Cap. 1157

An Ordinance to incorporate the Province of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui as a body corporate under the name of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui and to provide for the constituents and certain powers and duties of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui and for incidental matters. [26 February 1999] L.N. 54 of 1999(Format changes—E.R. 6 of 2022) (Enacting provision omitted—E.R. 6 of 2022) 1. Short title (Amended E.R. 6 of 2022)(1) This Ordinance may be cited as the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Ordinance.(2) (Omitted as spent—E.R. 6 of 2022) 2. Interpretation In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires—Chancellor (法律顧問) means the Chancellor of the Province of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui appointed under the Constitution and Canons;Constitution and Canons (憲章及規例) means the Constitution and Canons of the Province of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui;financial year (財政年度) means each period of 12 months ending on 31 March;functions (職能) includes powers, duties, work and activities;General Synod (總議會) means the General Synod of the Province of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui;Province (敎省) means the Province of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui established and constituted by the Constitution and Canons and incorporated under the corporate name of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui by section 4;Standing Committee (常備委員會) means the Standing Committee of the General Synod of the Province provided for and referred to in section 9. 3. Purposes The purposes of this Ordinance are—(a) to incorporate the Province under the corporate name of the “Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui” (香港聖公會); (Amended E.R. 6 of 2022)(b) to provide for the constituents and certain powers and duties of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui; and(c) to prohibit the unauthorized use of the title “Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui” (香港聖公會) and similar titles, words and characters likely to mislead or deceive. 4. Incorporation (1) The Province shall be a body corporate under the corporate name of the “Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui” (香港聖公會). (Amended E.R. 6 of 2022)(2) The Province—(a) has perpetual succession under its corporate name;(b) has and may use a seal; and(c) is capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name. 5. Constitution and Canons of Province (1) The Constitution and Canons of the Province as it existed immediately before the coming into operation* of this Ordinance shall continue to be the Constitution and Canons of the Province.(2) The Province shall conduct its functions in accordance with the Constitution and Canons.(3) The Constitution and Canons may be amended from time to time in accordance with their provisions for the time being in force.(4) The office of Chancellor of the Province is to be established and appointments to that office are to be provided for in the Constitution and Canons. Editorial Note: * Operation date: 26 February 1999. 6. Constituents of Province (1) The Province comprises—(a) the Diocese of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui known as the “Diocese of Hong Kong Island” (香港島敎區);(b) the Diocese of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui known as the “Diocese of Eastern Kowloon” (東九龍敎區);(c) the Diocese of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui known as the “Diocese of Western Kowloon” (西九龍敎區); and(d) any additional Dioceses of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui that may be established in accordance with the Constitution and Canons. (Amended E.R. 6 of 2022)(2) The General Synod may adjust the boundaries of existing Dioceses to make suitable provision for any additional Dioceses that may be established. 7. Functions of Province (1) The Province shall perform and discharge the functions of the Province stated in the Constitution and Canons.(2) The Province may—(a) acquire, hold, grant any interest in, or any kind of licence in relation to, or otherwise dispose of, land, and acquire, hold or dispose of other property of any description;(b) make contracts or other agreements;(c) invest moneys on deposit with any bank, or upon mortgage of property in Hong Kong, or in debentures, stocks, funds, shares, or securities of any government, corporation or company, or in such other investment as the Standing Committee thinks proper;(d) receive and expend moneys;(e) employ such persons and engage or appoint such consultants, advisers, or agents as the Standing Committee considers necessary upon such terms and conditions as that Committee thinks appropriate;(f) accept donations, grants or subsidies from any persons or government authority or other body or organization, and in particular accept any gift of property, whether subject to any special trust or not, for the benefit of the Province;(g) undertake and execute any trusts which may seem directly or indirectly conducive to the carrying out of any of the purposes of the Province;(h) borrow or otherwise raise money in such manner and on such terms as the Standing Committee thinks proper and charge any part of the property of the Province as security therefor; and (i) subject to this Ordinance, do or suffer all such acts and things as bodies corporate may in general lawfully do or suffer. 8. General Synod of Province (1) The General Synod is the governing authority of the Province.(2) The General Synod comprises 3 Houses, namely—(a) the House of Bishops (consisting of the Archbishop of the Province and the Bishop of each Diocese within the Province);(b) the House of Clergy (consisting of representatives of the clergy of each Diocese within the Province elected in accordance with the Constitution and Canons from amongst those clergy); and(c) the House of Laity (consisting of delegates of the laity of each Diocese within the Province elected in accordance with the Constitution and Canons). 