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Mainland Court Recognizes First HK Judgment Under New Arrangement

Thu, 06 Mar 2025
Categories: China Legal Trends

On 28 Nov. 2024, the Beijing Fourth Intermediate People’s Court (BFIPC) held a press conference to introduce measures supporting the development of international commercial arbitration centers and released ten typical cases of judicial review of arbitration.

In December 2024, the BFIPC issued a ruling to recognize and enforce a monetary judgment by the Hong Kong High Court. This marks the first mainland case to apply 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 (HKSAR)” (关于内地与香港特别行政区法院相互认可和执行民商事案件判决的安排, hereinafter the “2024 Arrangement”) since it came into effect in January 2024.

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In this case, judgment creditor D obtained a favorable ruling from an HK court in May 2024, under which judgment debtor Zhang was required to pay D USD 723,659.99 plus interest. In September 2024, D applied to the BFIPC to recognize and enforce this HK judgment. After review, the BFIPC ruled in favor of recognizing and enforcing the judgment pursuant to the 2024 Arrangement.

In late December 2024, shortly after the BFIPC’s ruling, the Foshan Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong also recognized and enforced another HK High Court judgment related to unpaid rent and investment funds.

The 2024 Arrangement replaces the 2008 Arrangement (“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”, 关于内地与香港特别行政区法院相互认可和执行当事人协议管辖的民商事案件判决安排). It significantly expands the scope of mutual recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments between the two regions, and further enhances judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.

 

 

Photo by Rafik Wahba on Unsplash

Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team

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