
1 

(1) This Order may be cited as the Admiralty
Jurisdiction (Hong Kong) Order 1985.
(2) This Order shall come into operation
on 13th November 1985.
(3) The 
Admiralty Jurisdiction (Hong Kong) Order in Council 1962
is hereby revoked.
2 
The Colonial Courts
of Admiralty Act 1890 shall, in relation to
the High Court of Hong Kong, have effect as if for the reference in 
section 2(2) thereof to the Admiralty jurisdiction
of the High Court in England there were substituted a reference to the Admiralty
jurisdiction of that Court as defined by section
20 of the Supreme Court Act 1981
subject to the adaptations and modifications of the said 
section 20 that are specified in 
Schedule 1 to this Order.
3 
The provisions of sections 21, 
22, 23 and 
24 of Part II of the Supreme Court
Act 1981 shall extend to Hong Kong with the
adaptations and modifications that are specified in 
Column II of Schedule 2 to this Order.
4 
Section 13(1)
of the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971
and section 6(1) of the 
Merchant Shipping Act 1974, as extended to
Hong Kong by the Merchant
Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Hong Kong) Order 1975,
are repealed.
5 
Save as is expressly provided otherwise
in the Schedules to this Order, any reference therein, or in 
section 20, 21, 
22, 23 or 
24 of the Supreme Court Act 1981,
to any enactment of the United Kingdom shall be construed for the purposes
of this Order as a reference to that enactment as applying or extended to
Hong Kong.
G.I. de Deney
Clerk of the Privy Council

SCHEDULE 1
Article 2


(i)  In subsection
(1)(c) the word “and”
shall be deleted and a full stop substituted for the semicolon.
(ii) Subsection
(1)(d) shall be deleted.
(iii)  In subsections
(3)(a), (3)(c)
and (7), there shall be
inserted in each subsection after the words “Merchant Shipping
Acts 1894 to 1979” the words “or the Merchant Shipping
Ordinance or the Merchant Shipping (Safety)
Ordinance”.
(iv)  The references in 
subsections (2)(j) and (6)
to section 51 of the 
Civil Aviation Act 1949 shall continue to have
effect, notwithstanding the amendments made to those subsections by section 109(2) of,
and Schedule 15 to, the 
Civil Aviation Act 1982.

SCHEDULE 2
Article 3


Column I Column
II

Section 21 
In subsections (1), 
(2), (3), 
(4), (5) and 
(6) after the words “High Court”
 shall be inserted the words “of Hong Kong”.
In subsection (7)
the words “England and Wales” shall be deleted
and the words “Hong Kong” shall be substituted.


Section 22 
Subsection (2) shall be deleted and the following
subsection shall be substituted—“
(2) No court in Hong Kong
shall entertain an action in personam to enforce a claim to
which this section applies unless—
(a) the defendant has his habitual residence
or a place of business in Hong Kong; or
(b) the cause of action arose within the
territorial waters of Hong Kong; or
(c) an action arising out of the same incident
or series of incidents is proceeding in the court or has been heard and determined
in the court.In this subsection “territorial waters of Hong Kong”
 include any port, dock or harbour in Hong Kong.”.In subsections (3), 
(6), (7) and 
(8) after the words “High Court”
 shall be inserted the words “of Hong Kong”.
In subsection (3)
the words “England and Wales” shall be deleted
and the words “Hong Kong” shall be substituted.


Section 23 
After the words “High Court”, where they twice
appear, shall be inserted the words “of Hong Kong”.


Section 24 
In subsection (1)
in the definition of “collision regulations”, the words 
“or made or adopted under Part IX
of the Merchant Shipping (Safety) Ordinance”
shall be inserted before the semicolon.In 
subsection (1), the definition of ship shall
read: ““ship” includes any description of vessel used in navigation and (except
in subsection (2)(c)
of this section) includes, subject to any regulations made by the Governor,
a hovercraft;”In 
subsection (2)(a) after the words “High
Court” shall be inserted the words “of Hong Kong”
.In subsection
(2)(c), for the words “subject
to section 2(3) of the 
Hovercraft Act 1968” there shall
be substituted the words “subject to any regulations made by
the Governor”.In 
subsection (2)(c) the words “,
or of any ship, aircraft, hovercraft, cargo or other property belonging to
the Government of Hong Kong” shall be inserted before the full
stop.In subsection (3)
 in the definition of “Her Majesty's
hovercraft” the words “Northern Ireland”
shall be deleted and the words “Hong Kong” shall
be substituted.