An Ordinance to provide for the incorporation of the local representative in Hong Kong of the Order of Friars Minor.
[17 December 1999]
(Format changes—E.R. 6 of 2022)
(Enacting provision omitted—E.R. 2 of 2014)
This Ordinance may be cited as the Order of Friars Minor in Hong Kong Incorporation Ordinance.
The representative for the time being in Hong Kong of the Order of Friars Minor, hereinafter called the Minister, shall be a corporation sole, hereinafter called the corporation, and shall have the name “The Minister in Hong Kong of the Order of Friars Minor”, and in that name shall have perpetual succession, and may sue and be sued in all courts in Hong Kong and may have and use a common seal, and may from time to time break, change, alter and make anew the said seal.
The corporation shall have power to acquire, accept leases of, purchase, take, hold and enjoy any lands, buildings, messuages or tenements of what nature or kind soever and wheresoever situate, and also to invest moneys upon mortgage of any lands, buildings, messuages or tenements or upon the mortgage, debentures, stocks, funds, shares or securities of any government, municipality, corporation, or company and also to purchase, acquire and possess goods and chattels of what nature and kind soever.
The corporation shall further have power by deed under its seal to grant, sell, convey, assign, surrender, exchange, partition, yield up, mortgage, demise, reassign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any lands, buildings, messuages, tenements, mortgages, debentures, stocks, funds, shares or securities, or vessels or other goods and chattels, which are for the time being vested in or belonging to the corporation, upon such terms as the corporation may seem fit.
The legal estate in any property whatsoever, vested in the corporation in any manner whatsoever, shall, in the event of death of the Minister or in the event of his ceasing to hold office as such Minister, pass to his successor in such office subject to compliance with section 7(1)(a).
All deeds and other instruments requiring the seal of the corporation shall be sealed in the presence of the Minister or of his attorney duly authorized, and such deeds and instruments and all other documents, instruments and writings requiring the signature of the corporation shall be signed by the Minister or his attorney.
The appointment of a person as Minister, in the event of any vacancy in that office (whether on account of death or for any other reason), shall be made by the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of China.
The corporation shall forward to the Registrar of Companies for registration the following—
notice of any appointment of a person as Minister and evidence thereof;
notice of the address of the principal office of the corporation and any change thereof.
Every notification in accordance with subsection (1) shall be made within 28 days of the appointment or change, as the case may be.
The registration of the appointment of a person as Minister as provided in subsection (1) shall be conclusive evidence of such appointment.
Any person may inspect any of the documents registered under this section upon payment of such fee as may be payable under the regulations made under section 26 of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) for the inspection of a document under section 45(3) of that Ordinance. (Amended 28 of 2012 ss. 912 & 920)
The corporation shall pay such fees for registering any document under this Ordinance as may be payable under the regulations made under section 26 of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) as if the corporation were a company not having a share capital. (Amended 28 of 2012 ss. 912 & 920)
Nothing in this Ordinance shall affect or be deemed to affect the rights of the Central Authorities or the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Basic Law and other laws, or the rights of any body politic or corporate or of any other person except such as are mentioned in this Ordinance and those claiming by, from or under them.