Legislative Council of Hong Kong	1843 - 1997

	Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region	1998 -

This series comprises the original copy of the oaths or affirmations taken and signed by Members of the Legislative Council after the commencement of their terms of office.

Rule 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council specifies that "Except for the purpose of enabling this Rule to be complied with, no Member of the Council shall attend a meeting or vote therein until he has made or subscribed an oath or affirmation in accordance with the provisions of the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap. 11)". The text of the Legislative Council Oath is given in Part IV, Schedule 2 of the Ordinance.

The Royal Instructions issued in 1843 authorized the Governor of Hong Kong to require any person in the public service of Hong Kong, including Members of the Legislative Council, on assuming office to take the oath of allegiance to the Crown. The requirement for Members of the Legislative Council to take the oath of allegiance was subsequently specified in the Promissory Oaths Ordinance enacted in 1869. In 1929, this requirement was added to the Standing Orders of the Legislative Council.

According to the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap. 11) which was amended in 1985, Members of the Legislative Council who did not wish to take the oath of allegiance might take the Legislative Council Oath. The Ordinance was further amended in 1997 to meet the requirement of the Basic Law (Article 104) that Members of the Legislative Council must, in accordance with law, swear to uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

LegCo Members

LegCoMembers ✔ LegCo Members