On 18 May 2021, China’s Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced that the “Supplementary Arrangement on Reciprocal Enforcement of Arbitral Awards by the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” (关于内地与香港特别行政区相互执行仲裁裁决的补充安排) (hereinafter referred to as "Supplementary Arrangement") shall enter into full force in the Mainland and Hong Kong on 19 May 2021.
The Supplementary Arrangement was adopted by the SPC Adjudication Committee on 9 Nov. 2020. As Articles 1 and 4 of the Supplementary Arrangement have already been stipulated in the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), they entered into force on 27 Nov. 2020, with no need to further complete the relevant procedures. By contrast, Articles 2 and 3 were not previously provided for in the laws of the HKSAR and will be implemented simultaneously in both places after the completion of relevant procedures in the HKSAR.
On 17 Mar. 2021, the Legislative Council of the HKSAR resolved to amend the Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance to implement Articles 2 and 3 of the Supplementary Arrangement, which came into force on 19 May 2021. The SPC and the Department of Justice of the HKSAR Government published separate announcements that Articles 2 and 3 entered into force on 19 May 2021 in both places simultaneously.
The Supplementary Arrangement provides that the scope of applying for recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards shall be determined in accordance with the laws of the requesting party. The relevant court may, before or after accepting the application for enforcement of an arbitral award, impose preservation or mandatory measures pursuant to an application by the party concerned and in accordance with the law of the place of enforcement. Besides, it is made clear that the parties may apply to the competent courts of both places at the same time for enforcing an arbitral award.
With the implementation of the Supplementary Arrangement, the arbitration assistance mechanism of the two places will be further optimized and upgraded.
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Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
