User:廣九直通車

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Babel user information
zh-N 中文是这位用户的母语
en-5 This user has professional knowledge of English.
ja-1 この利用者は初級日本語ができます。
Users by language

Welcome to my user page, which is my second home Wiki apart from Wikimedia Commons. For personal information, please refer to my Commons user page for foreigners.

Monthly Legal DYK[edit]

It won't be so numerous like on Wikipedia, but every month I'll try to find some enactments that I've processed to be that month's DYK.

For March 2024:
Did you know...
In Hong Kong that there is an ordinance to encourage people to apologize for their faults?
In Singapore that piranha is banned?
In the United Kingdom that before the enactment of Juries Act 1974, their verdict must be unanimous?

Tasks[edit]

In general, law. While I may engage in opportunistic edits at here, law-related edits are my mainstay.

The following are some of the works dealt by me:

A Tale of Two Cities[edit]

A list of Singaporean and Hong Kong laws as gazetted/reproduced immediately by revised editions, with my comments/complaints:

Singapore[edit]

Note: With effect from 2021-12-31, all chapter numbers are abolished for the 2020 revised editions. The former chapter numbers are only for reference.

  • Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016 (19 of 2016)
    • The result of codifying Singapore's contempt of court law. Still continues the country's strict (draconian?) law on contempt of court.
  • Carbon Pricing Act 2018 (23 of 2018)
    • Nevertheless another piece of national-development oriented enactment with respect to environment protection.
  • Casino Control Act 2006 (10 of 2006/Cap. 33A)
    • Against all odds, LHL indeed gambled his own goodwill and trust among his colleagues in exchange for tourism and revenue diversity. Ultimately his gambit against public opinion succeeded.
    • You also see their monthly casino tax is set at an extremely low rate for a fundamentally windfall industry. The highest tax rate now is 22% per month...
      • Still way lower than the monthly 35% rate rate for Macau (Law 16/2001 Art. 27).
  • Children Development Co-Savings Act 2001 (13 of 2001/Cap. 38A)
    • An Act aiming to boost the fertility rate of Singaporeans by the Singaporean government. After all, Singapore is facing low birth rate since it becomes a developed nation.
  • Choice of Court Agreements Act 2016 (14 of 2016/Cap. 39A)
    • Giving effect to the Hague Choice of Court Convention. In 2014, a Civic Party LC member asked about whether HK will follow up something in response to the the Choice of Court Convention and the SICC. Years later, nothing has been done in HK after the SICC was established in 2015 and the Convention entered into force in 2016...
  • Copyright Act 1987 (2 of 1987/Cap. 63)
    • The Singaporean copyright law. About 2 months after I've finished this enactment here, a new Copyright Bill was gazetted, and would probably replace this enactment in short time "facepalm".
      • Repealed wef. 21 November 2021
    • See Copyright Act 2021 (22 of 2021), done by TE(æ)A,ea.
  • Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021 (28 of 2021)
    • A comprehensive legislation providing holistic counter foreign interference measures, also repealing the former Political Donations Act 2000. To those human rights organizations is basically a big POFMA.
  • Cybersecurity Act 2018 (26 of 2018)
    • To be honest, instead of using the guise of "cybersecurity" to do with all the dirty repression, this piece of enactment is a genuine cybersecurity-oriented law by focusing on Internet infrastructure safety and the development of cybersecurity.
  • Human Organ Transplant Act 1987 (15 of 1987/Cap. 131A)
    • Establishes the opt-out mechanism for organ transplant, i.e. your organs will be used for transplant once you're dead if you didn't object it before. Whether it's effective remains doubted.
  • Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015 (5 of 2015)
    • Replaced the original liquor control policy under the Customs Act (44 of 1960/Cap. 70) after the Little India Riots
  • Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990 (26 of 1990/Cap. 167A)
    • A strategic legal weapon to stabilize the society for a multi-cultural nation like Singapore. Amendment assented in 2019 and commenced in 2022, which aims at foreign interference through religious activities and buffed up penal provisions to the Act.
  • Moneylenders Act 2008 (22 of 2008/Cap. 188)
    • Revised the old Moneylenders Act to better regulate the lawful moneylending industry in Singapore. Also continued mandatory caning to punish those committing debtor harassment.
    • Meanwhile in the UK, courts can only fine a maximum of £100 for those who committed debtor harassment (s. 40, 1970 c. 31 U.K.), how lame...
  • Online Criminal Harms Act 2023 (24 of 2023)
    • An Act that promised to strike hard on scammers. Whether this will be successful or not will be seen.
  • Passports Act 2007 (33 of 2007/Cap. 220)
    • An Act to revise the legal regime of one of the most convenient passports in the world. Previously Singaporean Passports are regulated under regulations under the old Passports Act.
  • Political Donations Act 2000 (20 of 2000/Cap. 236)
  • Protection from Harassment Act 2014 (17 of 2014/Cap. 256A)
    • Mostly deals with offences of personal harassment, also suggested as one of the basis of anti-doxxing laws in Hong Kong by pro-establishment camp.
  • Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 (18 of 2019)
    • The famous/notorious Singaporean Fake News Law, one can expect how much scrutiny it will face from human rights organizations. Too bad that Singapore is an ally of the Western world, so nothing else happens apart from mere condemnation.
  • Public Order Act 2009 (15 of 2009/Cap. 257A)
    • You know, the law which makes one-man smiley-face protests without permit illegal. smiley
  • Public Order and Safety (Special Powers) Act 2018 (26 of 2018)
    • Empowers extra power to the police and military in case of contingency, but inclusion of large-scale peaceful demonstrations as "serious incident" in section 3 of the Act caused another wave of controversies.
  • Remote Gambling Act 2014 (34 of 2014)
  • Sale of Food (Prohibition of Chewing Gum) Regulations 2003 (S 182/2003/Cap. 283, Rg. 2)
    • One of the SLs to implement the chewing gum ban in Singapore, apart from the Regulation of Imports and Exports (Chewing Gum) Regulations (Cap. 272A, Rg. 4).
  • Animals and Birds (Prohibition of Live Poultry on Pulau Ubin) Rules 2005 (S 336/2005/Cap. 7, Rg. 11)
    • Enacted in the aftermath of the 2005 avian flu, but continues to be in force even after the pandemic.
    • Also the power to demolish poultry-keeping buildings seems fishy: s. 25 of the Act did authorize the Minister (currently the Minister for National Development) to demolish buildings that can't be disinfected, but it seems that the empowering provisions made no provisions on whether the Rules can also authorize someone else (particularly, the Director‑General, Animal Health and Welfare) to do so.

