### Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance 《選舉(舞弊及非法行為)條例》

35. Court may grant relief in certain circumstances if election advertisements do not meet requirements
(1) A person who publishes a printed election advertisement without complying with section 34(1) or (4) may apply to the Court for an order under subsection (2).
(2) On the hearing of an application made under subsection (1), the Court may make an order allowing the publication which would, but for this section, constitute an offence under section 34, be excepted from the relevant requirements under that section and relieving the applicant from the penalties imposed by that section, but only if the Court—
(a) is satisfied that—
(i) the non-compliance was due to inadvertence, an accidental miscalculation or any reasonable cause and was not due to bad faith; and
(ii) where the Court requires notice of the application to be given in Hong Kong, the notice has been given; and
(b) believes it to be just that the applicant should not be subject to those penalties.
(3) If an application is made under subsection (1), no prosecution against the applicant for not having complied with section 34(1) or (4) may be instituted or carried on until the application is disposed of by the Court.
(4) An applicant is not liable to be convicted of an offence under section 34 if the non-compliance by the applicant with section 34(1) or (4) is the subject of an order made under subsection (2).

### Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance 《選舉(舞弊及非法行為)條例》

39. Offence to act in office or participate in affairs of body if no election return is lodged
(1) A person commits an offence if, having been elected to an office or membership of a body at an election to which this Ordinance applies, the person acts in the office or participates in the affairs of the body as a member without having complied with section 37.
(2) A person found guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $5,000 for each day on which the person acts in the office or participates in the affairs of the body as a member without having complied with section 37.
(3) A person is not liable to be convicted of an offence under this section for acting in the office or participating in the affairs of the body as a member without having complied with section 37 if—
(a) the non-compliance is the subject of an order made under section 40; and
(b) the further period specified in the order has not yet expired.
(4) A person who acts in the office or participates in the affairs of the body as a member without having complied with section 37, if—
(a) the person’s application for an order under section 40 is refused; or
(b) the person has not complied with section 37 within the further period specified in the order made under section 40,

may be convicted of an offence under this section and is liable on conviction to the daily fine referred to in subsection (2) counting from the day on which the person began to act in the office or participate in the affairs of the body as a member without having complied with section 37.

### Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance 《選舉(舞弊及非法行為)條例》

41. Appropriate authority to keep election returns
(1) The appropriate authority must keep at the office of the authority— (Amended 18 of 2011 s. 48)
(a) all election returns lodged with the authority under section 37; and
(b) all copies of election returns lodged with the authority under section 37A.
(2) The appropriate authority must, during the relevant period, ensure that copies of the documents kept under subsection (1) are made available for inspection by any person who, during the authority’s business hours, asks to inspect any of the documents.
(3) If a person asks for a copy of a document or part of a document kept under subsection (1), the appropriate authority must provide the person with such a copy, subject to payment of a copying fee not exceeding an amount calculated in accordance with a rate fixed in accordance with subsection (4).
(4) The appropriate authority is required, by notice published in the Gazette, to fix a rate for the purposes of subsection (3). The fixing of the rate is subject to the approval of the Financial Secretary. Such a notice is not subsidiary legislation for the purposes of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1).
(5) After the end of the relevant period, the appropriate authority may arrange for the documents kept by the authority under subsection (1) to be destroyed, but if, during that period, a candidate who has lodged any of the documents with the authority asks for it to be returned to the candidate, the authority must comply with the request.
(6) For the purposes of this section, the relevant period, in relation to a document lodged with the appropriate authority, is the period beginning with the time when the document is lodged with the authority and ending with— (Amended 15 of 2016 s. 6)
(a) for an election referred to in section 37(1D), (1H), (1J) or (1L)—the 30th day before the first anniversary of the date of the deadline for lodging the relevant election return under that section (disregarding any order made by the Court under section 40); or
(b) for an election referred to in section 37(1A), (1B) or (1F)—the 60th day before the first anniversary of the date of the deadline for lodging the relevant election return under that section (disregarding any order made by the Court under section 40). (Amended 15 of 2016 s. 6; 11 of 2019 s. 15; 19 of 2023 s. 180)
(Amended 18 of 2011 s. 48)