[Internal meeting storm] Let the Legislative Council return to operation

01 point of view

Written by: Review Editor Room

2020-05-15 07:00

The 17 meetings of the House Committee of the Legislative Council still failed to complete the election of the chairman. This is not only counter-intuitive, but also should not hinder the internal committee from performing its duties. But more importantly, what is the most suitable solution?

"Rab" occurs from time to time in the Parliament, and members of the Legislative Council sometimes speak continuously during the meeting to prevent the hearing of bills. However, this situation is not unsolvable. The judicial review case by Leung Kwok-hung v. Jasper Cheng explained that the legislators do not have the "laboring power" at all. If the legislators speak for a long time and the motion is not effectively heard, the President of the Legislative Council has the power to terminate the debate To enter the voting process, commonly known as "cutting cloth".

Handle exceptions by majority

At present, the situation in the internal meeting is that some members have been speaking, and presided over by Guo Rongkeng did not stop the debate. They even allowed them to discuss freely for a limited time, and the objective effect prevented the election from being conducted effectively. In essence, this is also a kind of "drawing cloth", but this "cutting cloth" is left unattended by the host, forming a dilemma.

But in fact, the principle of "cutting cloth" is based on the fact that the chairman of the Legislative Council and the chairmen of various committees are authorized by most members to maintain the order of affairs. The same principle can be applied to the inner council. If the majority of the members of the meeting believe that it is necessary to end the debate and enter the voting process, how can a non-elected chairperson without the authorization of the majority of members pretend?

In fact, the "Rules of Procedure" have a "bottom-up" clause to allow the House Committee to deal with unspecified matters, and the method of decision is the committee's vote. It can be seen that for special or exceptional circumstances, even individual members and even the chairman cannot override the collective decision of the majority of the members of the committee. This is the basic principle of the operation of the Legislative Council-majority decision.

"Except as otherwise provided in these Rules of Procedure, the committee and its subcommittees shall determine the manner of operation and procedures by the Committee." (Rules of Procedure 75 (18))

"All matters that must be decided by the committee or its subcommittees shall be decided by a majority of the members who vote in favor and against." (Rules of Procedure 75 (12AA))

"Procedural Motion" can end the debate

In the external legal opinions of the democratic camp, senior counsel Dai Qisi and honorary senior counsel Chen Wenmin also pointed out that Members can resort to "procedural motions" to bring the meeting into the election process. This legal opinion was not mentioned by name. Mai Meijuan had already moved on December 6 to immediately vote on the election forum to enter the voting process. When the time Guo Rongkeng presided over the meeting, Tu Jinshen did not immediately deal with Mai Meijuan ’s motion, but decided to deal with other non-binding motions first. Judging from the legal opinions sought by the democrats, this is wrong.

According to the "Chairman's Handbook of the Panel", when a member proposes a "procedure motion" to suspend the discussion or vote immediately, the chairman should actually skip other motions and deal with it immediately.

"During the Panel ’s discussion on the substantive motion, if a member proposes a procedural motion requesting the suspension of the discussion to be continued, the motion which will suspend the discussion shall be dealt with first. If the member supports the motion, the chairman will The discussion will be suspended. If a member rejects the motion, they can continue to discuss the substantive motion. "Article 3.60 of the Chairman's Handbook of the Panel)

"During the Panel ’s discussion on the substantive motion, if a member moves a procedural motion and requests that the substantive motion be voted on immediately, the procedural motion should be processed first. If the member supports the motion, the subcommittee will immediately review the substantive motion To vote. If a member rejects the motion, they may continue to discuss the substantive motion. "(Article 3.61 of the Chairman's Manual of the Panel)

Of course, the internal conference is not a committee in nature, but this does not mean that the "procedural motion" approach cannot be followed. Just as Guo Rongkeng presided over the meeting on November 15, he clearly pointed out that the treatment of the motions proposed by the members of the internal authorities shall follow the provisions of the Panel on Article 22 (p) of the House Rules. By the same token, if a member proposes a "procedural motion" to suspend the debate or vote immediately, the election chairperson or the chairman of the internal meeting should also be dealt with immediately so that the internal meeting as a whole can make a collective decision based on the principle of majority.

