TNAG-2162-FCO40-3093-Legal-matters-between-Hong-Kong-and-China-1990 — Page 51

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

6

Telephone 01-

Your reference

CC5AAC

Our reference

4 June 1990

Co Piggot Esq

Peking

HKC370/2

Date

- 5 JUN 1990

Dear Carsten L

ENFORCEMENT OF HONG KONG CIVIL JUDGEMENTS IN THE PRC

1.

Please refer to correspondence resting with your letter of

7 February. I am sorry you have not received earlier comments: as you know, we first had to obtain the previous correspondence and our legal advisers have found that the problem has involved a large amount of research. I have now attempted to summarise below the problem as I understand it and to give the advice of our legal advisers.

SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS

2.

Miss Wong's letter to the Embassy of 29 March 1989 referred to service of documents. On the basis of this, you sought the MFA's advice. This they gave as summarised in Alyson Bailes' letter to Miss Wong of 24 April 1989. (Our legal advisers have identified possible sources for this advice: a notice of the Supreme People's court, the MFA and the MOJ concerning certain questions on the mutual service of legal documents through diplomatic channels of 14 August 1986).

ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGEMENTS

3. However, Miss Wong pointed out in her letter to Alyson of 14 November 1989 that the request from Deacons concerned enforcement of judgements, not service of documents. Hong Kong consider it inappropriate for a Hong Kong court to issue a request for enforcement of a Hong Kong judgement in the PRC in the form required by the MFA because it implies an offer of reciprocal assistance which Hong Kong do not feel they can make. Furthermore, Hong Kong ask:

(a) whether we consider that such enforcement carries with it an undertaking to offer reciprocal assistance;