ORDINANCES AND REGULATIONS OF HONG KONG (1937 EDITION) ORDINANCE, 1936

ORDINANCES AND REGULATIONS OF HONG KONG (1937 EDITION) ORDINANCE, 1936

THE

ORDINANCES OF HONG KONG.

No. 51 of 1936.

An Ordinance to provide for a revised edition of the
Ordinances, and for a revised edition of the Regulations,
of the Colony.

[4th December, 1936.]

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Ordinances and
Regulations of Hong Kong (1937 edition) Ordinance, 1936.

2. In this Ordinance-

(a) ' The Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923' means the
edition of the Ordinances of Hong Kong prepared by Arthur
Dyer Ball, Esquire, and authorized to be used by proclamation
of the Governor, dated the 18th day of September, 1924, and
made in virtue of the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923,
Ordinance, 1923.

(b) 'The Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition)'
means the edition of the Ordinances of Hong Kong to be
prepared under the authority of this Ordinance.

(c) 'The Regulations of Hong Kong (1937 edition)
means the edition of the Regulations of Hong Kong to be
prepared under the authority of this Ordinance.





3. The Governor may appoint a fit and proper person as
editor to prepare the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition)
and the Regulations of Hong Kong (1937 edition).

4. In the preparation of the Ordinances of Hong Kong.(1937
edition), the editor shall have the following powers:-

(1) to omit-

(a) Ordinances or parts of Ordinances which have heen
repealed;

(b) introductory words of enactment;

(c) headings or parts of headings of divisions or sub-
divisions of Ordinances which in the opinion of the editor are
not necessary to the proper interpretation of the Ordinances;

(d) rekulations.contained in Schedules to Ordinances which
in the opinion of the editor can conveniently he included in the.
Regulations of Hong Kong (1937 edition):

(2) to insert in their proper places in such Ordinances as
have been amended all the provisions of the Ordinances
amending the same as indicated therein as if the said amended
Ordinances had been ordered to be printed as amended by such
amending Ordinances: and further, where all the amenaments
made by such amending Ordinances are so inserted as aforesaid
so that the object of such Ordinances has been effected, to
treat the remainder of such Ordinances as exhausted and to omit
the same

(3) to make grammatical and typographical amendments
and to revise the punctuation where in the opinion of the editor
such aniendment or revision is necessary:

(4) to substitute---
(a) figures for words, and
(b) in references to Ordinances, the serial number. for the
short title,

or vice versa, where in the opinion of the editor such
substitution is convenient:





(5) to adopt a convenient standard form in all Ordinances
for the interpretation sections and for the sections giving power-
to make regulations:

(6) to recast the marginal notes and references to the
sections. of Ordinances, and the headings of divisions or
sub-divisions of Ordinances, where in the opinion of the editor
such recasting is necessary:

(7) to make such formal alterations to names, localities,
offices, titles and otherwise as may be necessary to bring any
Ordinance into conformity with the circumstances of the Colony
in the year 1937: and

(8) to do all such things relating to form and method as
may be necessary for the perfecting of the Ordinances of Hong
Kong (1937 edition).

5. The numbering of the Ordinances contained in the
Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923, and of.the Ordinances
passed after the 31st day of Deciember, 1923, and of the sections
of any such Ordinances shall be preserved unless any alteration
of such numbering shall be authorized by the special Ordinances
referred to in section 6 (1)

6.(1) All omissions and amendments in the Ordinances
of Hong Kong (1937 edition), other than those referred to in
section 4, shall be collected by the editor and submitted to the
Legislative Council in the form of one or more Ordinances.

(2) Whe re a later Ordinance, the object of, which is to
amend an earlier Ordinance, contains new matter which cannot
be inserted in the earlier Ordinance in the manner indicated by
section 4 (2), and it is expedient that such new matter should
be incorporated in the earlier Ordinance, it shall be lawful for
the editor to effect such incorporation by one of the Ordinances
mentioned in sub-section (1): and when all of such new matter
has been incorporated, and the amendments, if any, in such
later Ordinance have been inserted in their proper places as
indicated by section 4 (2) so that the object of the later
Ordinance has been effected, the remainder of the said later
Ordinance shall be treated as exhausted and omitted from the
Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition).





(3) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-
section (1), the following omissions shall be held to be included therein:


(a) Ordinances or parts of Ordinances which have expired or
have become spent or have lost their effect or are no longer required

(b) repealing sections, and tables and lists of repealed
enactments, in schedules or otherwise;

(c) preambles or parts of preambles, to Ordinances which in the
opinion of the editor no longer serve any useful purpose; and

(d) sections prescribing the date when, or the method by which,
ariv Ordinance, or any part of any Ordinance, is to come into force
where the omission in the opinion of the editor can conveniently he
made: Provided that in all cases a note shall be inserted at the head of
all Ordinances of the date of their commencement.

