“How Legislation is Made in Hong Kong”, published by the Department of Justice, explains the key features of the legislation-making process in Hong Kong. It —

• explains what legislative drafting is and who drafts Hong Kong’s legislation
• gives a brief account of the structure and functions of the Law Drafting Division of the Department of Justice ( LDD )
• describes how legislation is drafted in LDD
• explains how the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Executive Council, carries out the functions of approving proposals for primary legislation (Bills) and making subsidiary legislation
• sets out the process which Bills undergo in the Legislative Council, gives information on the time it usually takes, and explains how the Legislative Council scrutinizes subsidiary legislation
• briefly mentions how legislation is brought into operation and how to find out whether a provision is in operation
• concludes with a short description of some initiatives put in place by the Department of Justice and LDD to improve the quality of and accessibility to legislation.

“How Legislation is Made in Hong Kong” was published by the Department of Justice in 2012. With the discontinuation of the Bilingual Laws Information System (BLIS) in July 2018 and the retirement of the Loose-leaf Edition of the Laws of Hong Kong in March 2025 respectively, there have been changes to the publication of consolidated legislation as described in “How Legislation is Made in Hong Kong”. In brief, the Hong Kong e-Legislation (HKeL) is now the only official database of Hong Kong legislation. Verified copies of legislation published on HKeL have legal status under the Legislation Publication Ordinance (Cap. 614).