(b) whether UK courts are prepared to offer this when they have made requests to the PRC authorities.
(c) whether the PRC has made such requests to UK courts or vice
versa.
LEGAL ADVICE
4.
The answers to the questions above are:
(a) The request itself need not contain any such offer, but it is clear that the Chinese court will not be willing to act on it until it is satisfied that reciprocity is assured. (See para 7 below).
(b) the UK courts would have no difficulty with offering such reciprocity. It is true that a Chinese judgement is not automatically enforcable here by way of execution against the judgement debtor. However,
However, a Chinese judgement may be the subject of an action in an English court (equivalent to an action for debt) and, if judgement is given in favour of the creditor, that judgement may be executed in the usual way. This is governed entirely by rules of common law. An action on a foreign judgement involves a lengthier procedure than direct execution but the end result is generally the same.
(c) we have extensively searched our files but have found no samples of previous requests for enforcement of judgements by UK courts to PRC courts or vice versa. There are precedents relating to a variety of other countries but these would be of uncertain relevance.
5.
Our legal advisers have commented that it is not clear why Hong Kong's legal advisers should have taken the view that Hong Kong courts cannot offer reciprocity. The procedure is governed by rules of common law which are, as far as we are aware, the same in Hong Kong as the UK. It would be helpful to have Hong Kong's
comments.
6. There appears to be no obstacle in principle in Chinese law. The relevant Chinese law governing enforcement of a judgement is Article 204 of the Civil Procedure Law of the PRC 1982 (not Article 202 of the Civil Code as cited by Deacons). Article 204 provides:
"Article 204. In dealing with a judgement or ruling which has already been determined and which a foreign court has entrusted a people's court of the People's Republic of china to execute, the people's court should examine the judgement or ruling on the basis of an international treaty signed or participated in