Hong Kong[edit]

  • Broadcasting Ordinance (48 of 2000/Cap. 562)
    • Updates the law on television, will later be indirectly involved in the HKTV licensing controversy.
  • Chief Executive Election Ordinance (21 of 2001/Cap. 569)
    • Implements Annex 1 and 2 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. Continues to be a bone of contention since its enactment, and directly/indirectly related to the 2014 and 2019 protests.
  • Competition Ordinance (14 of 2012/Cap. 619)
    • After all, capitalist economies takes different forms, and maintaining healthy competition is essential to cheap yet high-quality goods and services in the market.
  • Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (9 of 1987/Cap. 390)
    • Establishes the Obscene Article Tribunals and provide for the control of obscene and indecent articles (mainly pornography and extreme violence/horror etc.). Highly related to the Film Censorship Ordinance (Cap. 392).
  • Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance (7 of 2004/Cap. 581)
    • Safeguarding your money deposited in banks (aka don't get screwed like Henan), and also a foundation to a mature banking industry.
  • Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (79 of 1995/Cap. 484)
    • Hot fact: The HKCFA's legal basis was already established by the British HK Legco since 1995.
    • Also seems that due to legal similarity, the HKCFA enjoys more foreign citation than the SGCA.
  • Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance (20 of 2006/Cap. 589)
    • Replaces the Interception of Communications Ordinance (Cap. 532) that never commenced (also the last principal ordinance enacted in British HK), and somehow solved the troubles since the questionable Law Enforcement (Covert Surveillance Procedures) Order was declared unconstitutional... Nevertheless, the lack of penal provisions on illegal surveillance when compared to the old Interception of Communications Ordinance attracted criticism.
    • Tbh while the question of "what executive orders do" in Macau are clearly defined (eg. updating civil servant quota for government agencies, publishing new logos for new government agencies, or announcing the absence of the Chief Executive and appointment of Acting Chief Executive per Law 2/1999 (Basic Law on Government Organization)), basically executive orders and its accompanying Legal Supplement No. 5 are only meant for the Public Service (Administration) Order (and it's amendments).
      • And BTW, I must say the Chinese version of the Interception of Communications Ordinance is one of the shittiest bilingual enactments of Hong Kong law. I'm wondering if James To actually did a machine translation from the English text when he drafted the Chinese version of that Ordinance.
  • Hong Kong National Security Law (Translation on G.N. (E.) 72 of 2020) (Original text is L.N. 136 of 2020 as Promulgation of National Law 2020)
  • and its Implementation Rules (L.N. 139 of 2020)
  • Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance (110 of 1997)
    • The first post-handover legislation passed by the PLC, which makes several amendments to existing legislation, approved pre-drafted bills passed by the PLC at Shenzhen, and provide for transitional measures. Compare Law 1/1999 (Reunification Law) of Macau.
  • Karaoke Establishments Ordinance (22 of 2002/Cap. 573)
    • Regulates karaoke venues due to fire safety and vice issues.
    • BTW the Chinese short title is called 《卡拉OK場所條例》. While it seems that it's unusual to incorporate English into the Chinese short title, it's perfectly legitimate due to section 4(4) of the Official Languages Ordinance (Cap. 5).
      • At least it's better than legal gibberish like "非高等教育私立補充教學輔助中心", as quoted from a Macau law.
  • Land Titles Ordinance (26 of 2004/Cap. 585)
    • One of the biggest potholes in Hong Kong legal history (along with other examples like the Dangerous Goods (Amendment) Ordinance 2002). Originally the administration expected that the Ordinance would commence in 2 years, now in 2021 the DOJ claims that they're going to submit an pre-commencement amendment ordinance to the LC...
  • Legislation Publication Ordinance (13 of 2011/Cap. 641)
    • The ordinance which makes consolidated enactments published on HKeL legally valid when printed as verified copies, in line with Australian and New Zealand practice where Acts published on the official websites are genuine consolidated enactments. (After all, they don't use gazettes to publish Acts...)
    • And, despite all that dipsh***ery in Hong Kong law and politics plus initial bugs and troubles of the HKeL, IMO it's still one of the world's best legal database. Just think about how many "regular maintenance" on Singapore Statutes Online (plus they're not official versions despite they made online revised editions possible—see s. 11A of the Revised Edition of the Laws Act 1983), or how many un-updated enactments in UK or NZ legislation database... Aussie federal and state legislation databases looks good, but a lack of amendment annotations is confusing.
  • Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (9 of 2008/Cap. 597)
  • Mainland Judgments in Matrimonial and Family Cases (Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement) Ordinance (11 of 2021/Cap. 639)
  • Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (11 of 2022/Cap. 645)
    • Enacted to implement reciprocal enforcement agreements between Mainland China and Hong Kong, which cover civil, commercial and matrimonial suits.
  • Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (80 of 1995/Cap. 485)
    • Impeccable model from LKY, good intentions, sh*t management... Just think of how much does your MPF agent earn for you...
  • Mass Transit Railway Ordinance (10 of 2000/Cap. 556)
    • "World-class railway service" amid countless stupid service outages...🤡
  • Minimum Wage Ordinance (15 of 2010/Cap. 608)
    • Confirms the minimum wage in Hong Kong after years of bickering between business and labour organizations. Now they're starting another wave on standard working hours, let's hope that I'll be entitled to this once I leave university...
  • Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (14 of 2008/Cap. 599)
    • Enacted to replace the former Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 141) that dates back to 1936. Section 8 of the Ordinance empowered the CEiC to enact emergency regulations in public health emergencies, which proves to be useful in helping the inept government to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Also my first attempt in dealing Hong Kong legislation here.
  • United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance (27 of 2002/Cap. 575)
    • Enacted after the aftermath of 9/11. Later amended in 2004, 2012 and 2018.
    • While the Ordinance is originally enacted to deal with international terrorists, the first case under the Ordinance was during the 2019 troubles where 10 protesters were charged for attempt under s. 11B (read with s. 14(7A)) after explosives, firearms and other weapons were found from their premises.

