Enforcing Judgments And Arbitral Awards Between Hong Kong And Mainland China

The line of authorities following the HK decision in Chiyu Banking Corp. Ltd. v. Chan Tin Kwun [1996] 2 HKLR 395 demonstrates the supremacy of the various political and administrative arms of the PRC over its judiciary and poses uncertainty as to the enforcement of PRC judgments in HK. In this article we will examine some of the issues involved with enforcing judgments and arbitral awards between HK and the PRC.

The PRC legal system for resolving commercial disputes is quite different from HK's common law system and includes the following methods: -

• Negotiation  (hejie) - under Article 51 of the PRC Civil Procedure :-(aw ("PRCCP:-("), "the two parties may reach a compromise of their own accord". However, a compromise reached under those circumstances may not have the legal effect of a judgment declared by the court. Parties therefore need to institute court proceedings if a compromise is breached.