9. Standing Committee of General Synod (1) Subject to the direction of the General Synod, the body responsible for the management of the affairs of the Province is the Standing Committee.(2) The Standing Committee shall be constituted in accordance with the Constitution and Canons from amongst the members of the General Synod.(3) The Standing Committee may determine its own procedure. 10. Delegation (1) The Standing Committee may by resolution delegate any of its functions, other than the power to delegate, to—(a) the Chancellor; or(b) any specified member or members of the Standing Committee.(2) Where the Standing Committee has delegated a function under this section, the Standing Committee may give directions or provide guidelines to the delegate with respect to the exercise of that function.(3) A delegation under this section does not prevent the concurrent performance by the Standing Committee of the function delegated.(4) Where a person purports to act in accordance with a delegation under this section, that person is presumed, unless the contrary is shown, to be acting in accordance with the terms of the delegation.(5) An act or thing done by a delegate under a delegation under this section has the same force and effect as if it had been done by the Standing Committee. 11. Use of seal (1) The seal of the Province shall be affixed only with the authority of a resolution of the Standing Committee.(2) The seal of the Province shall be authenticated by the signatures of the Chancellor and one other member of the Standing Committee, or, if the Chancellor is absent from Hong Kong or is otherwise unavailable to authenticate the seal, by the signatures of the General Secretary of the General Synod and any member of the Standing Committee.(3) Any deed, document or instrument purporting to be duly executed under the seal of the Province shall be received in evidence in any court and shall, unless the contrary is proved, be presumed to have been so executed. 12. Accounts (1) The Standing Committee shall cause proper accounts and records to be kept of all the financial transactions of the Province and shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, cause a statement of the accounts of the Province to be prepared for that financial year.(2) A statement of accounts prepared under subsection (1) must include an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet. 13. Audit (1) The Standing Committee shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, submit the statement of the accounts prepared for that year as required by section 12 to a certified public accountant (practising) (appointed for the purpose by the Standing Committee) for audit.(2) The certified public accountant (practising) shall prepare a report on the accounts and send the report to the Standing Committee which shall, as soon as practicable, submit a copy of the report and a copy of the statement of accounts to the General Synod.(3) In this section—certified public accountant (practising) (執業會計師) has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588).(Replaced L.N. 66 of 2022)(Amended 23 of 2004 s. 56) 14. Evidentiary provision A certificate under the signature of the Archbishop of the Province, or, if the Archbishop is absent from Hong Kong or is otherwise not available to sign a certificate, under the signature of the Chancellor, that—(a) a person named in the certificate is the Chancellor or the General Secretary of the General Synod (as the case may be); or(b) the persons named in the certificate are the persons constituting the Standing Committee; or(c) the regulations attached to the certificate are the regulations of, and properly made by, the General Synod under this Ordinance, shall be accepted for all purposes as sufficient evidence of the facts stated in the certificate. 15. Regulations (1) The General Synod may, by resolution passed by the majority of its constituent members, make regulations for the administration of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui and the control of its expenditure, the management of its property of all kinds and the performance generally of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui’s functions.(2) The General Synod may, by resolution passed by the majority of its constituent members, amend or revoke any regulations made under this section.(3) Regulations made by the General Synod under this section are to be held by the Chancellor and are to be available for inspection at reasonable times.(4) The regulations are not to be regarded as subsidiary legislation. 16. Unauthorized use of name (1) No person shall, without the authority of the Standing Committee, form, or manage or control, or be a member of—(a) any organization or association of persons which claims or purports to be the “Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui” or “香港聖公會” or the “Sheng Kung Hui” or “聖公會” or uses any title, with or without additional words or characters, or any initials or words, which so closely resemble those titles, words or characters as to be likely to deceive or mislead; or (Amended E.R. 6 of 2022)(b) any organization or association of persons which by the use of any such title or otherwise purports or claims to be affiliated or connected with the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui.(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 3. 17. Savings Nothing in this Ordinance shall affect or be deemed to affect the rights of the Central Authorities or the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Basic Law and other laws, or the rights of any body politic or corporate or of any other persons except such as are mentioned in this Ordinance and those claiming by, from or under them.(Amended 4 of 2000 s. 3)