A Conflict of Laws Study in Hong Kong–China Judgment Regionalism: Legal Challenges and Renewed Momentum

Abstract

With the intensifying economic and social dynamics between Hong Kong and Mainland China since the handover in 1997, a comprehensive and effective cross-border judgment recognition and enforcement mechanism is imperative in order for Hong Kong to reinforce its role as a dispute resolution center in the perspective of judgments, in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, and in the Greater Bay Area. This Article examines in detail the achievements and inadequacies in the current Hong Kong statutory and common law regimes, particularly the Mainland Judgment (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 597), and reveals their tensions and inconsistencies with Mainland regimes and the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. Then, the Article provides an exhaustive statistical analysis on cases involving the MJO and explains the evolution to a more pro-enforcement judicial approach towards Mainland judgments in Hong Kong recently. It concludes by looking at the breakthroughs and outstanding issues of the new 2019 Arrangement between Hong Kong and the Mainland, as well as the prospects of Hong Kong in acceding to the 2005 and 2019 Hague Conventions and developing an interregional judgment recognition and enforcement framework.

Keywords: Chinese law, conflict of laws, judgment, Hague Convention

JEL Classification: K40, K41, K49