chapter 65, that this Council hereby extends the powers of all the note-issuing banks to make, issue or re-issue and circulate notes until and including the 12th day of July 1969.
He said:—The Bank Notes Issue Ordinance, Chapter 65, lays down that the powers of the note-issuing banks lapse automatically unless renewed by this Council from time to time. The present powers of these banks expire on 12th July 1968*. It is proposed in this resolution that they should be renewed for the maximum permissible period of twelve months.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (AMENDMENT) BILL 1968
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the First reading of:—“A Bill to amend the Criminal Procedure Ordinance.”
He said:—This, Sir, is a Bill of minor measure of criminal law reform. It seeks to introduce a new section into the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, and is intended to affect all Courts exercising criminal jurisdiction in Hong Kong—the Supreme Court, the District Courts and the Magistrates Courts. It follows provisions to be found in the Criminal Justice Administration Act of 1962 in England.
The old rule, Sir, was that a sentence of imprisonment imposed in the Supreme Court ran from the first day of the Sessions unless the Court otherwise directed. The new rule, which is proposed by section 67A would introduce, is that a sentence of imprisonment takes effect as from the day on which it is imposed, and the Court is given a discretion in the manner. It has. Sir, also been thought right to make statutory provision for the reduction of the term of imprisonment by the amount of time the offender has already spent in prison awaiting trial. In effect, therefore what has been a matter for the discretion of the Court hitherto for now becomes a general rule. Subsection (2) of the proposed new section specifies the various ways in which a person awaiting trial may be ordered to be detained in prison, the period of that detention being deducted from the sentence.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read a First time.
* 1967 Hansard, page 358.
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Objects and Reasons
The “Objects and Reasons” for the Bill were stated as follows: —
The Bill seeks to insert a new section in the principal Ordinance providing that the time from which any term of imprisonment will run will be the beginning of ‘the day on which it is imposed, unless the court otherwise directs. The offender will be given credit for any previous period spent in custody after committal for trial or after plea or if committed for breach of recognizance or a probation order.
The new section is modelled on section 17 of the Criminal Justice Administration Act 1962 of the United Kingdom.
EXCHANGE FUND (AMENDMENT) BILL 1968
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY moved the First reading of: —“A Bill to amend further the Exchange Fund Ordinance.”
He said:—Honourable Members are aware of the arrangement recently made with Her Majesty’s Government designed to afford a degree of protection to the value of our financial reserves by permitting the transfer of a proportion of our official sterling holdings into a new type of bond denominated in Hong Kong dollars. This may be done to a value of £100 million or 50% of official reserves whichever is greater up to a maximum of £150 million. Official reserves are at present below £200 million so that use of the facility beyond £100 million depends on our being able to arrange the transfer into official hands of some of the sterling funds which are at present held by the banking system in the absence of a central bank.
The Bill before Council is designed to give the Financial Secretary powers enabling him to effect this, with the co-operation of the banks, to the extent necessary or desirable at any particular time. Fortunately the Exchange Fund Ordinance provides ready-made machinery in the shape of borrowing powers but these are limited at present to $30 million. It is proposed to raise this limit to $1,500 million which should be enough, when added to official reserves to enable the fullest practicable use to be made of the bond facility. The basic mechanism is very simple and is already in use for the note-issue cover, that is, the issue of Hong Kong dollar promissory notes or certificates of indebtedness in exchange for sterling paid over to the Fund.
It is permitted at present to transfer out of the Exchange Fund any surplus money in excess of 105% of the value of the note-issue covered by Certificates of Indebtedness. It seems desirable that the same provision should apply to any notes issued by the Fund under this new
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—10th July 1968. 327
arrangement and clause 3 of the Bill is designed to do this. It is important to protect the assets in the Fund from any danger of being raided by future Financial Secretaries.
I should mention a related, but logically unconnected, subject which tends to become confused in press comment with the particular matter before Council today, that is, the introduction of machinery for offering exchange cover, at a price, to the banks; at a price, I may add, which, I am confident, will be less than speculative comment has suggested. While it is true that the exchange of sterling for an Exchange Fund obligation will give protection to the holder of sterling, a full system of exchange cover is a much more difficult and complicated matter. It will probably have to go further than the Hong Kong dollar bond scheme which, in itself, affords only partial protection and is available only for the investment of official reserves; and it may require further amendment of the Exchange Fund Ordinance. Careful thought is being given to this wider question but we may have to call on expert assistance from outside. It is, however, desirable to have the presently proposed enabling powers available for use in the meantime for the more general objective of protecting the Colony’s reserves.
By virtue of Article XXVI (3) of the Royal Instructions the Governor may not assent to this Bill without the prior consent of the Secretary of State. That consent has already been received.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read a First time.
Objects and Reasons
The “Objects and Reasons” for the Bill were stated as follows:—
This Bill raises the limit of ‘the amount which the Financial Secretary may borrow for the account of the Exchange Fund from thirty million to fifteen hundred million Hong Kong dollars (clause 2).
2. Clause 3 amends section 8 of the principal Ordinance to enable the transfer from the Exchange Fund to general revenue or other approved local funds of any sum not needed to maintain the assets of the Fund at 105% of the total of borrowings under section 3 plus outstanding certificates of indebtedness.
MEDICAL (THERAPY, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH) BILL 1968
DR TENG PIN-HUI moved the First reading of:—“A Bill to make provision for the use of parts of bodies of deceased persons for therapeutic purposes and for purposes of medical education and research.”
