The Bilingual Laws Information System (BLIS) is a searchable electronic database of the statute laws of Hong Kong established and updated by the Department of Justice of the HKSARG.
This document consists of 3 parts:
What does BLIS contain
BLIS contains -
- Statute laws of Hong Kong in English and Chinese
- All Ordinances and subsidiary legislation that are currently in operation
- Past versions of Ordinances and subsidiary legislation (including repealed Ordinances and subsidiary legislation) dating back to 30 June 1997.
- All Ordinances and subsidiary legislation that are currently in operation
- Constitutional instruments and other relevant instruments, including -
- the constitution of the People's Republic of China, the Basic Law of the HKSAR, relevant decisions of the National People's Congress, relevant decisions, explanations and interpretation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the Sino-British Joint Declaration
- national laws that apply in the HKSAR
- Rules of Procedures of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR
- the constitution of the People's Republic of China, the Basic Law of the HKSAR, relevant decisions of the National People's Congress, relevant decisions, explanations and interpretation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the Sino-British Joint Declaration
- Collection of terms and expressions used in the laws of Hong Kong
- English-Chinese Glossary of Legal Terms
- Chinese-English Glossary of Legal Terms
- English-Chinese Glossary of Legal Terms
- Subject indices of Ordinances
- Chinese subject index of Ordinances
- English subject index of Ordinances
- Chinese subject index of Ordinances
Top of the page
BLIS Database Structure
- Individual Section Mode and Whole Enactment Mode
To meet the different needs of users, the BLIS database has 2 operating modes -
- Individual Section Mode: Users may access current and past versions of legislation in this Mode. Each section, regulation, rule, bylaw, schedule etc. ("provision") of an Ordinance or subsidiary legislation is kept as a separate document in the database. Users may view and print each of them separately. Quick and advanced search facilities are also available to help users retrieve relevant provisions. (See Parts 1 to 7 of the document How to use BLIS.)
- Whole Enactment Mode: Only the current version of legislation is available in this Mode. Users may view, download and print the complete text of an Ordinance or subsidiary legislation in a PDF file. (See Part 8 of the document How to use BLIS.) Quick search facilities are also available to help users retrieve relevant documents.
- Individual Section Mode: Users may access current and past versions of legislation in this Mode. Each section, regulation, rule, bylaw, schedule etc. ("provision") of an Ordinance or subsidiary legislation is kept as a separate document in the database. Users may view and print each of them separately. Quick and advanced search facilities are also available to help users retrieve relevant provisions. (See Parts 1 to 7 of the document How to use BLIS.)
- Numbering of Ordinances and subsidiary legislation
The numbering of Ordinances and subsidiary legislation in the BLIS database corresponds to that in the Loose-leaf edition of the Laws.
- Numbering of constitutional instruments and other relevant instruments
The instruments listed below have not been given any chapter numbers in the Loose-leaf edition of the Laws of Hong Kong. Because of the design of the BLIS, each of these instruments has been assigned an unofficial reference number in the database for identification purposes. This enables users to carry out a search in relation to a particular instrument by reference to its unofficial reference number.
- Instrument A1 Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on 4 December 1982)
- Instrument A2 Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the First Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on 12 April 1988)
- Instrument A3 Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the First Session of the Eighth National People's Congress on 29 March 1993)
- Instrument A4 Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Second Session of the Ninth National People's Congress on 15 March 1999)
- Instrument A5 Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Second Session of the Tenth National People's Congress on 14 March 2004)
- Instrument A101 The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on 4 April 1990)
- Instrument A102 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the addition to or deletion from the list of national laws in Annex III to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Twenty Sixth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on 1 July 1997)
- Instrument A103 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the addition to the list of national laws in Annex III to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Adopted on 4 November 1998)
- Instrument A104 Decision of the National People's Congress on the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on 4 April 1990)
- Instrument A105 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the English Text of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Adopted on 28 June 1990)
- Instrument A106 The Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of Articles 22(4) and 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
- Instrument A107 The Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of Article 7 of Annex I and Article III of Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
- Instrument A108 Interpretation of Paragraph 2, Article 53 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
- Instrument A109 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the addition to the list of national laws in Annex III to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Adopted on 27 October 2005)
- Instrument A110 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Approving the "Amendment to Annex I to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" (Adopted by the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress at its Sixteenth Session on 28 August 2010)
- Instrument A111 Amendment to Annex I to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Approved by the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress at its Sixteenth Session on 28 August 2010)
- Instrument A112 Proclamation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (Eleventh National People's Congress) No. 15
- Instrument A113 Amendment to Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Method for the Formation of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Its Voting Procedures (Recorded by the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress at its Sixteenth Session on 28 August 2010)
