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Arrangements for the enforcement in Hong Kong of Mainland arbitral awards will soon be in place, the Secretary for Justice, Ms Elsie Leung said today (Wednesday).

Addressing the 1998 International Dispute Resolution Conference, Ms Leung said it is hoped an agreement on the arrangements will be signed by the end of this year. "A draft agreement is being discussed, and a few minor issues are still outstanding," she said.

Ms Leung pointed out that although the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards does not apply as between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Mainland, the approach adopted in the discussions with the relevant Mainland authorities is that the enforcement of arbitral awards should be based on the provisions in that Convention.

"Given the widespread acceptance of these provision, it is considered that this approach should be widely welcomed," she said.

"When implemented, the proposed new scheme for enforcing Mainland awards would involve few, if any, changes of the scheme that existed before Reunification," she added.

"The progress that has been made is most encouraging. It is further evidence that the differences between Hong Kong's legal system and that of the Mainland do not make mutual legal assistance impossible, and that the concept of 'one country, two systems' is working well," she said.

End/Wednesday, November 11, 1998

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