Yangcheng Evening News reporters Dong Liu and Cai Jiahong and correspondent Yu Qing reported: The Supreme People's Court and the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government jointly announced in Hong Kong at 10 a.m. on January 29: The Supreme People's Court and the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced in January 2019 The "Arrangement on the Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Cases by the Courts of the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" (hereinafter referred to as the "Arrangement") signed in Beijing on the 18th will take effect in both places at the same time from January 29.
On that day, in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, which has witnessed many major historical events, legal professionals from the mainland and Hong Kong gathered together to celebrate this historic moment.
At this point, the nine civil and commercial judicial assistance documents signed between the mainland and Hong Kong since Hong Kong's return have all come into effect, and the two places have achieved new breakthroughs in the connection of legal rules.
The Arrangement stipulates the scope and content of mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial cases between the two places, the procedures and methods for applying for recognition and enforcement, circumstances in which recognition and enforcement will not be granted, and relief channels.
This Arrangement shall apply to the mutual recognition and enforcement of effective judgments in civil and commercial cases between the courts of the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In the Mainland, the applicant applies to the Intermediate People's Court at the place where the applicant is domiciled or where the respondent is domiciled or where the property is located to recognize and enforce the judgment stipulated in the Arrangement. In the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the applicant applied to the High Court for recognition and enforcement of a judgment under CEPA.
"This "Arrangement" is the ninth judicial assistance document that has come into effect in the two places. It is also the arrangement with the widest coverage and the most significant significance. After the "Arrangement" comes into effect, it is expected that about 90% of the civil and commercial case judgments of the courts in the two places will be "Mutual recognition and enforcement have been achieved." Si Yanli, deputy director of the Research Office of the Supreme People's Court, said in an exclusive interview with the Yangcheng Evening News, "The CEPA expands the scope of mutual recognition as much as possible, but there are still some cases that are not included in the scope of mutual recognition and enforcement. According to Article 3 of the Arrangement, this Arrangement is temporarily not applicable to judgments in eight categories of civil and commercial cases, including some marriage and family cases, inheritance cases, some patent infringement cases, some maritime and commercial cases, and bankruptcy (liquidation) cases. , cases determining voter qualifications, cases related to arbitration, cases recognizing and enforcing awards from other jurisdictions, etc. In judicial practice, the number of these cases is limited and only account for a small part of civil and commercial cases.”
"The judgments of relevant cases are excluded from the scope of mutual recognition. Some are because there are no cases of the same type in the other party's legal field and there is a lack of basis for mutual recognition. Some are because there are major differences in the legal systems of the two parties in the relevant fields. How to solve the mutual recognition and implementation issues require special consultations." Si Yanli said that in the past three years, the people's courts at all levels in the mainland have concluded more than 55,000 civil and commercial cases involving Hong Kong in the first instance. "The Arrangement can effectively implement civil and commercial cases between the two places. The cross-border recognition and enforcement of judgments eliminates the need for parties to litigate repeatedly to realize the rights and interests determined in the same case, minimizing the burden of litigation for parties and effectively improving the welfare of the people in both places."
"The number of civil and commercial cases involving Hong Kong and Macao that have been concluded by Guangdong courts in the past five years accounts for about two-thirds of the country's total, and has been steadily increasing. Hong Kong-related cases account for more than 80% of the civil and commercial cases involving Hong Kong and Macao that have been concluded by the province's courts in the first instance." Guangdong She Qiongsheng, president of the Fourth Civil Division of the Provincial Higher People's Court, said that from 2021 to 2023, Guangdong courts concluded a total of 33,940 Hong Kong-related civil and commercial cases in the first instance, of which 11,479 were in 2023.
Hong Kong lawyer Junyao Ho believes that the entry into force of the Arrangement will play a positive role in realizing the rights and interests of parties involved in cross-border disputes. “In the past, those who had assets in Hong Kong but committed breach of contract in the Mainland went to Hong Kong to evade legal liability, or in the Mainland It will no longer work to have assets but commit breach of contract in Hong Kong and then run to the mainland to evade legal liability."
Zhang Guojun, Deputy Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, told a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News that the entry into force of the "CEPA" will "convenience residents of the two places to live, work or invest and trade, while fully demonstrating the unique advantages of 'one country, two systems' and integrating the legal system." Alienation is the benefit of the system, and I believe it is a good development opportunity for Hong Kong."