Opinion | New legal practice that helps Hong Kong citizens

By Dr. Kevin Lau Chung-hang

Legislators and citizens alike have been calling for the full re-opening of the border between the Mainland and Hong Kong. If you ask lawyers, you will be informed that there used to be a barrier between the Mainland and Hong Kong in the legal world which made the unwanted need for parties to bring separate lawsuits in the courts of the Mainland and Hong Kong for the same dispute necessary. Now here comes the good news. With the enactment of the Mainland Judgments in Matrimonial and Family Cases (Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 639), a repetitive legal process has now been saved, bringing great convenience to those who had to go through the legal procedures in Hong Kong all over again in the past for a judgment made in a Mainland court.

Cross-border marriages are not uncommon in Hong Kong. Not all marriages last, naturally, and once a relationship turns sour and when divorce looks inevitable, couples in cross-border marriages find divorce a much more complicated matter than locals-only marriages given the fact that cross-border marriages involve parties coming from two different jurisdictions.

Before the abovesaid Ordinance was passed, a legal framework for mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments and orders in marriage and family cases between Hong Kong and the Mainland simply did not exist. What it implies is that back then, court orders made in Hong Kong were not binding in the Mainland, and vice versa. Then what followed was that if a family legal case was initiated in the Mainland where a final court decision was made, both parties of the marriage had to apply for the same legal procedure in Hong Kong if the said court decision was to be enforced in Hong Kong. The situation was far from ideal and the need to set up an arrangement for mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments between the two jurisdictions became very urgent.

Now Cap. 639 enables the registration of Mainland marriage or family judgments in Hong Kong, recognizes Mainland divorce certificates in Hong Kong, and facilitates the Mainland recognition and enforcement of judgments in marriage and family cases concluded in Hong Kong. Needless to say, the Ordinance has freed parties from the need to undertake the legal procedure all over again for the same dispute. What is more, it not only saves time and costs, but also helps to reduce emotional stress for the parties involved in a legal case. And, without the need to re-run the legal procedure, the Ordinance also enables the parties to get timely and effective judicial reliefs under which their rights are better protected. To many, this is yet another advantage of Hong Kong because while the common law system is kept, citizens enjoy the convenience brought about by an Ordinance such as Cap. 639. In no other places in the world one can ever expect to see such a phenomenon than Hong Kong. Only the "One Country, Two Systems" framework allows such great social benefits for the citizens of Hong Kong.

Dr. Kevin Lau Chung-hang is a radiologist and non-official member of the Commission on Poverty in Hong Kong.

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