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The Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 (Commencement) Notice (the "commencement notice") was published in the Gazette today (October 5).
The Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 (the "amended Ordinance") was passed on July 13, 2012, by the Legislative Council to establish a statutory process for determining torture claims made under Article 3 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. To bring the amended Ordinance into operation, the Secretary for Security made the commencement notice to appoint December 3, 2012, as the commencement date of the amended Ordinance.
"The amended Ordinance provides for a statutory process for making and determining claims, including how a torture claim is made, the time limit for a claimant to return the torture claim form, the requirements for the Immigration Department (ImmD) to arrange screening interviews and issue written notices of decision, etc. The amended Ordinance also stipulates that a claimant who is aggrieved by the decision may lodge an appeal, which will be handled by a statutory Torture Claims Appeal Board," a spokesman for the Security Bureau said.
"Since the commencement of the enhanced screening mechanism from December 24, 2009, to the end of September 2012, ImmD has made decisions on 2,361 torture claims. To date, there is only one case substantiated under the previous screening mechanism before December 24, 2009. There are at present around 5,300 cases pending process. In 2012-13, ImmD aims to complete processing 1,500 or more cases," the spokesman said.
The commencement notice will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on October 10, with a view that the amended Ordinance will come into operation on December 3.
Ends/Friday, October 5, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:01
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