Bilingual Laws Information System
What is BLIS

[This document was last updated on 10 January 2008.]


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:
  1. What does BLIS contain
  2. BLIS database structure
  3. General Information

PART 1


What does BLIS contain

BLIS contains -

  1. Statute laws of Hong Kong in English and Chinese

    • All the Ordinances and subsidiary legislation of Hong Kong that are currently in operation
    • Past versions of Ordinances and subsidiary legislation (including repealed legislation) dating back to 30 June 1997.

  2. Constitutional instruments, national laws and other relevant instruments

    • 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

  3. Collection of terms and expressions used in the laws of Hong Kong

    • English-Chinese Glossary of Legal Terms
    • Chinese-English Glossary of Legal Terms

  4. Subject indices of Ordinances

    • Chinese subject index of Ordinances
    • English subject index of Ordinances


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PART 2


BLIS Database Structure

  1. Individual Section Mode and Whole Enactment Mode

    To meet the different needs of users, the BLIS database has 2 operating modes -

    1. Individual Section Mode: Each section, regulation, rule, bylaw, schedule etc. of an Ordinance or subsidiary legislation, is kept as a separate document in the database. Users may view and print them separately. Simple and advanced search facilities are also available to help users retrieve relevant documents. (See Parts 1 to 5 of the document How to use BLIS.)

    2. Whole Enactment Mode: Users may view and print the complete text (or selected provisions) of an Ordinance or subsidiary legislation in one go. (See Part 6 of the document How to use BLIS.) This feature is jointly developed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Department of Justice.

  2. Numbering of Ordinances and subsidiary legislation

    The numbering of chapters in the BLIS database corresponds to the chapter numbers of Ordinances as published in the Loose-leaf edition of the Laws. In addition, for subsidiary legislation, the letter of the alphabet that follows the number of the chapter corresponds to the letter used in the Loose-leaf edition.

  3. Numbering of constitutional documents, national laws, etc.

    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 "chapter" number in the database for identification purposes. This will enable users to carry out a search restricted to a particular instrument represented by its "chapter" number.

    1. Cap. 2001 Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on 4 December 1982)
    2. Cap. 2002 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)
    3. Cap. 2003 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)
    4. Cap. 2004 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)
    5. Cap. 2005 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)
    6. Cap. 2101 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)
    7. Cap. 2102 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)
    8. Cap. 2103 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)
    9. Cap. 2104 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)
    10. Cap. 2105 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)
    11. Cap. 2106 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
    12. Cap. 2107 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
    13. Cap. 2108 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
    14. Cap. 2109 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)
    15. Cap. 2201 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)
    16. Cap. 2202 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)
    17. Cap. 2203 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)
    18. Cap. 2204 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)
    19. Cap. 2205 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)
    20. Cap. 2206 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)
    21. Cap. 2207 Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No. 221
    22. Cap. 2208 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)
    23. Cap. 2209 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)
    24. Cap. 2210 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
    25. Cap. 2211 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)
    26. Cap. 2301 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
    27. Cap. 2401 National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance
    28. Cap. 2402 Promulgation of National Laws 1997
    29. Cap. 2403 Promulgation of National Laws (No. 2) 1997
    30. Cap. 2404 Promulgation of National Law 1998
    31. Cap. 2501 Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
    32. Cap. 2601 Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance
    33. Cap. 2602 Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance
    34. Cap. 2603 Laws (loose-leaf Publication) Ordinance 1990
    35. Cap. 2604 Revised Edition of the Laws Ordinance 1965
    36. Cap. 2701 Hong Kong Letters Patent 1917 to 1995
    37. Cap. 2702 Hong Kong Royal Instructions 1917 to 1993 (Nos. 1 AND 2)
    38. Cap. 2703 Standing Orders of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong

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PART 3


General Information

  1. Alert to amendments already in operation pending updating

    When a provision in an existing Ordinance or subsidiary legislation has been amended, a pencil edit mark (Pencil Mark) will first be inserted under the "List of Laws" in front of the heading of the affected provision on the date on which the amendment comes into operation. Users will see that mark in BLIS on the following day. (The mark will only be shown in the Individual Section Mode).

    If a provision is at the same time subject to more than one outstanding amendment, additional pencil edit marks (Pencil mark 1Pencil mark 2) will be inserted in front of its section heading.

    The mark serves to alert users to the existence of an amendment that is already in force but not yet inserted by our editing staff. The mark will be removed once that amendment has been incorporated into the text. On average, it takes our staff 2 weeks to complete the updating of the database contents with amendments that have been brought into force.

  2. 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 (Pencil Mark) be inserted in front of that provision. The pencil edit mark will only be inserted on the commencement date of the amendment and will appear in the database (under the Individual Section Mode) on the following day.

    The treatment for a whole new piece of Ordinance or subsidiary legislation (not being an amendment to an existing Ordinance or subsidiary legislation) is different. The Ordinance or legislation will be included in the database even if it is not yet in operation. A note will be added to the "Remarks" field in the profile bar of each of its provisions, indicating that it is "Not yet in operation". When a commencement date has been appointed for any of its provisions and the date has been published in the Gazette, that date (even if it is a future date) will be shown in the profile bar of the provision as its "Version Date". The related Gazette reference will also be inserted in the profile. The "Not yet in operation" remark in the provision will be kept and will only be removed from the provision on its commencement date.

  3. Adaptation of Laws

    Most former references in Hong Kong legislation to terms like the "Governor" and "Governor in Council" have already been adapted in order to bring them into conformity with the Basic Law and the status of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. The adaptation of a small number of Ordinances, however, has not been completed yet. According to the Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance (110 of 1997) and the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1), references to the "Governor of Hong Kong" and "Governor in Council" etc. in the laws previously in force in Hong Kong are to be construed, with effect from 1 July 1997, as the "Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Chief Executive in Council" respectively. Therefore, terms such as the "Governor" and "Governor in Council" still contained in the texts of the small number of Ordinances pending adaptation are to be construed accordingly.

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