Hk Legal Judgments

Top notes have always had that role and have always been very popular with lawyers, but I think top notes are even more important now because judgments have become much longer than they used to be. Foreign judgments that cannot be registered under the FJREO or MJREO may be incorporated into domestic law under common law by initiating new proceedings in Hong Kong to prosecute the foreign judgment and subsequently obtaining a judgment in Hong Kong in that case. Georgiou Payne Stewien LLP is a leading Hong Kong-based law firm specializing in dispute resolution, transactions and projects in the Asia-Pacific region. GPS Legal has a group for the enforcement of judgments/arbitral awards and asset recovery, which includes lawyers mainly active in this area. The firm represents clients in asset recovery, including the recognition and enforcement of domestic and foreign judgments and international arbitral awards. He develops and manages case strategies with a particular focus on investigating, identifying, tracing and recovering assets, as well as implementing the use of creative non-procedural techniques to create leverage for comparison, with the primary goal of maximizing recovery in a cost-effective and timely manner. The firm`s team includes lawyers with higher hearing rights who can simultaneously advise clients and argue before Hong Kong courts. This allows it to provide simplified and agile representation to obtain urgent judicial remedy in critical situations where assets are at high risk of digression or escape Hong Kong`s jurisdiction. Use WorldLII to search for legal material that is not on HKLII.

Foreign judgments incorporated into ordinary law must apply to final and final pecuniary judgments. Other types of judgments are not enforceable at common law. Hong Kong is not a party to international treaties on the enforcement of foreign judgments. However, foreign judgments are enforceable in Hong Kong, either under certain laws or under common law. The headings contain paragraph references to judgments in order to facilitate reference to the judgment on a particular point, as the reader may be interested in only one or two different issues dealt with in a particular judgment. The following types of judgments are available in proceedings before the courts of Hong Kong. Hong Kong`s approach to enforcement varies according to the types of judgments, as follows. One of the hot topics in Hong Kong right now is clearly the mutual enforcement of judgments between Hong Kong and the People`s Republic of China (also known as the mainland in Hong Kong). There are many ways to enforce domestic judgments in Hong Kong. Here are some of the most common and used application procedures.

The FJREO and MJREO determine the grounds on which foreign judgments may be registered and the grounds on which registration may be cancelled (see 3.2 Differences in the enforcement procedure for foreign judgments and 3.5 Costs and delays in enforcing foreign judgments). Summary judgment is a proceeding in which a plaintiff can obtain final judgment against a defendant without going to court. It is available if the plaintiff can prove that the defendant does not have a meritorious defense to the claim. To successfully defend an urgent motion, the defendant would have to prove that there are triviable issues that can only be resolved at trial. Summary judgments (such as final judgments) can be rendered for most types of claims, including liquidated and unliquidated damages, declaratory actions, injunctive relief, and certain benefits. Whereas in the past a plaintiff could not seek summary judgment if his or her claim was based on allegations of fraud against the defendant, this rule has recently been repealed. In general, there are no unenforceable domestic decisions (with the exception of those described in paragraph 2.5 «Challenging the enforcement of domestic decisions» against which an appeal or annulment has been successfully lodged or for which a stay of execution (provisional or permanent) has been granted). The legislation under which foreign judgments may be enforced in Hong Kong (or more precisely, registered as domestic judgments) is as follows. Hong Kong Cases selects judgments based on the legal value of the case and often reports cases with legal issues that may not have been dealt with before. The decision also highlights the importance for parties and their lawyers to consider enforcing judgments well in advance of judgment, especially when it comes to mainland judgments that may be enforced in Hong Kong and vice versa.

As mentioned in point 3.2 «Variations in the approach to the enforcement of foreign judgments», according to FJREO and MJREO, only final monetary decisions can be recorded. In addition, the MJREO is also limited to the registration of commercial judgments (although this will be extended under the Convention once it enters into force). In addition, the Convention expressly excludes judgments concerning, inter alia, insolvency (corporate insolvency, restructuring and personal insolvency), certain matrimonial matters and certain maritime matters. Foreign judgments that cannot be registered under the FJREO or MJREO may be domesticated in Hong Kong under common law, provided that the judgment is a final and final monetary judgment (for a fixed amount of money). The incorporation of foreign judgments by the FJREO or MJREO can take two to four months if they are not appealed. At common law, it takes two to three months to obtain a default judgment and three to four months to obtain an uncontested summary judgment. It can take up to 12 months (or more) to obtain summary judgment if the application is contested. When researching a particular point of law, judges, practitioners and academics want to have a quick introduction to the judgment so they know what it is and whether it is worth reading to solve the particular legal problem they are facing. The procedure for registering foreign judgments under the FJREO and MJREO is broadly similar.

Applications for registration are made ex parte by means of a supporting affidavit and a proposed order. The affidavit must include the foreign judgment (and a certified translation if the judgment is not in English). The court usually makes an order to register the judgment on papers, but if it wishes to be heard, it can exercise its discretion and order that a summons be issued to rule on the application. A party may conduct a judicial search in the competent courts; However, this only determines whether a particular legal entity is (or was) a party to legal proceedings in Hong Kong. Non-parties to the proceedings have no right of access to the court file. The decision highlights the limits imposed by the requirement of the exclusive jurisdiction clause. The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (FJREO), which also has limited applicability as it only applies to judgments rendered in 15 countries, does not require a jurisdiction clause (let alone an exclusive clause). In fact, registrable decisions under the FJREA are not limited to decisions arising from commercial contracts. Subject to certain conditions, all final and final monetary judgments of the 15 countries are generally registrable under the FJREO. It was simply the absence of the required exclusive jurisdiction clause in the guarantee that meant that it was not within the jurisdiction of the MJREO (although it was subordinated/subsidiary to an agreement that fell within the remit of the MJREO). In Hong Kong, there is no central register of judgments. However, there are ways to search for certain judgments in Hong Kong (although it should be noted that many judgments are not found this way).

Covers all areas of Hong Kong law, and important judgments are reported promptly and accurately every two weeks. In January 2019, Hong Kong and the PRC also signed the Agreement on Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Mainland Courts and the Hong Kong SAR (the «Convention»). The Convention, which has not yet entered into force, aims to extend the scope of PRC judgments that can be registered in Hong Kong and vice versa. In Hong Kong, it is generally possible to legally determine the property situation of another party (a debtor) in two ways, namely (i) publicly available information or obtained through other extrajudicial procedures, and (ii) court proceedings, such as court orders in Hong Kong or elsewhere. Information and documents may also be obtained in the context of legal proceedings. Often, these are specifically intended to obtain information, such as Mareva (freezing orders), third-party investigations (Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust prescriptions, subpoenas) or Anton Piller. At other times, information in court proceedings may be obtained through discovery investigations, witness statements, affidavits, etc. may be obtained. In Hong Kong, the rules of the High Court provide detailed procedures under which final and summary judgments may be appealed. In general, an appeal is not considered an automatic stay of the execution of the judgment. An appellant may apply for a stay of execution pending the appeal, but he must provide good reasons, otherwise he will not be ordered.