The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced on November 10 that the Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 645) and the Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Rules will come into effect on January 29, 2024. The Ordinance aims to implement the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters between the Courts of the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Hong Kong, and to establish in Hong Kong mechanisms for: registering Mainland civil and commercial judgments in Hong Kong, and applying to the Hong Kong courts for certified copies and certificates of Hong Kong civil and commercial judgments, to facilitate parties seeking recognition and enforcement of such judgments in the Mainland. In the Mainland, the Supreme People’s Court will issue judicial interpretations regarding the implementation of the Arrangement. A spokesman for the Department of Justice of the HKSAR Government stated that the Ordinance and the Rules establish a more comprehensive mechanism for the mutual recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments between Hong Kong and the Mainland, thereby reducing the need for parties to bring duplicate litigation over the same dispute in both places and providing better protection for the interests of parties.