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[DR TENG PIN-HUI]
He said: —Your Excellency, surgery has now entered a new era marked by rapid advance in the use of human spare parts and in the technique of transplantation of organs. It is therefore in anticipation of greater things to come that, besides cornea, consideration must be made to other human tissues as well. Legislation must consequently be more embracing to include other parts of the human body to be used not only for the purpose of treating patients by surgical procedures, but also for research which is always a pre-requisite to the advance and development of all scientific methods by those who are engaged in the field of medical practice and education. Such is the intention of the Ordinance and also the explanation of its title.
The Bill is modelled on the United Kingdom Human Tissue Act 1961. The best example I can give in relation to the use of human tissues for therapeutic purposes is corneal grafting, an operation which aims at the restoration of eye-sight on a living patient who is blind because his own part has been rendered opaque by disease. This operation has been carried out in recent times in Hong Kong by the medical profession on the initiative of the Hong Kong Eye Bank & Research Foundation and supported by the Lions Club of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Ophthalmological Society. Much work has been put in and help given by the first named organization towards the preparation of the proposed legislation.
The cases in which the removal of part of a body may be authorized are specified in clauses 2 and 3. In each case the authorization must be given by the person in lawful possession of the body. Clause 2 provides that if any person either in writing or at any time orally in the presence of two or more witnesses during his last illness has expressed a request that his body or any specified part of his body be used after his death for therapeutic purposes, or for purposes of medical education, or research, the person who is in lawful possession of his body after his death may, unless he has reason to believe that the request was subsequently withdrawn, authorize in writing the removal from the body or any part, or as the case may be, of the specified part for use in accordance with the request.
Clause 3 provides that if there has been no such request a removal may be authorized if the deceased died in hospital, but the person in possession of the body must first produce the written consent of the person recorded in the hospital register as the next of kin and must also satisfy himself by enquiry that there is no reason to believe that the deceased expressed objection during his life time, or that the surviving spouse or any surviving parent or child objects.
Clause 4(1) makes lawful the removal of any part of a body in accordance with such an authorization and clause 4(2) provides that such an authorization may not be challenged in Court.
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Clause 4(3) stipulates that the removal must be carried out by a registered medical practitioner and in the case of a body which may be subject to a coroner’s inquest or post-mortem examination it will be necessary to obtain the Coroner’s consent before any authorization is given. An undertaker is not permitted to give an authorization as set out in clause 5(1) and 5(2) authorizes the hospital authorities to designate an officer to give authorization in the case of a body lying in a hospital nursing home or similar institution.
Clause 6 ensures that other existing powers before the enactment of this Ordinance are unaffected.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read a First time.
Objects and Reasons
The “Objects and Reasons” for the Bill were stated as follows: —
This Bill makes it lawful in the prescribed cases for any part of a body to be removed after death for therapeutic purposes or for purposes of medical education or research. It is modelled on the United Kingdom Human Tissue Act 1961.
2. The cases in which the removal of part of a body may be authorized are specified in clauses 2 and 3. In each case, the authorization must be given by the person in lawful possession of the body (usually the executor or the occupier of the premises where the body lies). Under clause 2, a removal may be authorized if the deceased expressed a request before his death. Where there has been no such request, a removal may be authorized under clause 3 if the deceased died in hospital, but the person in possession of the body must first obtain the written consent of the person recorded in the hospital register as the next of kin and must also satisfy himself by inquiry that there is no reason to believe that the deceased expressed objection during his life-time or that the surviving spouse or any surviving parent or child objects.
3. Clause 4(1) makes lawful the removal of any part of a body in accordance with an authorization, and clause 4(2) provider that an authorization may not be challenged in court. A removal must be effected by a registered medical practitioner (clause 4(3)), and clause 4(4) provides that, if there is reason to believe that an inquest or post-mortem examination may be ordered by a coroner, the coroner’s consent must be obtained before any authorization is given.
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[Objects and Reasons]
4. Clause 5(1) prohibits an undertaker from giving an authorization, and clause 5(2) enables hospital authorities to designate an officer to give an authorization in the case of a body lying in a hospital, nursing home or similar institution.
5. Clause 6 ensures that other existing powers are unaffected.
LEGAL PRACTITONERS (AMENDMENT) BILL 1968
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the Second reading of: —“A Bill to amend further the Legal Practitioners Ordinance.”
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read the Second time.
Council then went into Committee to consider the Bill clause by clause.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR: — With the concurrence of honourable Members, I propose that we should take the clauses in blocks of not more than five.
Clauses 1 to 16 were agreed to.
Council then resumed.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL reported that the Bill before Council had passed through Committee without amendment and moved the Third reading.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read the Third time and passed.
TRAINING CENTRES (AMENDMENT) BILL 1968
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the Second reading of: —“A Bill to amend the Training Centres Ordinance.”
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read the Second time.
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Council then went into Committee to consider the Bill clause by clause.
Clauses 1 to 4 were agreed to.
Council then resumed.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL reported that the Bill before Council had passed through Committee without amendment and moved the Third reading.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read the Third time and passed.
ESTATE DUTY (VALIDATION OF FORMS) BILL 1968
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY moved the Second reading of: —“A Bill to validate certain forms used between the 26th day of February 1932 and the 13th of October 1967 for the purposes of the Estate Duty Ordinance.”
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read the Second time.
Council then went into Committee to consider the Bill clause by clause.
Clauses 1 to 3, the First Schedule, the Second Schedule and the Preamble were agreed to.
Council then resumed.
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY reported that the Bill before Council had passed through Committee without amendment and moved the Third reading.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read the Third time and passed.
COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY BILL 1968
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the Third reading of: —“A Bill to provide for commissions of inquiry and for purposes connected therewith.”
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THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Bill was read the Third time and passed.
ADJOURNMENT
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY moved the adjournment.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
NEXT MEETING
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR:—Council will accordingly now adjourn and the next meeting will be held on 24th July.
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