Project MARISA[edit]

Basically I'll just go to the Hong Kong Central Library and scan gazette copies (preferably within public domain) for the use on English Wikisource. The name? Well, please ask that black white magician who frequented the SDM, cheers!

  • Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance 1966 (31 of 1966/Cap. 1)
  • Official Languages Ordinance 1974 (10 of 1974/Cap. 5)
    • Declared that both Chinese and English are official languages in Hong Kong, though it would take another decade for the British Hong Kong government to enable bilingual legislation, and some extra 5 years to enable full Chinese usage in all courts.
  • Copyright Ordinance 1973 (5 of 1973/Cap. 39)
  • Employment Ordinance 1968 (38 of 1968/Cap. 57)
    • Revamped the previous short-lived Employers and Servants Ordinance (Cap. 57 of the 1965 Edition, originally 46 of 1961) after the 1967 riots that almost kicked the colonists into the Victoria Harbour. Since then being amended and renumbered for several times to cover a range of things from end of year payment to leave with payment due to isolation or quarantine orders (mostly used during the COVID-19 pandemic).
  • Import and Export Ordinance 1970 (67 of 1970/Cap. 60)
    • Absolutely relevant to your daily entrepot operation.
    • Also note that how lenient were the punishment for smuggling. During the 1990s they were eventually made into dual offences and buffed with a maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment.
  • Inland Revenue Ordinance, 1947 (20 of 1947/Cap. 112)
    • Property tax, income tax, salaries tax. Originally 61-page long, the Ordinance as of 14 July 2023 has a whopping length of 1502 pages: its contents go up by over 24 times, and 4 letters after section numbers are used in some later inserted provisions.
    • So given by the Ordinance's history and sheer complexity, maybe it's time to divide the Ordinance by "Property Tax Ordinance", "Income Tax Ordinance" (possibly including salaries tax) and a general "Taxes Management Ordinance" while also updating and simplifying the structures?
      • And as a final remark, given that the current Inland Revenue Ordinance is amended for some 3-4 times per year, it's probably wise to adopt unconventional numbering schemes like New Zealand's Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No. 97 N.Z.) to prevent something cumbersome like section 23AAAE when it was later amended...
  • Societies Ordinance, 1949 (28 of 1949/Cap. 151)
    • Provided for mandatory registration of civil societies, and has been used to deal with a range of troubles (in the eyes of authorities) from triad societies and communist cells during the colonial era to pro-democracy and pro-independence organizations of the post-NSL era. Compare the Societies Act 1966 of Malaysia ([Act 335]) and Singapore.
    • Note that these legislation operates mostly in British colonial/post-colonial jurisdictions. There's no such similar thing in the E&W jurisdiction apart from political party registration.
      • P.S.: The provision that makes William Stanton's The Triad Society or Heaven and Earth Association admissible evidence is still effective today. Honestly, how can one expect a book written in 1900 useful in dealing with modern-day triad societies?
      • P.S.2: William Stanton was dismissed (but seemingly never tried/convicted) for corruption. Probably the forerunner of Godber, Sin Kam Wah, and all those deceitful sinners in the police force.
  • Marriage Reform Ordinance 1970 (68 of 1970/Cap. 178)
    • Ended lawful polygamy allowed by the Great Qing Legal Code among Chinese Hong Kong residents that were preserved as customary family law. Nevertheless, concubine-related estate litigations are still a headache in Hong Kong family law.
  • Crimes Ordinance 1971 (60 of 1971/Cap. 200)
    • Originally enacted to consolidate criminal legislation relating to treason, treasonable offences and piracy, the Crimes Ordinance was later expanded to consolidate a range of offences from sedition to sexual offences and preliminary offences.
    • Such drafting pace is somehow similar to the Australian Federal Criminal Code, which originally contains general provisions of criminal law and later expanded to be the main federal criminal statute.
  • Prevention of Bribery Ordinance 1970 (102 of 1970/Cap. 201)
    • One of the game changers that ended endemic corruption in Hong Kong. Apparently the colonists knew that they would be kicked into the Victoria Harbour if they opted to lie flat. The ACB's failure prompted the establishment of the ICAC: see previous comments.
    • Among all offences, the fresh offence of "possession of unexplained property" makes prosecuting corrupt officials easier. After surviving a Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383) challenge (A-G v Hui Kin Hong [1995] 1 HKCLR 227), it has became a statutory requirement for members of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption under the Convention's Article 20.
  • Independent Commission Against Corruption Ordinance 1974 (7 of 1974/Cap. 204)
    • Established the ICAC after the RHKP's Anti-Corruption Branch miserably let Godber fled Hong Kong when he was investigated for corruption charges. Since then the ICAC excelled in eradicating corruption, and had been modelled in other jurisdictions, most notably Macau and NSW.
    • With only great determination can uproot deeply rooted bad habits... You can't simply use your "magic" to defeat magic.
      • P.S.: The ordinance was rushed in the then-LC, with the bill being gazetted in January 1974 and passed in mid-February 1974.
      • P.S. 2: The establishment of the ICAC was recommended after a royal commission, and the chairman was "百里渠". Seriously, Mr. "Hundred Miles of Sewer"?
  • Police Force Ordinance, 1948 (41 of 1948/Cap. 232)
    • Whether in their best days or worst days, the police's governing legislation is still the same antique.
    • Also as a side note, the criminal procedure provisions relating to arrest and search is really, really stuffy, inadequate and increasing lagging beyond our society. The last part especially give me some pre-Victorian legislation vibes.
      • Just think about how the HKCA ruled in Sham Wing Kan v Commissioner of Police [2020] 2 HKLRD 529 that the police has the power to unlock and search suspect's phones based on the Ordinance's s. 50(6). The power is indeed necessary, but I'll complain that the legal basis is rather flimsy.
    • IMO consolidating all law enforcement power provisions in a manner like the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 in UK would have been much better. If the SB and DoJ have the time to deal with it, it's also high time to revamp the Police Force Ordinance and the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 233).
  • Public Order Ordinance 1967 (64 of 1967/Cap. 245)
    • From stone and bricks to petrol bomb
      from tear gas to warning banners
      as long as you aren't BMJ,
      riots, riots never change.
  • Revised Edition of the Laws Ordinance 1965 (53 of 1965/Cap. 642)
    • How legislation are accessed before the Internet era. You find the latest revised edition (or LS1/2 if it's yet revised), check the amendment notes or slip paper, then access another volume of LS1/2 based on the notes to understand how it looked like now.
    • To be repealed by Legislation Publication Ordinance.

