Nine years after the handover of Hong Kong to the mainland, references to our former colonial rulers remain on the statute books. The Jury Ordinance, Crimes Ordinance and shipping and pensions regulations, all refer to 'Her Majesty', the Queen and the Crown. In the Jury Ordinance, for example, officers in 'Her Majesty's' naval, military or air services may be exempted from jury duty. The references do not pose legal problems - the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance states that such references will apply to military forces stationed here by the central government - but baffle those to whom the law is quoted, such as potential jurors. The Security Bureau said in 2003 that it was co-ordinating proposals to adapt references to 'Her Majesty's forces' and other military references in the laws of Hong Kong. But the government yesterday could not explain the delay. A spokesman for the Administration Wing said the references 'will be taken forward by the Security Bureau under a separate adaptation exercise', but added, 'there is no timetable for the exercise'.