We have designed seven search forms for advanced search. They are:
Search for section(s) or enactments(s)
Search for word(s)
Search for word(s) in definition(s)
Search for Law as at specified date
Search for Law between a range of dates
Search for internal cross reference - this function works for English language only
Search for external reference - this function works for English language only
Before searching, you should first of all make your choice in the Selection Menu. For instance, if you want to search for sections of Sub. Leg., you should click [Sub. Leg.] in the Menu and then click the [Enter] button.
When the List of Laws at the right frame displays what you have just selected, you can then click the [Advanced Search] button in the menu of [List of Laws].
At the menu of [Advanced Search], click any one of the search forms.
At the menu of every search form, the current selection of Law will be displayed at the upper part of the right frame. If the selection is not what you want, you should repeat steps 2, 3 and 4.
Search for section(s) or enactment(s):
You can enter the chapter number(s), section number(s), chapter title, and/or word(s) to search. You need not use all of the fields.
When using the chapter title field, it is best to enter only some of the words of the chapter title, either as a phrase or using the "and" operator. Otherwise, unless you enter the full title correctly, you may get zero matches. For instance, if you want to search for sections of Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap 170), you can enter in the chapter title field:[wild animals]; or[wild and animals]; or[animals and protection].
If you want to do a search on a particular Chapter and all of its Sub. Leg., type the Cap. number followed by a dash and the Cap. number again followed by a large letter suffix such as ZZ (e.g., 1-1ZZ) in the chapter number(s) field. (Remember: If you want to search for Ordinances and Sub. Leg., please make sure you have selected [Ord. & Sub. Leg.] in the Selection Menu first (i.e. steps 2-4). Otherwise, your search will return zero result.)
Another example: If you enter 5-7 in the Chapter number(s) field and 2 in the section number(s) field, you will get Section 2, Schedule 2, Form 2, Rule 2, Paragraph 2, etc. of Chapters 5, 6 and 7.
Search for word(s):On each of the 5 input fields you can enter a word or a phrase. You can connect each field by the operator "and", "or", "sentence" or "paragraph". You can also specify whether you want to search for upper/lower case sensitive word(s) or non case-sensitive word(s)
Search for word(s) in definition(s):You can search for word(s) that appear anywhere in a defined term of the Laws. You can also specify the chapter number or title.
Search for laws as at specified date:You can search for Laws as at any date on or after 30 June 1997. The search can be restricted to a particular Chapter(s) or section or include the whole database; and a search term may also be added. Here is an example. Suppose section 2 of Cap. 123 has 6 versions: 01/04/1998, 27/03/1998, 22/12/1997, 07/11/1997, 01/07/1997 and 30/06/1997. We want to search different versions as at different dates.First of all, you should select [Current and Past Versions] of English Ordinance at the Selection Menu and then click the [Enter] button.At the right frame, click [Advanced Search] and then choose [Search for Law as at specified date].At the [Chapter Number(s)] field, enter [123]. At the [Section Number(s)] field, enter [2]. At the [Law as at] field, enter [01/01/98]. The system would retrieve the 22/12/1997 version of section 2 of Cap. 123, because it was the current version as at 01/01/1998.If you enter [123] in the [Chapter Number(s)] field, [2] in the [Section Number(s)] field, and [01/12/97] in the [Law as at] field, the system would retrieve the 07/11/1997 version of section 2 of Cap. 123, because it was the current version as at 01/12/1997. (The 22/12/1997 and the later versions were not yet created on 01/12/1997.)If you enter [123] in the [Chapter Number(s)] field, [2] in the [Section Number(s)] field, and [01/08/97] in the [Law as at] field, the system would retrieve the 01/07/1997 version of section 2 of Cap. 123, because it was the current version as at 01/08/1997. (The 07/11/1997 and the later versions were not yet created on 01/08/1997.)
Search for Law between a range of dates:If you wish to see if there are any changes to a law between certain dates, by using this search form, you can find all versions of sections between those dates.Here is an example. Suppose section 2 of Cap. 123 has 6 versions: 01/04/1998, 27/03/1998, 22/12/1997, 07/11/1997, 01/07/1997 and 30/06/1997. We want to search all versions between 30/06/1997 and 01/01/1998.First of all, you should select [Current & Past] versions of English Ordinance under the Selection Menu and then click the [Enter] button.At the right frame, click [Advanced Search] and then choose [Search for Law between a range of dates].At the [Chapter Number(s)] field, enter 123. At the [Section Number(s)] field, enter [2]. At the [From Date] field, enter [30/06/97]. At the [To Date] field, enter [01/01/98]. The system would retrieve the four versions (30/06/1997, 01/07/1997, 07/11/1997 and 22/12/1997) of section 2 of Cap. 123, because they are all within the specified date range.
Search for internal cross reference:This form works in English legislation only. You can enter one section number and one chapter number. For example, if you enter [5] in the [Search for Section Number] field and [10] in the [In Chapter Number] field, then the system will give you all the sections within Chapter [10] that have references to section 5, excluding section 5 itself. Please note that some extraneous sections that have the word "section" and the number "5" but are not actual cross references to section 5 may also be retrieved. The search form recognizes that in some legislation the cross reference is to a regulation, bylaw, paragraph, order, rule, etc.
Search for external reference:This form applies to English legislation only. You can enter one chapter number in the [Search for Chapter Number] field and several chapter numbers in the [In Chapter Number(s)] field (usually you would leave this field blank). For example, you can enter [10] in the [Search for Chapter Number] field and [5, 6, 7] in the [In Chapter Number(s)] field. Then the system will give you all the sections in Chapters 5, 6 and 7 that have referred to Chapter 10.