Amendments matters...[edit]

  • Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No. 3) Act 2022 (40 of 2022, SG)
  • Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2022 (39 of 2012, SG)
    • No more 377A anymore on statute book, aka gay sex are de jure legalized after the Penal Code amendment comes into effect upon gazettal.
    • Also coupled with a constitutional amendment that protects heterosexual marriage from being challenged. That said, I think cautious measures are understandable in a conservative society like Singapore.
  • Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (35 of 2021, HK)
    • Inserted a new part in the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200) to criminalize voyeurism specifically, after a HKCFA judgment ruled that access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent is inapplicable to voyeurism: See Secretary for Justice v Cheng Ka Yee & Others [2019] HKCFA 9, (2019) 22 HKCFAR 97.
    • Take note that the offence itself is modelled after section 162 of the Canadian Criminal Code (RSC 1985, c C-46).
  • Dangerous Goods (Amendment) Ordinance 2002 (4 of 2002, HK)
    • Enacted on 21 March 2002, Commences on 31 March 2022... While they said complimentary SLs are required to bring this Ordinance into force, they used 10 years to enact 2 of them (Cap. 295E and 295F), another 9 years to deal with another (Cap. 295G), and finally approximately 3 months to round up all consequential amendments (29 of 2021) throughout all HK enactments...
    • What an exemplary example of bureaucracy... All Secretaries of Security from Regina Ip to John Lee deserve a full bucket of the people's saccharin
  • Declaration of Change of Titles (General Adaptation) Notice 1997 (L.N. 362 of 1997, HK)
    • Made universal changes across Hong Kong legislation and contracts in preparation of the handover of Hong Kong. As a result, the marginal notice of L.N. 362 of 1997 appears frequently on Hong Kong enactments.
  • Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 (13 of 2009, HK)
    • Added section 38AA into the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) to directly criminalize illegal working. Since then 38AA has become an important legal weapon to prosecute illegal workers.
  • Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act 2012 (30 of 2012, SG)
  • Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2012 (32 of 2012, SG)
    • Two piece of law giving the SGHC discretion not to condemn convicted murderers and drug traffickers to death under certain circumstances.
    • Compare the Malaysian Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 [Act A1558], which is even more lenient than the Singaporean amendment in terms of conditions of not sentencing the mandatory death penalty.
    • The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 [Act 846] will later abolish the mandatory death penalty plus life imprisonment (not the 30-year fixed-term imprisonment masquerading in the name of "life imprisonment"). With an official moratorium on hanging, drug dealers will be happy with the PN-PH hung parliament.
  • Road Traffic (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 (33 of 2000, HK)
    • Converted the offences of reckless driving into dangerous driving, as proving "dangerous" is much easier than proving "reckless", also affected by UK legislative amendments since 1992.
  • Statute Law Reform Act 2021 (4 of 2021, SG)
    • Changed the citation method and abolished the original chapter system of Singaporean laws (i.e. no more "Chapter XXX of the XXXX Edition", comparable to the pre-1990 old citation method in Hong Kong), and abolishes the Singaporean-equivalent Emergency Regulations Ordinance.
    • Though the Singaporean president still holds the power to issue emergency ordinances once an emergency is proclaimed per Article 150 of the Singaporean Constitution.

