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Constitution and Administration

committee considers the evidence sufficient to substantiate such charges, the Legislative Council may pass a motion of impeachment by a two-thirds majority of all its members and report it to the Central People's Government for decision; and

• To summon, as required when exercising the above-mentioned powers and functions, persons concerned to testify or give evidence.

Composition

According to the Basic Law, the Legislative Council of the HKSAR shall be constituted by election. The Fifth Legislative Council comprises 70 members, of whom 35 were returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections and 35 were returned by functional constituencies. The Fifth Legislative Council's term of office is four years from 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2016. The President of the Legislative Council is elected by and from among the council's members.

Meetings of the Legislative Council

The Legislative Council normally meets on Wednesdays. The business at its regular meetings includes introducing and considering bills and proposed resolutions; the tabling of subsidiary legislation, papers and reports for the Legislative Council's consideration; asking of questions for replies from the government; and debating motions concerning matters of public interest. All meetings of the council are open to the public. Members may address the council in Cantonese, English or Putonghua, with simultaneous interpretation and sign language interpretation provided. The proceedings are recorded verbatim in the Official Record of Proceedings of the Legislative Council.

During the 2013-2014 legislative session (from October 2013 to July 2014), the Legislative Council held 36 meetings, four of which were the Chief Executive's Question and Answer Sessions. Members asked 134 oral questions on the work of the government with 757 supplementary questions, and another 520 written questions. The council also passed 19 bills. All 14 motions moved by the government under the positive vetting procedure to seek the council's approval to either make or amend subsidiary legislation were passed. On subsidiary legislation subject to the negative vetting procedure, the council completed the scrutiny of seven items which had been tabled in council in the 2012-2013 session, with one of them amended by a resolution of the council. Of the 114 items of subsidiary legislation tabled in the 2013-2014 session, the council completed the scrutiny of 94 items, with three of them amended by resolutions of the council. The scrutiny of the remaining 20 items continued into the 2014- 2015 session.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee consists of all Legislative Council members except the President. The committee's Chairman and Deputy Chairman are elected from among its members. The committee normally meets in public on Friday afternoons to scrutinise and approve public expenditure proposals put forward by the government to change the approved Estimates of Expenditure. The committee also holds special meetings to examine the annual Estimates of Expenditure presented by the Financial Secretary to the Legislative Council during the

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