Enforcement of civil and commercial judgments between Hong Kong and the Mainland

To pursue the objective of effective implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle, the Department of Justice has taken steps to develop mutual legal assistance between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) so that disputes with cross boundary elements could be dealt with more effectively. Apart from the arrangement on mutual enforcement of arbitral awards signed in June 1999 pdf file format, in accordance with the provision of Article 95 of the Basic Law and through mutual consultation between the Supreme People's Court and the HKSAR Government, arrangement has been made in July 2006 for the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters pursuant to choice of court agreements made between the parties concerned. Amendments to the Arrangement were made in February 2008 to reflect the new provisions in the amended Civil Procedure Law of the Mainland regarding the time limit for application for execution of judgments (by extending the time limit for an applicant to apply for recognition and enforcement of a judgment from one year (if one or both of the parties were natural persons) or six months (if both parties were legal persons or any other organizations) to a standardized period of two years).

Please see below for the details of the arrangement -

  1. Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Pursuant to Choice of Court Agreements between Parties Concerned ("the Arrangement") pdf file format
  2. Judicial interpretation promulgated by the Supreme People's Court on the Arrangement pdf file format

The Arrangement covers money judgments given by a designated court of either the Mainland or the HKSAR exercising its jurisdiction in business-to-business agreements where the parties concerned have agreed in writing to designate a people's court of the Mainland or a court of the HKSAR as the forum to have sole jurisdiction for resolving such disputes. Apart from specifying the scope of cases and level of courts covered, the Arrangement also provides for grounds for refusal of enforcement which are similar to common law rules and those stipulated under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap.319). Moreover, special procedures which are generally in line with the requirements laid down by Hong Kong courts are provided in the Arrangement to address the common law requirements of finality for enforcement of money judgments. To give effect to the Arrangement, the Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 597) was enacted in April 2008 and came into effect on 1 August 2008 after the Supreme People's Court has promulgated the relevant judicial interpretation giving effect to the Arrangement in the Mainland.

Please see below for the key features of the Arrangement-

 Key Features of the Arrangement pdf file format

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