Crossing the Border Provides No Refuge from the New Mutually Recognized Commercial Contract Law

Posted on August 5, 2008 by King & Wood

As of August 1st, Hong Kong and The Mainland were able to recognize and enforce commercial contracts, in accordance with the “Jurisdiction Agreement”  stated in “Arrangement between the Mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Courts for Mutual Recognition and Implementation of Judgment on Civil-Commercial Cases under Agreement Jurisdiction."  Find out more about its application below...

By Xu Xiaodan, King & Wood's International Litigation & Arbitration Group

 

Three conditions are required by the Arrangement, as stated in Articles 1 and 3,  in regards to the Jurisdiction Agreement among the parties:

 

  1. Formality Requirement: the Jurisdiction Agreement must be in writing.
  2. Time Requirement: the Jurisdiction Agreement  refers to that reached after the effective date of the Arrangement. That is to say, if a jurisdiction agreement is reached before the effective date of the Arrangement, then, even if the designated court has made a judgment, such judgment can not be recognized and enforced as per provided in the Arrangement.
  3. Content Requirement: the Jurisdiction Agreement must designate sole jurisdiction of the court either in Mainland or in Hong Kong. In other words, if it is agreed by the parties that the jurisdiction of the court is non-exclusive, then the judgment,  although there is a Jurisdiction Agreement,  cannot be recognized and enforced based on the Arrangement.


After August 1st, 2008, parties that anticipate utilizing the provisions of the Arrangement to obtain recognition and to enforce judgments in both Mainland China and HKSAR may introduce a specific “Exclusive Jurisdiction” clause in their contracts, which provides that all the disputes arising from the contract should be submitted to the sole jurisdiction of Mainland or Hong Kong courts. Parties that prefer not to utilize the Arrangement and ensure that a judgment will not be enforced in Mainland China or HKSAR may introduce a “Non-exclusive Jurisdiction” clause, providing “non-exclusive jurisdiction” to the Mainland China or HK courts.


 

 

 

 

 

浅析《关于内地与香港特别行政区法院相互认可和执行当事人协议管辖的民商事案件判决的安排》中对"管辖协议"的要求

 

作者：徐晓丹，金杜律师事务所 诉讼仲裁组 国际诉讼部

2006年7月14日，最高人民法院和香港特别行政区政府签署了《关于内地与香港特别行政区法院相互认可和执行当事人协议管辖的民商事案件判决的安排》（下称“《安排》”）。根据最高人民法院发布的公告，该《安排》将于2008年8月1日起生效。

 

 

《安排》第一条及第三条对当事人之间的管辖协议提出了三个要求：

 

 

一、形式要求：该管辖协议必须是书面的。

  

    二、时间要求：该管辖协议必须是在《安排》生效之后达成的。也就是说，如果书面管辖协议是在《安排》生效之前达成的，即使法院也作出了相应的判决，该判决也不能适用《安排》得到认可和执行。

 

 

三、内容要求：该管辖协议必须约定内地或香港的法院对相关争议具有唯一的管辖权。也就是说，如果当事人所约定的法院拥有的仅是非排他性管辖权，则即使存在书面管辖协议，相关判决也不能适用《安排》得到认可和执行。

 

 

在2008年8月1日以后，如果某些当事人希望相关判决能够适用《安排》，即能够得到内地与香港的相互认可和执行，则其可以在合同中加入“专属管辖权”条款，约定由内地或香港的法院对该合同项下的争议拥有唯一的管辖权。另一方面，如果某些当事人希望排除《安排》的适用，即令相关判决不能得到内地与香港的相互认可和执行，则其可以在合同中引入“非排他性管辖权”条款，仅赋予内地或香港的法院以“非排他性管辖权”。

 
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