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External sources (not reviewed)

[...] [...] the Small Buddha niche was consolidated [...]

However, under no circumstances should private columbaria that pose obvious or imminent danger in terms of building and fire safety be exempted from the licensing scheme.

[...] [...] small Buddha’s niche has been consolidated, [...] [...]

[...] identified as a mihrab, or the prayer niche [...] [...]

[...] impose appropriate regulation on private columbaria in various aspects, including the right of the columbarium operator to use the premises, [...] [...]

Regarding views suggesting that the Government should handle the historial legacy of the pre-existing unauthorised private oclumbaria in a pragmatic manner during the first consultation, the Government is open-minded about the concept and conditions of exemption and would like to gauge the public views before proceeding to the formulation of the relevant policy and its details.

Section II, title X, article 328 of the Family Code states: “When the health, safety, morality or education of a minor are jeopardized or insufficiently protected owing to the immoral behaviour or disability of the father and mother or of the person accorded the right of guardianship, or when, owing to misconduct or unruly behaviour, a minor gives these individuals cause for very serious dissatisfaction or renders them incapable of exercising guidance, the juvenile judge may on his own initiative, at the behest of the public prosecutor or at the behest of the father, mother or guardian, rule that the minor shall, for a period not to extend beyond the date of his coming of age, be visited regularly by a social worker or placed on probation.

(i) Legal liability of the registered medical practitioner for performing an organ transplant on a patient without first obtaining the latter's consent because of his illness or impaired state of consciousness or his being a minor, a mentally incapacitated person; whether relatives of a patient who could not give consent might give consent on behalf of the patient; and what would happen if the relatives had no consensus on whether to give consent.

The purpose of giving such temporary suspension from liability is to allow the operator to continue maintaining the operation of the niches already sold while working to regularise its irregularities.

Such columbaria should actively seek regularisation, so as to obtain a licence for legitimate operation under the future regulatory regime.

[...] [...] Small Buddha niche, in order to [...]

Exempted private columbaria would still be required to comply with the conditions imposed by the licensing [...] [...]

The President also recalled that the States Parties have expressed satisfaction with the performance, efficiency, professional competence, responsiveness and dedication of the ISU and that there was general agreement among the Task Force members on the need to review the financing model of the ISU, in order to make it sustainable and predictable, and to achieve more equitable burden sharing.

A range of other suggestions was put forward, such as: to ensure the preservation of digital heritage, including archives and libraries as a component of the “Memory of the World Programme”; to develop media education programmes for children and adults; and to increase familiarity with the use of ICTs, especially within the framework of the knowledge society and knowledge economy, in light of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society.

The consultation document also covers arrangements for pre-existing private columbaria.

Meanwhile, the Government also proposes that the private columbaria operating within private cemeteries listed under Schedule 5 to the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, as well as undertakers of burials, be exempted from the licensing scheme.

The Government proposes to formulate a new piece of legislation titled the Private Columbaria Ordinance, under which all private columbaria, unless exempted, shall be subject to regulation under the licensing scheme.

[...] columbarium policy from July to September 2010, members of the public expressed strong support for a licensing scheme to enhance regulation of private columbaria, but views over the scope and intensity of regulation and the arrangements for pre-existing columbaria were divergent.

The licensee will be required to comply with a list of licensing conditions, including entering into a contract with consumers, keeping a register of patrons, formulating a management plan, setting up a maintenance fund and submitting a maintenance report, as well as complying with a Code of Practice promulgated by the licensing authority.

At present, there are many private columbaria which have operated for many years in the market, providing a place for the storage of cremains of deceased family members for many members of the public. However, some of them do not meet all the statutory or Government requirements.