7.-(1) The Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition) shall
include all the Ordinances in force on the 1st day of January, 1938,
and also any unrepealed Ordinance passed before but not brought
into force. on or before that date, and shall be comprised in two or
more volumes, as may be necessary.

(2) The editor shall further prepare and issue as part of his
undertaking

(a) a chronological table of ill the Ordinances of tile
Colony, including those which have been repealed or which
ivere not included in the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923:
Provided that he may for such purpose adopt the chronological
table prepared for the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923, by
Arthur Dyer Ball, Esquire

(b) a full and complete index to the subJect-matter of all
Ordinances contained in the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937
edition) ; and

As amended by No, 15 of 1937 [24.9.37.]





(c) such indexes and tables of reference to the aforesaid or other
matters as he may consider necessary for perfecting the Ordinances of Hong
Kong (1937 edition),

all of which things shall be included in one or more supplementary volurnes
separate and distinct from those containing the Ordinances, and shall,
together with the volumes containing the Ordinances, form one edition
entitled ' The Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition)

8. The editor shall further prepare and issue, in two or more volumes a
collection of the regulations in force in the Colony on the 1st day of January,
1938, to be known as the Regulations of Hong Kong (1937 edition), omitting

(i) regulations of particular and not of general application and

(ii) save by reference only, regulations contained in Schedules to
Ordinances which in the opinion of the editor cannot conveniently be
included in the said collection,

and including-

(i) regulations contained in Schedules to Ordinances which in his
opinion can conveniently be so included;

(ii) in an Appendix, such other Government Notifications as he rnay
think desirable for the purposes of convenient reference; and

(iii) such indexes and tables of reference to the aforesaid or other
matters as he may consider necessary for perfecting the Regulations of Hong
Kong (1937 edition),

and for these purposes the editor shall have the same powers, as nearly as
may be, with regard to regulations, as he has with regard, to Ordinances
under section 4.

9.-(1) Each volume of the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition) after
it is printed shall, by general order of the Governor in that behalf, be
impressed on the title page thereof with the seal of the Colony.

*-As amended by No. 15 of 1937 [24.9.37].





(g) After the printing of each of the volumes containing
the Ordinances, and after the passing of the special Ordinances
referred to in section 6 relating to the Ordinances contained in
that volume, the said volume shall be laid before the Legislative
Council for approval, and such approval, if given, shall be
notified by proclamation of the Governor.

(3) The supplementary volu mes referred to in section
7 (2) and the volumes of the Regulations of Hong Kong (1937
edition) shall similarly be laid before the Legislative Council
for approval as soon as conveniently may be after the printing
of each volume, and such approval, if given, shall similarly be
notified by proclamation of the Governor,

10.-(i) A copy of this Ordinance and of all Ordinances
passed after the 3rd day of December, 1936, certified under the
hand of the Governor and the seal of the Colony shall, as soon
as conveniently may be after they have been passed by the
Legislative Council and assented to by the Governor, be trans-
mitted by the Clerk of Councils to the Registrar of the Supreme
Court, who shall preserve them for record together with the
collection of Ordinances of the Colony from the commencement
thereof down to and inclusive of Ordinance No. 30 Of 1886,
and the sealed copies of all the Ordinances subsequent to Ordin-
ance No. 30 of 1886 already preserved in the Registry of the
Supreme Court.

(2) All such sealed copies and all the copies contained in
the said collection shall be deemed to be the originals.

(3) The Registrar of the Supreme Court shall also obtain
and preserve a copy of the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923.

(4) In so far as there are variations between the Ordinances
of Hongkong, 1844-1923, and the aforesaid originals in the case
of Ordinances passed up to the end of the year 1923, such
originals shall be deemed to have been amended by, and such
variations shall be deemed to have been authorized by, the
Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923,, Ordinance, 1923.

*As amended by Law Rev. Ord., 1937.





(5) Subject to the provisions of section 11 (1), any original
within the meaning of sub-section (2) and any Ordinance
contained in the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923, may he
proved respectively by a certified copy of such original and by
a certified copy of such Ordinance as contained in the Ordinances
of Hongkong, 1844-1923, or, by order of a judge, by production
by the Registrar of the Supreme Court of such original or of
such Ordinance as contained in the Ordinances of Hongkong.
1844-1923. Subject, however, to any objection being taken, any
such original or any Ordinance contained in the Ordinances of
Hongkong, 1844-1023, may be proved by the production of a
copy of the Gazette or of a copy of any collection of Ordinances,
purporting to be printed by the Government Printers, coritaining
a copy of such original, or of a volume of the Ordinances of
Hongkong, 1844-1923, purporting to be impressed on the title
page thereof with the scat of the Colony, containing such
Ordinance.

