CONFIDENTIAL
XCX(92)59
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The Working Party was chaired by Mr David Edwards, Law Officer (International Law) and comprised practising lawyers from both Government and the profession together with the Group Legal Adviser of HSBC Holdings plc and a High Court Judge with specialist knowledge of the law and practice relating to international arbitration. The Working Party delivered its Report to the Attorney General on 13 October 1992.
The Report
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The recommendations of the Working Party are summarised at pages 4 to 9 of the Report. The principal ones are -
(a)
(b)
(c)
Reciprocal enforcement of arbitration awards: that the Chinese be asked to agree as soon as possible to an extension beyond 30 June 1997 of the existing arrangements under the 1958 New York Convention, so that arbitral awards in Hong Kong can be enforced in China after that date.
Service of documents: that the 1965 Hague Convention system for the service of judicial and extra-judicial documents as it presently exists between Hong Kong and the PRC be preserved after 30 June 1997. This arrangement should be recorded in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Chinese and British sides.
Taking of evidence: a proposal should be made to the Chinese side that the substance of the 1970 Hague Convention on Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters would be a sound basis on which to continue cooperation as between the courts of the HKSAR and those of the rest of the PRC after 1997. Alternatively, an arrangement (by way of an MOU) embodying Hague-style provisions operating between Hong Kong and the PRC courts, and capable of surviving 1997, should be concluded as soon as reasonably possible.
(d) Reciprocal enforcement of judgments: that appropriate arrangements for the recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments between the two jurisdictions be put in place. The Working Party has prepared a draft MOU embodying the necessary arrangements.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.