Miscellaneous[edit]

English Criminal Statutes Series[edit]

I'd like to express my gratitude to Inductiveload, who assisted me with dealing with the tables in the following enactments.

  • Offences against the Person Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 100) (Not did by me)
  • Explosive Substances Act 1883 (46 Vict. c. 3)
    • Enacted to suppress illicit use of explosives, which is later exported all over the UK's colonies later. Given by its lengthy lifespan, it had been used to deal with offenders from Irish activists to Islamist terrorists.
      • It even get unexpectedly referenced by Japan as the Suppression of Explosive Substances (Penalties) Rules (爆発物取締罰則) (Council of State Proc. 32 of 1884)[Citation needed], also noted as one of the still current Japanese laws that isn't enacted by the Imperial/National Diet.
    • Refer to Part VII of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200) for same provisions in Hong Kong.
    • But honestly, I'm also curious about how well this Act would work with the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings. In Hong Kong, we have section 11B (read with section 14(7A)) of the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance that deal with bombings under that convention. So perhaps the UK Parliament thinks that the Act itself can fulfill the convention requirement?
      • Edit: They instituted global jurisdiction by virtue of s. 62 of Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11). Similar things were later modified by s. 17(2) of Terrorism Act 2006 to cover making or possession of explosives for terrorism.
  • Perjury Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5 c. 6)
    • Reformed the law relating to perjury. Previously, perjury seems to be governed by some statute law written in archaic English during the 16th century...
    • Refer to Part V of the Crimes Ordinance for same provisions in Hong Kong.
      • And while obviously the MPs won't care about it, it's quite sure that using modern English to rewrite some archaic but still useful British legislation (like the Treason Act 1351 (25 Edw 3 St 5 c 2) or the Statute of Malborough in relation to waste and distress, note that both aren't even written in English) is helpful to us end-users. Something finely engineered like the Singaporean Application of English Law Act 1993 is the best.
  • Public Order Act 1936 (1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6 c. 6)
    • Enacted in response to the growing influence of Nazism associates like the British Union of Fascists, which wore distinctive uniforms and attacked dissents in demonstrations.
    • Also see section 14 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11), which penalizes wearing terrorist uniform and public support to terrorist organizations.
      • Part of the Act was later incorporated in sections 3 to 5 the Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245) of Hong Kong, with section 4 being repealed by the Public Order (Amendment) Ordinance 1995 (77 of 1995).
  • Infanticide Act 1938 (1 & 2 Geo. 6 c. 36)
    • Re-enacted the offence of infanticide as created by the Infanticide Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5 c. 18). Still an active criminal legislation used to deal with unfortunate cases and unfortunate defendants.
    • See section 47C of the Offences against the Person Ordinance for corresponding Hong Kong legislation.
    • That said, some proposed that diminished responsibility due to lactation effects is scientifically doubted
      • ->Somehow similar to how Article 19 of the Chinese Criminal Law (first enacted in 1979) provides for diminished responsibility to deaf defendants who can't speak (又聋又哑的人), on the outdated idea that deaf-mute people must have intellectual disability. Note that neither deafness nor muteness alone benefits a defendant under this Article.
    • And also, the Act's provision may also cover section 2 of the Homicide Act 1957 (5 & 6 Eliz. 2 c. 11, section 3 of the Homicide Ordinance (Cap. 339) in Hong Kong), relating to general diminished responsibility in murder.
  • Prison Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2 c. 52)
    • The end of first-instance criminal trial, and the beginning of the criminal's reformation—bye, have a great time.
    • Also created offences against prison administration. The penalties were eventually increased and revised throughout time.
  • Prevention of Crime Act 1953 (1 & 2 Eliz. c. 14)
    • Criminalizes possession of offensive weapons in public places without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. Later amended by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10) to create another fresh offence of threatening with offensive weapon in public.
    • The Act is also the basis of section 33 of the Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245) in Hong Kong, and is an useful reference when dealing with charges under s. 33, although s. 33 provides different sentencing arrangement (see subsection (2) of s. 33).
    • Although in light of all the mess in 2019, the administration do need to seriously consider a revision on s. 33 (along with other content) of the Public Order Ordinance to clarify what is an "offensive weapon", like, how to properly deal with extra-powerful laser pointers?
  • Suicide Act 1961 (9 & 10 Eliz 2 c. 60)
  • Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58)
    • Enacted before the wave of English criminal law reform. Abolished the distinction between felony and misdemeanour, introduced the concept of arrestable offences, created offences for assisting offenders, concealing offences and providing false information to law enforcement, and wiped out archaic legislation dated back from 1275.
      • Though felony and misdemeanour are still widely adopted by the Americans (partially thanks to the Model Penal Code). Don't know why state legislators have the interest to classify offences from Class A felonies to Class X misdemeanours.
    • For corresponding Hong Kong law provisions, see notes on the page.
  • Firearms Act 1968 (c. 27)
    • Gun control, or in other words, the key prerequisite for unarmed British police officers roaming on the street.
    • Part of the Act's contents forms the basis of Hong Kong's Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance (Cap. 238), though the conditions for lawful gun holding is much stricter for obvious reasons.
  • Theft Act 1968 (c. 60)
    • Covers property offences like theft, robbery and blackmail, and obviously, is the basis of Hong Kong's Theft Ordinance (Cap. 210)
    • The offences about obtaining property and pecuniary advantage by deception were repealed by the Fraud Act 2006.
    • Though remember that these offences still remains in the Theft Ordinance: see ss. 17 to 18 of that Ordinance.
  • Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (c. 38)
    • Drugs, narcotics, psychoactive substances...
    • Honestly to all of those so called "harm reductionists" and "drug reformists", if you seek self-degeneration of your society, that's good. Just don't let other countries suffer from crime, health problems, and additional financial spending brought by your drugs.
      • If not? Go **** yourselves. In such context my emotion would totally support LKY's mandatory death penalty to clear such social parasites.
    • Well, apart from those personal opinion, this is probably one of the most tech-demanding piece of text I've dealt with. Also give me vibes when dealing with the Macau equivalent, also filled with tables and nearly incomprehensible organic chemistry.