(6) Any person shall he entitled to inspect any such
original or the copy of the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923,
during office hours on payment of twenty-five cents for each
inspection not exceeding three hours, and to take copies or
extracts therefrorn for certification by the Registrar of the
Supreme Court on payment of twenty-five cents per folio of
seventy-five words for each copy or extract.

11.-(i) From the date of each proclamation referred to
in section 9 (2), the volume of the Ordinances of Hong Kong
(1937 edition) referred to in such proclamation shall be deemed
to be, and shall be, without any question, in all courts and
for all purposes whatsoever, the sole and only proper statute
book of the Ordinances contained therein. From the date of
the said proclamation, in so far as there may be. variations
between the Ordinances contained in the Ordinances of Hong
Kong (1937 edition) and the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-
1923, or between the Ordinances contained in the Ordinances
of Hong Kong (1937 edition) and the originals preserved by
the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Ordinances passed
between the commencement of the year 1924 and the end of
the year 1937, the Ordinances contained in the Ordinances of

As amended by No. 15 of 1937 [24.9.37].





Hongkong, 1844-1923, and the Ordinances passed during the
said period shall be deemed to have been amended by, and such
variations to have been authorized by, this Ordinance:

Provided that nothing in this section shall affect the
operation of any Ordinance which may be passed before the issue
of such proclamation, for the repeal, alteration or amendment
of any earlier Ordinance, after such Ordinance has been printed
in the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition).

(2) Subject to the provisions of section 8, each volume of
the Regulations of Hong Kong (1937 edition) shall contain all
the regulations made in pursuance of the powers conferred by
the Ordinances contained in a corresponding volume of the
Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition), and from and after.
the date of any proclamation tinder section 9 (3) relating to such
volume of the Regulations-

(a) the volume shall for all purposes be deemed to contain
all the regulations in force under and by virtue of the Ordinances
in the corresponding volume of the Ordinances of Hong Kong
1937 edition) on the ist day of January, 1938 ;

(b) any regulations which, although in force in the Colony
on the 1st day of January, 1938, under and by virtue of the said
Ordinances, are not contained in the said volume of regulations,
shall be deemed to have been repealed; and

(c) in so far as there may be variations between the
regulations in force in the Colony on the 1st day of January,
1938, and the same regulations as printed in the Regulations
of Hong Kong (1937 edition) the regulations in force on the
1st day of jahuary, 1938, shall be deemed to have been repeated
and the regulations as printed in the said edition of the Regula-
tions shall be deemed to have been substituted therefor.

12. Where in any existing enactment or in any existing
document of whatever kind reference is made to an Ordinance
which is affected by or under the operation of this Ordinance,
such reference shall, where necessary and practicable, he deemed
to extend and apply to the corresponding enactment as contained
in the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition).





13. This Ordinance shall be printed as the first of the
Ordinances to be contained in the Ordinances of Hong Kong
(1937 edition).

[s. 14, rep. Law Revision Ordinance, 1937.]
[Originally No. 51 of 1936. No. 15 of 1937. Law Rev. Ord., 1937.] Short title Interpretation. Ordinance No. 18 of 1923. Appointment of editor. Powers of editor. Numbering of Ordinances. Ordinances to be prepared by editor for the purposes of revision. Extent of revision of Ordinances. Collection of regulations. Approval of new editions of Ordinances and Regulations by proclamation. Preservation of Ordinances. Originals. Copy of Ordinance of Hongkong 1844-1923, to be preserved. Variations between the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923, and originals. Ordinances No. 18 of 1923. Proof of Ordinances, Inspection of originals and Ordinance of Hongkong. 1844-1923. Validity and operation of the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition) and the Regulations of Hong Kong (1937 edition). Construction of references to former editions of Ordinances. Place of this Ordinance in the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition).

[Originally No. 51 of 1936. No. 15 of 1937. Law Rev. Ord., 1937.] Short title Interpretation. Ordinance No. 18 of 1923. Appointment of editor. Powers of editor. Numbering of Ordinances. Ordinances to be prepared by editor for the purposes of revision. Extent of revision of Ordinances. Collection of regulations. Approval of new editions of Ordinances and Regulations by proclamation. Preservation of Ordinances. Originals. Copy of Ordinance of Hongkong 1844-1923, to be preserved. Variations between the Ordinances of Hongkong, 1844-1923, and originals. Ordinances No. 18 of 1923. Proof of Ordinances, Inspection of originals and Ordinance of Hongkong. 1844-1923. Validity and operation of the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition) and the Regulations of Hong Kong (1937 edition). Construction of references to former editions of Ordinances. Place of this Ordinance in the Ordinances of Hong Kong (1937 edition).

https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/1376

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