- Instrument A201 Decision of the National People's Congress on the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Adopted at the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on 4 April 1990)
- Instrument A202 Decision of the National People's Congress on the Method for the Formation of the First Government and the First Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Adopted at the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on 4 April 1990)
- Instrument A203 Decision of the National People's Congress Approving the Proposal by the Drafting Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Establishment of the Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (Adopted at the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on 4 April 1990)
- Instrument A204 Explanations of some questions by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress concerning the implementation of the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Adopted at the Nineteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on 15 May 1996)
- Instrument A205 Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the baselines of the territorial sea of the People's Republic of China (15 May 1996)
- Instrument A206 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Treatment of the Laws Previously in Force in Hong Kong in accordance with Article 160 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Twenty Fourth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on 23 February 1997)
- Instrument A207 Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No. 221
- Instrument A208 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on issues relating to the methods for selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2008 (Adopted by the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress at its Ninth Session on 26 April 2004)
- Instrument A209 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Authorizing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Exercise Jurisdiction over the Hong Kong Port Area at the Shenzhen Bay Port (Adopted at the Twenty Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on 31 October 2006)
- Instrument A210 Official Reply of the State Council Concerning the Area of the "Hong Kong Port Area at the Shenzhen Bay Port" over which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is Authorized to Exercise Jurisdiction and the Land Use Period
- Instrument A211 Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2012 and on Issues Relating to Universal Suffrage (Adopted by the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress at its Thirty-first Session on 29 December 2007)
- Instrument A301 Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong
- Instrument A401 National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance
- Instrument A402 Promulgation of National Laws 1997
- Instrument A403 Promulgation of National Laws (No. 2) 1997
- Instrument A404 Promulgation of National Law 1998
- Instrument A501 Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
- Instrument A601 Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance
- Instrument A602 Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance
- Instrument A603 Laws (loose-leaf Publication) Ordinance 1990
- Instrument A604 Revised Edition of the Laws Ordinance 1965
- Instrument A701 Hong Kong Letters Patent 1917 to 1995
- Instrument A702 Hong Kong Royal Instructions 1917 to 1993 (Nos. 1 AND 2)
- Instrument A703 Standing Orders of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
- Instrument A1 Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on 4 December 1982)
General Information
- Alert to amendments already in operation but pending incorporation
If an amendment to a provision in an existing Ordinance or subsidiary legislation has come into operation but the amendment has not yet been incorporated in the text of the provision in BLIS, a pencil edit mark (
)
will be inserted in front of the heading of the affected provision appearing in the list of provisions of the Ordinance or subsidiary legislation on the date on which the amendment comes into operation. If a provision is at the same time subject to more than one outstanding amendment, additional pencil edit marks ()
will be inserted.
The mark serves to alert users to the existence of an amendment that is already in force but has not yet been incorporated into the text of the affected provision. The mark will be removed once that amendment has been incorporated into the text.
In the Individual Section Mode, users may view a complete list of the provisions against which a pencil edit mark () has been inserted by clicking () in the statement "Click () to show provisions to be updated" that appears on top of the page showing the list of Ordinances and subsidiary legislation.
In the Whole Enactment Mode, users may view a complete list of the Ordinances and subsidiary legislation that contain provisions against which a pencil edit mark () has been inserted by clicking () in the statement "Click () to show enactments with provision(s) to be updated" that appears on top of the page showing the list of Ordinances and subsidiary legislation.
- Legislation not yet in operation
If an amendment to a provision published in the Gazette has not been brought into operation, it will not be incorporated into the text of the existing provision. Neither will a pencil edit mark ()
be inserted in front of the heading of that provision. The pencil edit mark will only be inserted on the date when the amendment is brought into operation.
The treatment for a new provision, or a new Ordinance or subsidiary legislation (not being an amendment to an existing Ordinance or subsidiary legislation), is different. The new provision, Ordinance or subsidiary legislation will be included in BLIS even if it is not yet in operation. A note will be added to the "Remarks" field in the profile bar of the new provision, or each of the provisions of the new Ordinance or subsidiary legislation, indicating that it has "not yet come in operation".
- Adaptation of Laws
Certain references in Hong Kong legislation (for example to the “Governor” and the “Governor in Council”) require adaptation to bring them into line with the Basic Law and the status of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Pending their express amendment, users may refer to the Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance (110 of 1997) and the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) to see how the references are to be construed with effect from 1 July 1997.