Public Offices (Candidacy and Taking Up Offices) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2021

Public Offices (Candidacy and Taking Up Offices) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2021
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
  • An Ordinance to amend the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to explain the meaning of a reference to upholding the Basic Law and bearing allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China; to amend the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance to include in Part IV of the Ordinance an oath to be taken by every member of the District Councils, the requirements for taking the oaths specified in that Part and the consequences of declining or neglecting to take an oath; to amend the Legislative Council Ordinance and the District Councils Ordinance to add new grounds for disqualification from being nominated as a candidate for election as a member of the Legislative Council or as a member of a District Council and for disqualification from being elected, and from holding office, as such a member, to remove the time limit within which proceedings may be brought by the Secretary for Justice against a person on the ground of disqualification from acting as such a member and to provide for suspension of functions and duties of such a member on certain of such proceedings being brought by the Secretary for Justice; to amend the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance to provide for application for leave to appeal to the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal in relation to such proceedings; to amend the Chief Executive Election Ordinance to add new grounds for disqualification from being nominated as a candidate for election of the Chief Executive and from being elected as the Chief Executive; to amend the National Anthem Ordinance to add the oath-taking ceremony by members of the District Councils as an occasion on which the national anthem must be played and sung; and to provide for related matters.[1]
CitationOrdinance 13 of 2021
Territorial extentHong Kong
Enacted byLegislative Council of Hong Kong
Signed20 May 2021 (2021-05-20)
Commenced21 May 2021 (2021-05-21)
Legislative history
Bill titlePublic Offices (Candidacy and Taking Up Offices) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2021
Introduced bySecretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang
Introduced26 February 2021 (2021-02-26)
First reading17 March 2021 (2021-03-17)
Second reading12 May 2021 (2021-05-12)
Third reading12 May 2021 (2021-05-12)
Amends
Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Oaths and Declarations Ordinance
Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance
Legislative Council Ordinance
District Councils Ordinance
Chief Executive Election Ordinance
National Anthem Ordinance
High Court Ordinance
Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance
Status: In force

The Public Offices (Candidacy and Taking Up Offices) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2021 (Chinese: 2021年公職(參選及任職)(雜項修訂)條例) is an ordinance to amend the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap. 11) and other relating legislation which adds new requirements for the Chief Executive, Executive Council members, Legislative Council members and judges and other judicial officers, imposes oath-taking requirements on District Council members, and specifies requirements for candidates to swear to uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region when assuming office or standing for election and also adds new grounds and mechanism for disqualification from holding the office or being nominated as a candidate.[1][2] The ordinance was seen as another round of the Beijing authorities to bar the opposition from standing in elections or holding public offices and also raised concerns on the bill's vague parameters of the oath with such over-reaching scope would undermine Hong Kong's judicial independence.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Public Offices (Candidacy and Taking Up Offices) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2021" (PDF). Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference gazette was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference reuters was invoked but never defined (see the help page).