The formed faction did not actively "cut the cloth"

However, it is worth pointing out that when Mei Meijuan proposed a motion in December, he did not mention it as a "procedural motion", nor did he mention the "Chairman's Manual of the Panel" and other specifications. Tu Jinshen and the Secretariat believe that after the non-binding motion has to be dealt with first, the formed faction has not looked for other ways to "cut the cloth" immediately. Although the members of the formed faction have repeatedly criticized Guo Rongkeng ’s manner of presiding, he has not adequately searched for appropriate provisions in the "Rules of Procedure" or "House Rules" to correct the problem. Squad leader Liao Changjiang asked to preside over the "crossing line", and will no longer accept motions from members of the parliament as of January and merge similar motions into debates, but this is obviously still not enough for the election to proceed effectively. It can be seen that the establishment faction also has the suspicion of unfamiliarity and inaction, and the former chairman Li Huiqiong is even more responsible.

Even more ridiculous is that even the Legislative Council Chairman Liang Junyan did not actively correct the problem. The President of the Legislative Council is responsible for maintaining the operation of the entire Legislative Council. According to the Basic Law, Rules of Procedure and court cases, the President of the Legislative Council also has the power to deal with situations not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure.

The chairman has the right to intervene

Article 72 of the Basic Law stipulates that the President of the Legislative Council shall exercise other functions and powers stipulated in the Rules of Procedure; Article 95 of the Rules of Procedure also stipulates, "For matters not specified in these Rules of Procedure, the Legislative Council shall follow The methods and procedures are decided by the President of the Legislative Council; if the President of the Legislative Council deems it appropriate, he may refer to the practices and procedures of other legislatures. "

Furthermore, according to the judicial review of Liang Guoxiong v. Jasper Cheng, how the proceedings not mentioned in the "Rules of Procedure" are concluded can be handled by the Chairman in the manner and procedures that the Legislative Council must follow. Since the election of chairmen and vice-chairmen of the House Committee is stipulated by Rule 75 (2A) of the Rules of Procedure, it is an exception that the election has not been completed for a long time and the internal committee has not rectified itself. Although the chairman of the Legislative Council is not one of the members of the internal committee, It can also be handled according to the methods and procedures that the Legislative Council must follow.

For example, the chairman of the Legislative Council, Liang Junyan, can instruct the internal council to preside over the motion of immediate processing procedures, or direct the internal council to restore order in accordance with the principle of majority majority, and effectively enter the electoral process. He may even consider following rule 75 (2) of the Rules of Procedure , Instructing the internal committee to elect another member to act as chairman, handle the backlog of affairs before the election is completed, and perform the internal legal responsibilities of the committee. As for how to do it, of course, he "has to follow the methods and procedures", but he is not totally inaction, and he only hired legal opinions in late March.

The Legislative Council will be out of order and get into chaos, and many people blame the democratic "rab". However, it can be seen from the above that the Legislative Council itself has its operating principles to allow the majority and the chairman to maintain order. The formed faction, as a majority, has only been able to criticize and preside over Guo Rongkeng since the October 15 meeting, claiming to consider judicial review and external legal advice, but has not taken substantive action to help the internal society correct the problem on its own. How to explain to the society with such perfunctory responsibilities?

Continue to read [Inner Meeting Storm] Comment article:

[Internal meeting storm] The 17th meeting did not elect the chairman Guo Rongkeng misuse the presidency

[Internal meeting turmoil] The chairman has no vacancies. Can Li Huiqiong handle other agendas?

Will the suspension of the Legislative Council stem from the Secretariat ’s wrong opinion? (under)

Will the suspension of the Legislative Council stem from the Secretariat ’s wrong opinion? (on)

[The meeting will be closed] Resolving the predicament still depends on the chairman of the Legislative Council?

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Legislative Council House Committee Legislative Council Influential Organization Mai Maijuan Liang Junyan 01 Opinions