    • Probably also influenced the Singaporean Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 in terms of drafting (especially the penalty table at the end), though LKY hang drug dealers extensively, plus there's no need to distinguish summary conviction and conviction by indictment in SG.
  • Criminal Damage Act 1971 (c. 48)
    • Reforms then-archaic English law on vandalism (N.B., the Malicious Damage Act 1861, enacted approximately at the same period of the Offences against the Person Act 1861).
    • While broad enough, the enactment is not applicable to intangible properties like computer data, which is the reason why the Computer Misuse Act 1990 is enacted.
    • Covered by Part VIII of the Crimes Ordinance in Hong Kong, and note that the Hong Kong provisions covers computer data (s. 59(1)(b) and 59(1A)), similar to provisions of the Irish Criminal Damage Act 1991 (Ireland 31 of 1991) before the Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (Ireland 11 of 2017) was passed.
  • Immigration Act 1971 (c. 77)
    • Papers, please...
    • Covers everything about right of abode (known as patriality in the original Act), immigration control and deportation. Part III of the Act also created the offences of illegal entry and assisting illegal entry, and more offences were added to that Part since the Act's commencement.
    • Part II relating to immigration adjudicator and immigration appeals tribunals repealed by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (c. 33). After waves of revisions and repeals, the current provisions are in Part 5 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41), as amended.
    • For provisions related to right of abode/permanent residency in Hong Kong law, see Part IA and Schedule 1 of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) as amended.
  • Criminal Law Act 1977 (c. 45)
    • While mostly about criminal conspiracy and modes of trial, the Act also made provisions about trespassing offences. The offences of bomb hoaxes and inciting girl under sixteen to have incestuous sexual intercourse was also created, with the latter one being repealed by Sexual Offences Act 2003.
  • Protection of Children Act 1978 (c. 37)
    • Provided for punishment for child pornography after concerns on active pedophile organizations. Refer to Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance (Cap. 579) and Sections 377BG to 377BL for relevant provisions in HK and SG.
    • While not mentioned in the Act, various civil organizations also enforces the Act by blacklisting relevant websites, in which an example can be found at here.
  • Theft Act 1978 (c. 31)
    • Criminalizes offences related to deception, along with making off without payment (i.e. 霸王餐). ss. 1 and 2 has since been repealed by the Fraud Act 2006 to update provisions related to white-collar crimes.
    • Though ss. 18A to 18C of the Theft Ordinance in Hong Kong law are still active provisions since they are enacted in 1980.
  • Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 (c. 45)
    • Revised British criminal provisions on forgery and counterfeiting. Corresponding provisions exist in Hong Kong law under Part IX and XI of the Crimes Ordinance.
    • Hot fact: Counterfeiting British currency was originally treated as treason.
  • Taking of Hostages Act 1982 (c. 28)
    • Criminalizing hostage taking. In other words, if Pagett took hostage after the Act commences, he won't be able to use causation to defend (9up) his act.
  • Aviation Security Act 1982 (c. 36)
    • Consolidates crimes against aviation security: aircraft hijacking, bombing, bomb hoaxes, and so on. Related to Hong Kong's Aviation Security Ordinance (Cap. 494), in which both are consolidations of previous enactments with little modification.
    • Schedule 4 of the Space Industry Act 2018 (c. 5) copy-pasted these provisions to spacecrafts. It's somewhat hilarious that British legislators had gone such far when mankind is still meddling with orbital space stations...
  • Public Order Act 1986 (c. 64)
    • Covering public order offences that one will find in out-of-control demonstrations.
    • Refer to ss. 18-19 of the Public Order Ordinance for similar provisions in Hong Kong law. Also note that the requirement in England and Wales is 12 people, consistent with the earlier tradition of the Riot Act.
      • The British offence of riot also explicitly requires proof of common purpose, while both the offences of unlawful assembly and riot under the Hong Kong Public Order Ordinance explicitly waived common purpose: see HKSAR v Lo Kin Man (2021) 24 HKCFAR 302 para. 37 and 39.
  • Computer Misuse Act 1990 (c. 18)
    • Creates statutory computer misuse offences, and is the template for other common law jurisdiction enactments like Computer Misuse Act 1993 in Singapore.
    • P.S., honestly, when can our administration consider revising our cybercrime legislation? It's obviously too obscure to prosecute all of these cases under the all-powerful "access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent"? (s. 161, Crimes Ordinance)
  • Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (c. 40)
    • Dealing with the offence of harassment. While not explicitly marked, it seems that it's also somehow related to Singapore's Protection from Harassment Act 2014 (albeit with more recent drafting style)?
  • International Criminal Court Act 2001 (c. 17)
    • Meanwhile in the US: How dare you touch my operations in Afghanistan? SANCTION!!!
    • Also apparently there were misinformation that claims that genocide is legalized with the repeal of Genocide Act 1969 (c. 12). They should probably be served with a big POFMA notice.
  • Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42)
    • Reforms English criminal law on sexual offences, introduces new measures on preventing repeated sex offenders, and strengthens penalty on child pornography by increasing maximum penalty to 10 years.
    • And it seems that the UK Parliament is quite satisfied with the "prevention order" model, and tried to expand it's usage to other legislation, eg. Serious Crime Act 2015 (c. 9) section 73 (which inserts sections 5A to 5C to the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (c. 31)) and Part 2 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (c. 17) (Knife crime prevention orders).
    • Part of the Act is also used to improve portions related to sex offences in the Singaporean Penal Code 1871 vide the Criminal Law Reform Act 2019.
  • Terrorism Act 2006 (c. 11)
    • Creates additional terrorist offences on top of existing legislation like Terrorism Act 2000.
    • Fact: Terrorism per se is not an offence in E&W, so terrorists must be prosecuted based on their offences committed, whether it is murder, aircraft hijacking or using chemical weapons. But encouragement of terrorism is a standalone offence.
  • Fraud Act 2006 (c. 35)
    • Basically dealing with white-collar crimes, also see the blurb regarding Theft Act 1978.
    • Meanwhile in Hong Kong, a separate fraud offence was inserted into the Theft Ordinance by the Theft (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 (45 of 1999).
      • However one should note that the fraud offence in Hong Kong doesn't require proof of dishonesty, contrary to what is required in England: see paras. 138-139, HKSAR v Chan Kam Ching [2022] HKCFA 7, (2022) 25 HKCFAR 48.
  • Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (c. 19)
    • Creating the offence of corporate manslaughter, an entirely corporate offence. Mostly used to prosecute industrial accidents.
  • Bribery Act 2010 (c. 23)
    • An British effort to reform the archaic British criminal law on corruption (honestly, you want some 1889 or 1916 Acts to come up with modern corrupt practice?). So can I describe it's a "Great Leap Forward to 1960 or 1970"?
  • Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/703)

