### Legislative Council Ordinance 《立法會條例》

3B. No legal proceedings may be instituted in respect of certain decisions made by Candidate Eligibility Review Committee
According to Annex II to the Basic Law, no legal proceedings may be instituted in respect of a decision made by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee on the eligibility of a candidate for membership of the Legislative Council pursuant to the opinion of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
(Added 14 of 2021 s. 271)

4. Terms of office of Legislative Council
(1) The term of office of the Legislative Council is as prescribed by Chapter IV of the Basic Law.
(2) (Repealed 48 of 1999 s. 3)(3) Subject to subsection (4), each term of office of the Legislative Council is to begin on a date to be specified by the Chief Executive in Council. The Chief Executive in Council must give notice of that date in the Gazette. (Replaced 48 of 1999 s. 3)
(4) If the Legislative Council is dissolved by the Chief Executive in accordance with the Basic Law during its term of office, the new term of office of the Legislative Council is to begin on a date to be specified by the Chief Executive in Council by notice published in the Gazette and each subsequent term of office of that Council is to begin on a date to be so specified.
(5) A date referred to in subsections (3) and (4) must be within 30 days after the date on which the results of the general election to elect the Members for the relevant term of office are declared.
(6) The Legislative Council is, if not dissolved earlier by the Chief Executive in accordance with the Basic Law, dissolved immediately after its term of office ends.

6. Chief Executive to specify dates for holding general elections
(1) The Chief Executive must specify a date for holding a general election to elect the Members for each term of office of the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive must give notice of that date in the Gazette. (Replaced 48 of 1999 s. 5)
(2) The date specified in the notice must be not earlier than 60 days and not later than 15 days before the new term of office of the Legislative Council is to begin.
(3) To enable such a general election to be held, the Chief Executive may, before the end of a term of office of the Legislative Council, prorogue that Council to terminate its operation.
(4) If the Legislative Council is to be prorogued under subsection (3), the Chief Executive must specify the date from which that Council stands prorogued. The Chief Executive must give notice of that date in the Gazette. (Amended 48 of 1999 s. 5)

### Legislative Council Ordinance 《立法會條例》

7. Chief Executive to specify date for general election on dissolution of Legislative Council
(1) Within 30 days after the Legislative Council is dissolved in accordance with the Basic Law, the Chief Executive must specify a date for holding a general election. The Chief Executive must give notice of that date in the Gazette. (Amended 48 of 1999 s. 6)
(2) The date specified for the purposes of subsection (1) must be within 3 months after the date on which the Legislative Council was dissolved.

8. Different dates may be specified for different classes of elections
(1) Subject to this Part, the Chief Executive may specify different dates for holding a general election to return each of the following classes of Members— (Amended 25 of 2003 s. 3; 14 of 2021 s. 272)
(a) the Members to be returned for geographical constituencies;
(b) the Members to be returned for functional constituencies; and
(c) the Members to be returned for the Election Committee constituency. (Amended 14 of 2021 s. 272)
(2) The dates specified under subsection (1) must not be more than 7 days apart. (Added 14 of 2021 s. 272)

9. Chief Executive to convene ordinary sessions of Legislative Council
(1) The Chief Executive must convene at least one ordinary session of the Legislative Council in each calendar year. (Amended 48 of 1999 s. 7)
(2) The Chief Executive must publish in the Gazette the dates on which an ordinary session of the Legislative Council is to begin and end.
(3) An ordinary session begun in one calendar year may be continued in the next calendar year.
(4) The consideration of any bill or other business of the Legislative Council is not to be affected by the end of a session and may be resumed at any subsequent meeting, but is to lapse at the end of a term of office or on a dissolution of the Legislative Council.

10. First meeting of each term of office of Legislative Council
(1) The Chief Executive must specify a date and time for holding the first meeting of each term of office of the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive must give notice of that date and time in the Gazette. (Replaced 48 of 1999 s. 8)
(2) The date and time specified in the notice must be within 14 days after the relevant term of office of the Legislative Council begins. (Amended 48 of 1999 s. 8)
(3)-(5) (Repealed 48 of 1999 s. 8)

### Legislative Council Ordinance 《立法會條例》

11. Emergency sessions of Legislative Council
(1) The President must, at the request of the Chief Executive, convene an emergency session of the Legislative Council during the period after the end of the term of office or the dissolution of the Legislative Council but, before the date (if more than one, the first date), specified for the holding of a general election for all the Members of the Legislative Council.
(2) For and only for the purpose of subsection (1), the persons holding office as Members of the Legislative Council during the term of office of the Legislative Council which immediately precedes the beginning of the emergency session shall be deemed to be Members of the Legislative Council.

12. How long Members are to hold office
(1) Subject to sections 13 and 15, a person returned as a Member at a general election holds office from the beginning of the term of office of the Legislative Council next following the election and vacates office at the end of the term.
(2) Subject to sections 13 and 15, a person who is declared to be returned as a Member at a by-election holds office from the date on which the result of the by-election was declared and vacates office at the end of the term of office of the Legislative Council during which the by-election was held.

13. Acceptance of office as a Member
(1) A person who is elected as a Member is to be regarded as having accepted office as such unless the person gives written notice to the Clerk to the Legislative Council of non-acceptance of office within 7 days after the date on which notification of the person’s election is published in the Gazette.
(2) A notice of non-acceptance is not effective unless it is signed by the person concerned.
(3) A notice of non-acceptance takes effect on the date on which the notice is received by the Clerk to the Legislative Council and the person giving the notice is taken to have resigned from office as a Member from that date.
(4) If a person gives notice in accordance with this section, the Clerk to the Legislative Council must, within 21 days after receiving the notice, publish in the Gazette a notice to the effect that the person has not accepted office as a Member. (Amended 48 of 1999 s. 9)

14. How Member can resign
(1) A Member may, at any time, resign from office as a Member by giving written notice of resignation to the Clerk to the Legislative Council.
(2) A notice of resignation is not effective unless it is signed by the Member concerned.
(3) A notice of resignation takes effect—
(a) on the date on which the notice is received by the Clerk to the Legislative Council; or
(b) if a later date is specified in the notice, on that later date.