Description

Dr Emily Lee’s presentation will examine the potential and challenges of what is commonly known as the ‘Cooperation Mechanism’, a scheme introduced jointly by the Supreme People’s Court in China and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on May 14, 2021, for enhancing mutual recognition and assistance in insolvency proceedings. The Cooperation Mechanism is for trial implementation only and its application is restricted to the courts in Hong Kong and the Intermediate People’s Courts in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Xiamen. Although the Cooperation Mechanism is referred by some as the “new arrangement” or the “2021 Arrangement,” connoting a continuity from previous arrangements made between Hong Kong and China towards recognition of judgments on other matters including, among others, civil and commercial matters, this presentation contends that the Cooperation Mechanism does not in itself constitute a formal mechanism for mutual recognition in the same way as the 2006 Arrangement symbolizes. To assess the impact of the Cooperation Mechanism, this presentation traces and analyzes court decisions on recognition and assistance which were made before the implementation of the Cooperation Mechanism, and places them in contrast to those pursuant to or influenced by the Cooperation Mechanism. It further warns that the Cooperation Mechanism will likely have limited impact if it is not extended to other courts in China outside the pilot areas, although the Hong Kong courts are less likely to be affected in terms of the approval of requests for recognition and assistance since reciprocity is not a requirement in Hong Kong.