01 point of view
Written by: Review Editor Room
2020-05-15 06:45
Last update date: 2020-05-15 06:45The 17 meetings of the House Committee of the Legislative Council failed to elect a chairman. The way Guo Rongkeng presided over was certainly inappropriate. But does this mean that the former chairman, Li Huiqiong, can convene a meeting to handle agendas other than elections?
The term of the chairman of the internal meeting follows the period of the meeting. Under normal circumstances, the term of the chairman also expires when the period ends. However, in accordance with the "Rules of Procedure" and the "House Rules", the end of the term of the original chairman of the House Committee depends on two conditions, including whether the new chairman has been elected and whether the next session has begun.
The chairman and vice-chairmen of the committee shall be elected by the members of the committee, and the term shall be until the chairman and vice-chairmen of the committee are elected in the next session respectively; if the election of the chairman and vice-chairmen of the committee is conducted before the beginning of the next session, The current chairman and vice-chairmen will serve until the beginning of the next session. If the chairman and vice chairman are temporarily absent, the committee may elect another member to act as chairman during their absence. (Article 75 (2) of the Rules of Procedure);
The chairman and deputy chairman of the House Committee must be elected by members of the committee in an open meeting, and the term of office shall be until the chairman and deputy chairman of the committee are elected in the next session; if the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the committee is next It is conducted before the beginning of a session, and the current chairman and vice-chairmen will serve until the start of the next session. (Article 20 (a) of the House Rules).
It can be seen from the above provisions, which of the two conditions prevails, therefore, the end of the term of the former chairman of the internal association must meet both conditions. Although the 2019-2020 Legislative Council session began on October 16, and the presidential election began on October 15, since it has not been completed so far, the chairman of the conference in 2018-2019, Li Huiqiong, is still the chairman. This also explains why the meeting to elect the chairman was also convened by Li Huiqiong in the name of the chairman.
Presidential election at the first meeting
But the current controversy is whether Li Huiqiong can convene a meeting to deal with agendas other than elections? Looking back at the "Rules of Procedure" and "Code of Internal Affairs", there is actually no explicit restriction on the power of the original chairman after the beginning of the next session and before the new chairman is elected. The Legislative Council and the community have always believed that the chairman cannot handle other agendas, which is inferred from the overall spirit of the provisions.
Rule 75 (2A) of the Rules of Procedure, Rules 20 (b) and 20 (c) of the House Rules indicate that the chairman and vice-chairmen of the committee are elected at the meeting before the next session or the first meeting of the next session Held, means that the agenda for the next session will be decided by the new chairman, not the original chairman. This interpretation has been used by the Legislative Council, including the 2002 Legislative Council CROP 23 / 01-02 document, and the Legal Affairs Department prepared on October 25, 2019 (the same day as the third meeting of the last year to deal with the election of the chairman) The document also adopts this understanding.
However, at present, more than a dozen meetings have still failed to produce a new chairman, which is not what the Legislative Council originally expected. Inferences under normal circumstances do not necessarily apply to limiting the power of the former chairman on the agenda. It is also worth noting that the "Rules of Procedure" and "Code of House Rules" only indicate that the election of chairmen and vice-chairmen should be held at the "first meeting", rather than expressly stipulating the "first agenda". The election is the first agenda. The Legislative Council refers to foreign countries The principles adopted by the parliamentary approach are not necessarily applicable to the current special circumstances. We have also pointed out that the British "Parliamentary Act" actually allows temporary chairpersons to appear before the official election results to deal with parliamentary affairs. The Legislative Council's reference to overseas practices is not comprehensive. The Legislative Council ’s narrow reference to overseas practices, without adequate consideration of other factors, can be described as the result of today ’s internal shutdown.
Vulnerability is only theoretical
In the current situation, allowing the original chairman to mobilize the agenda and handle other matters before the election is completed will allow the internal council to continue to operate and perform its statutory duties. This benefit cannot be denied even by the democrats. However, as the opinions of the senior barristers respectively sought by the Legislative Council Chairman Liang Junyan and the Democrats have pointed out, this approach will create a theoretical loophole of abuse of power, that is, the original chairman can use the delay of the election to continue the original should only belong to The power of the previous session.
First of all, we must distinguish clearly. This loophole of abuse of authority is theoretically possible, not actually happened. And the current situation is understood as normal. The original chairman did not conspire with the election chairperson to delay the time so that he could continue or even abuse his power. Li Huiqiong and Guo Rongkeng belong to different camps. The delay of the latter actually prevents the former from running for the next chair.
However, since the Legislative Council ’s way of doing things will become a precedent and serve as a reference for the future parliament, although this time Li Huiqiong has not colluded with Guo Rongkeng for self-interest, it has theoretical loopholes that may also facilitate the future former in-house chairman and The election presides over collusion and delays the election to extend the power that should have been the last session. In addition, the quorum for holding meetings in the internal meeting is only 20, which is less than half the number of members in the internal meeting (35). Therefore, even if the support of the former chairman of the internal meeting is less than half, the meeting can be successfully held with the delay of the host. .
This loophole in theory, even the legal opinions provided by the external chairman of the Legislative Council, Liang Junyan, senior lawyers Yu Ruohai and Sun Jingqian, also agree. The chairman of the internal council, Li Huiqiong, has decided to adopt this statement. He believes that the original chairman of the internal council will mobilize the agenda when the election is not completed after the beginning of the next session. So how can the Legislative Council avoid the abuse of the previous example in the future? The problem.
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 storm] Let the Legislative Council return to operation
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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