Governor
CONFIDENTIAL
C
Arrangements between Hong Kong and China in Civil and Commercial Legal Matters
4X6
6
LO(IL) and I have, in recent months, been approached by a member of the Judiciary and by the Legal Adviser to the Hongkong Bank
the Hongkong Bank asking us what arrangements between Hong Kong and the PRC will be in place before 1997 (that can continue in force after that date) for legal and procedural cooperation. What they
they have in mind principally are the following : enforcement in the PRC of civil judgments, arbitration awards and maintenance orders made in Hong Kong (and vice versa), taking of evidence and service of documents, and the recognition of the validity of certain types of court orders (e.g. divorce and legal separations) and legal documents (e.g. wills). I should emphasise that these are all matters in the civil and commercial law area. Cooperation with China on criminal matters (e.g. extradition and other kinds of mutual criminal legal assistance) is being considered separately.
2.
The international aspects
of all these civil and commercial legal matters are currently regulated by bilateral and multilateral treaties to which the UK are party and which have been applied by the UK to Hong Kong. So far as countries other than China are concerned, those matters will be covered after 1997 either by the relevant multilateral Conventions continuing in effect (with the agreement of China) or by Hong Kong going out and negotiating its Own bilateral agreements with its main customer countries. All this work is being pursued by LO(IL), either in the IRO Sub-group of the JLG or bilaterally. He is beginning to make reasonable progress.
3.
This leaves open the question of what we need to put in place in relations
relations between the Mainland and Hong Kong in those areas I have mentioned in paragraph 1 above. The question as to what subjects we need to cover and the way in which we should deal with them give rise to some difficult legal and technical questions.
4.
LO(IL) and I believe that the best way to come up with
the right answers would be for me to establish a small working party which would be asked to study the questions and to make recommendations to me. The private sector here (as advised by the legal profession) has
/ a direct interest
COMEDENTIAL
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