...And the inchoate offences[edit]

That said, as most inchoate offences are codified in big massive chaotic Criminal Law Acts or Criminal Justice Acts (which are usually a mix of amendments and principal provisions, don't know why the Brits are such messy in law drafting), one shouldn't expect quick digitalization by me.

Offence Legislation Notes
Attempt Criminal Attempts Act 1981 (c. 47)
  • Codifies the law on criminal attempts. Compare ss. 159G-159J of the Crimes Ordinance in Hong Kong and Chapter 23 of Penal Code 1871 in Singapore.
  • Note that other civil law jurisdictions may have different provisions for criminal attempts. Most notably:
    • a separate kind of inchoate offence named "abandonment" (犯罪中止) was defined some jurisdictions, particularly Mainland China and Macau. It occurs when a criminal voluntarily gives up or attempts to prevent the offence committed by the criminal. Courts are directed to give leniency or even no punishment in such cases. Cf. Art. 24 , C.L. P.R.C., Arts. 23-24, P.C.M.
    • the defence of impossibility is recognized in Japanese and Taiwanese law, as long as the act is not dangerous. In Japanese words, a person who tries to curse the victim to death by nailing a straw doll on tree at midnight commits no offence of attempted murder.
    • preparatory acts are not criminalized as attempts except in relation to certain offences in Macau. Cf. Art. 20, P.C.M.
  • In addition, the offence of vehicle interference is also included (s. 9), though for consistency IMO this is much better to be placed in road traffic legislation.
Encouraging or assisting an offence Serious Crime Act 2007 (c. 27) Part 2
  • Formerly, and in other common law jurisdictions, known as incitement. Largely related to and significantly overlapped with the "instigation" limb of abetment, though aiding and abetting is mostly used to deal with completed offences.
  • It seems that most civil law jurisdictions don't distinguish incitement and abetment.
    • In Mainland China there are 7 standalone incitement offences, perhaps some more notorious ones are inciting subversion of state power (Art. 105, para. 2, C.L. P.R.C.) and incitement to secession (Art. 103, para. 2, C.L. P.R.C.). Copied to Hong Kong through the Hong Kong National Security Law, and ruled by court (HKSAR v Tong Ying Kit [2021] HKCFI 2200) that the common law definition of incitement should apply when cases are tried in Hong Kong.
    • In Macau there's a separate offence of publicly praising the commission of crime (Art. 287, P.C.M.).
  • For Singapore (also true for other IPC-based jurisdictions), s. 107 of Penal Code 1871 includes incitement as abetment.
Conspiracy Criminal Law Act 1977 (c. 45) Part I
  • Codifies the law on conspiracy. Compare ss. 159A-159F of the Crimes Ordinance in Hong Kong and Chapter 5A of Penal Code 1871 in Singapore.
  • Somehow can be considered as a joint enterprise version of preparatory act in civil law jurisdictions.

