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Arrangement between Hong Kong and Mainland China for the enforcement of Judgments

In this edition of the bowers.law Room 228 Newsletter, we look at the arrangement for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of Judgments in civil and commercial matters between Hong Kong and Mainland China.

May, 2025

In this edition of the bowers.law Room 228 Newsletter, we look at the arrangement for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of Judgments in civil and commercial matters between Hong Kong and Mainland China.

At bowers.law, we do our best to keep our clients out of court and to settle cases, not least because of the cost, lost management time and stress involved in litigating disputes, and the fact that it can take several years for a case to reach trial.

However, when a case does go to trial in Hong Kong and results in a Judgment, can that Judgment be enforced against assets in Mainland China? Similarly, if Court proceedings are brought in Mainland China, will a Mainland Chinese Court Judgment be enforceable against assets in Hong Kong?

In civil and commercial cases, the answer is ‘yes’, although with some qualifications and exceptions.

Reciprocal arrangements between Hong Kong and Mainland China

The reciprocal enforcement of Judgments between Mainland China and Hong Kong was first implemented in 2008, when 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 of 2006 (2006 Arrangement) came into effect.

The 2006 Arrangement enabled judgment creditors to enforce monetary Judgments in civil and commercial cases, but only when the parties had agreed in the contract under which the dispute arose to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts in Mainland China or Hong Kong.

However, on 29 January 2024 a new 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 (2019 Arrangement) came into force (through the Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 645) and following an Announcement of the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC), introducing changes which should enable more Judgments to be enforced between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

The 2019 Arrangement is applicable to the enforcement of judgments given on or after 29 January 2024, whilst the 2006 Arrangement will continue to apply to the enforcement of Judgments given before 29 January 2024.

Key changes under the 2019 Arrangement

1. Exclusive jurisdiction clause no longer required

The requirement that the parties must have agreed to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts in Mainland China or Hong Kong in the contract under which the dispute arose has been removed.

Instead, the party seeking to enforce the Judgment must only show that the court in Hong Kong or Mainland China which heard the case had a jurisdictional connection to the case.  For example, if the case was heard in a Court in Hong Kong, factors which will be taken into account in establishing such connection include if the defendant’s place of residence or business, or the place of performance of the contract, was in Hong Kong.

2. More types of enforceable judgments

Under the 2019 Arrangement, both monetary and non-monetary Judgments in civil and commercial cases are enforceable, including for example orders for declaratory relief and injunctions, although not orders for interim relief.

Certain types of Judgment are, however, excluded under the 2019 Arrangement, e.g.:

  • judgments on corporate insolvency and debt restructuring, as well as personal insolvency;
  • matters relating to the succession, administration or distribution of estates;
  • judgments in family or matrimonial matters;
  • judgements in certain types of maritime case;
  • judgments on the validity of an arbitration agreement and the setting aside of an arbitral award; and
  • judgments ruling on the recognition and enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards made by other countries or places.

3. Judgments from a wider range of courts / tribunals can be enforced

Judgments from a wider range of Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese Courts are enforceable under the 2019 Arrangement.

In Hong Kong, enforceable Judgments given by the Competition Tribunal, the Lands Tribunal, the Labour Tribunal, and the Small Claims Tribunal are now covered, in addition to Judgments made by the District Court, High Court (Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal) and Court of Final Appeal, which were already covered by the 2006 Arrangement.

In the Mainland, enforceable Judgments from all Primary People’s Courts or above (subject to certain conditions regarding an appeal from a Judgment) are now covered by the 2019 Arrangement.

Registration of Judgments

Under the 2019 Arrangement, a party wishing to register and enforce a Hong Kong Judgment in Mainland China must obtain from the relevant Hong Kong Court a certified copy the Judgment and then file it with an Intermediate People’s Court of the place of residence of the applicant or the respondent, or the place where the property of the respondent is located.

To register a Mainland Chinese Judgment in Hong Kong, a party must make an application (without notice to the judgment debtor) to the High Court, supported by an affidavit. Once an order for registration of the Mainland Chinese Judgment is made, the applicant must serve a notice of registration of the Judgment on the judgment debtor.

A court in Mainland China or Hong Kong will, however, refuse to recognise and enforce a Judgment in certain circumstances, including for example if it is satisfied that:

  • the exercise of jurisdiction by the court which made the judgment does not meet the requirements stipulated in the 2019 Arrangement;
  • the Judgment was obtained by fraud; and
  • a Court of the place where the Judgment is sought to be enforced has rendered a Judgment in the same dispute, or recognised a Judgment on the same dispute given by another country or place.

Conclusion

With the removal of the requirement for an exclusive jurisdiction clause, and now that both monetary and non-monetary Judgments issued by a wider range of Courts, can be enforced under the 2019 Arrangement, many more classes of Judgments should now be able to be enforced between Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Please contact Kevin or Mark at kevin.bowers@bowers.law or mark.bedford@bowers.law if you have any questions about this Room 228 Newsletter.

This Newsletter is not intended to be and should not be relied on as legal advice. You should seek professional legal advice before taking any action in relation to the subject-matter of this Newsletter.

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