The Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was signed by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the Department of Justice of Hong Kong on 2 April 2019.
The arrangement comprises 13 articles, basically specifying the scope of interim measures, and defining arbitral proceedings in Hong Kong, the procedures and handling of interim measures, etc. For dispute resolution lawyers, the arrangement brings both new business opportunities and challenges. Based on the practices within domestic interim measures and Hong Kong arbitrations, the author aims to evaluate, analyze and discuss the key points of the arrangement to promote the implementation and improvement of the system.
Sources of law
Article 95 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China specifies that the Hong Kong region may, through consultations with the judicial organs of other parts of the country, conduct judicial contacts and render mutual assistance with them pursuant to the law. Accordingly, since 1999, the SPC and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have successively signed seven judicial assistance arrangements in civil and commercial matters, as follows:
- The Arrangement on Reciprocal Service of Civil and Commercial Judicial Documents by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (14 January 1999);
- The Arrangement on Reciprocal Enforcement of Arbitration Awards by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (21 June 1999);
- The 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 (14 July 2006);
- The Arrangement on Reciprocal Taking of Evidence by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Civil and Commercial Cases (29 December 2016);
- The Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Civil Judgments in Matrimonial and Family Cases by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (20 June 2017);
- The 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 (18 January 2019); and
- The Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2 April 2019).
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