...And criminal procedure law[edit]

Things are much easier for civil law jurisdictions, or even common law jurisdictions that compiled their Criminal Procedure Codes/Code of Criminal Procedure, but in E&W, things rely on individual legislation and precedent.

"Objec—", "No objection allowed, guilty for defeatism, SIEG ZEON HEIL!"
After all, everyone simply don't want being tried under these kind of knobs
  • Indictments Act 1915 (5 & 6 Geo. 5. c. 90.)
    • The beginning of all criminal proceedings in Crown Courts (or in Hong Kong/Singapore, the District Court and Court of First Instance/General Division of High Court).
    • First Schedule revoked by Indictment Rules 1971 (S.I. 1971/1253), which was in turn revoked by the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2007 (S.I. 2007/699). Currently found in Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 (S.I. 2020/759).
      ⇒In most civil law jurisdictions, an indictment is a detailed list of alleged facts, including the actus reus (physical element(s)) and mens rea (mental element(s)) that lead up to the prosecuted offence. Some complex cases can have indictments with some hundred or thousand paragraphs. The proved facts will be reiterated by the court when the judgment is handed down, so one can expect how long are those judgments. Lazier (yet cleverer) judges may opt to state what facts cannot be verified by them, and the rest are deemed verified.
      ⇒And it seems that the American federal indictments signed by grand juries is also closer to the civil law jurisdictions.
  • Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1968 (c. 20)
    • The military justice counterpart of Criminal Appeal Act 1968. The UK military contributed awkward, if not outright mind-blowing cases in criminal law textbooks, not sure the "mortar supermen" in RAF Honington will have their indecent conduct recorded in textbooks.
  • Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (c. 19)
    • Things to do when you're discontented with the judgment and sentencing. Final appeal to UKHL transferred to the SCOTUK.
      • Note that Hong Kong only adopted Part I of the Act in the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap. 221) in ss. 80 and 82-83Y, as colonial-era final appeals to the UKPC was regulated by Hong Kong (Appeal to Privy Council) Order in Council 1909 (S.R. & O. (Rev. XI, p. 374)) — old enough that it doesn't have a serial number.
      • Plus, it's common sense that final appeal functions are exercised by the HKCFA after 1997.
  • Juries Act 1974 (c. 23)
    • Consolidates enactment related to the selection of jury, also changed the requirement for juries to convict somebody from unanimous to allowing 1 dissent vote for criminal cases, and 7 yeas for civil suits.
  • Bail Act 1976 (c. 63)
    • Made provisions for bail in criminal proceedings. Also created the offence of absconding and indemnifying bail sureties.
    • Also probably loosely the base of Part IA of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance in Hong Kong added after the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 1994 (56 of 1994), which is also bail-related.
  • Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (c. 43)
    • Hot fact: 90% of the English magistrates are lay part-time worker, and therefore their sentencing power is only 6 months. Professional magistrates in other jurisdictions would be pretty shocked by such system.
  • Contempt of Court Act 1981 (c. 49)
    • Swearing on judicial officers? Contempt of court. Photographing in court? Contempt of court. Violation of injunction? Contempt of court. Malaysian judges are fairer than Singaporean judges? Contempt of
      • Just remember that scandalizing the court was abolished in England and Wales through s. 33(1) of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22).
    • Act also introduces the strict liability contempt. One can guess what it's about by its name.
  • Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c. 60)
    • My first attempt to deal with >100 pages UK legislation. Again a typical UK legal hodgepodge containing multiple topics and mixing principal and amendment provisions in main text. TBH it's still better than recent legislation by organizing provisions based on chapters: modern AoPs are literally legal dumpsites.
    • Governs the initial steps of criminal procedure: stop and search, search warrants, arrest, detention... One may also remember current HK legislation related to intimate sampling (amendments made by 68 of 2000) was also based on this stuff.
      • Although remember the Brits no longer use arrestable offences since 2006, so technically the police can indeed arrest you for littering, as long as the prerequisite reasons (listed out in the new s. 24(5)) were fulfilled.
  • Criminal Justice Act 1987 (c. 38)
    • Establishes the Serious Fraud Office that investigates and prosecutes its own white-collar offences.
      • Interestingly the SFO is not given typical police powers of arrest, search and seizure (commercial affairs officers in Singapore are more powerful than SFO employees, cf. s. 64 of Police Force Act 2004), though they have the power to extract information for investigation.
    • Act also excluded complex commercial crimes from preliminary hearing in the Magistracy, empowered the court to restrict reporting (cf. Complex Commercial Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 394) in Hong Kong). Perhaps most importantly, the Act fixed the maximum penalty for conspiracy to defraud.
  • War Crimes Act 1991 (c. 13)
    • Extended E&W and NI criminal jurisdiction to prosecute German war criminals, funds the Met Police's war crime unit, and originally provides for special pre-trial procedures (which were repealed before commencement).
      • Teutonic appeasers will rot six feet underground[Dubious—discuss], but by far there's only one conviction...

Others[edit]

Other British legislation[edit]

Other miscellaneous legislation[edit]

Macau Laws[edit]

I'm also responsible for importing and maintaining the consolidated Macau laws on Chinese Wikisource. All laws after the handover, important pre-handover laws and all codes have been completely Done.

Whether administrative regulations will be continued depends on my workload on other projects: some are really really trivial with many table formatting work, while others have really short lifespan (similar to some Chinese ministerial decrees): certainly I don't want to have something quickly repealed after importation.

Fun stuffs[edit]

Not done by me, but found intersting:

Potholes[edit]

Big projects which are very likely to be suspended for a very long time