In accordance with the provisions of Article 95 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the Supreme People's Court and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (hereinafter referred to as “HKSAR”), after consultation, hereby  make  the  following  arrangement  concerning  mutual  assistance  in court-ordered interim measures in aid of arbitral proceedings by the courts of the Mainland and of the HKSAR:

Article 1 “Interim  measure”referred to in this Arrangement includes, in the case of the Mainland, property preservation, evidence preservation  and  conduct  preservation;  and,  in  the  case  of  the  HKSAR, injunction and other interim measure for the purpose of maintaining or restoring the status quo pending determination of the dispute; taking action that would prevent, or refraining from taking action that is likely to cause, current or imminent harm or prejudice to the arbitral proceedings; preserving assets; or preserving evidence that may be relevant and material to the resolution of the dispute.

Article 2 “Arbitral proceedings in Hong Kong” referred to in this Arrangement shall be seated in the HKSAR and be administered by  the following institutions or permanent offices:

(1) arbitral institutions established in the HKSAR or having their headquarters established in the HKSAR, and with their principal place of management located in the HKSAR;

(2) dispute resolution institutions or permanent offices set up in the HKSAR by international intergovernmental organisations of which the People's Republic of China is a member; or

(3) dispute resolution institutions or permanent offices set up in the HKSAR  by  other  arbitral  institutions  and  which  satisfy  the criteria prescribed by the HKSAR Government (such as the number of arbitration cases and the amount in dispute, etc.).

The list of such institutions or permanent offices referred to above is to be provided by the HKSAR Government to the Supreme People's Court and be subject to confirmation by both sides.

Article 3 Before  the  arbitral  award  is  made,  a  party  to  arbitral proceedings in Hong Kong may, by reference to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China and relevant judicial interpretations, make an application for interim measure to the Intermediate People's Court of the place of residence of the party against whom the application is made (“respondent”) or  the  place  where  the  property  or  evidence  is  situated.    If  the  place  of residence of the respondent or the place where the property or evidence is situated fall within the jurisdiction of different people's courts, the applicant shall make an application to any one of those people's courts but shall not make separate applications to two or more people's courts.

Where an application for interim measure is made after the relevant institution or permanent office has accepted the arbitration case, the party's application shall be passed on by the said institution or permanent office.

Where a party makes an application for interim measure before the relevant institution or permanent office has accepted the arbitration case, but the people's court of the Mainland has not received a letter from the said institution or permanent office certifying its acceptance of the arbitration case within 30 days after the interim measure is taken, the people's court of the Mainland shall discharge the interim measure.

Article 4 An applicant applying to a people's court of the Mainland for interim measure shall submit the following materials: 

(1) the application for interim measure;

(2) the arbitration agreement;

(3) documents of identity: where the applicant is a natural person, a copy of his/her identity card is to be submitted; where the applicant is a legal person or an organisation which is not a legal person, copies of its certificate of incorporation or registration and the identity card(s) of its legal representative(s) or responsible person(s) are to be submitted;

(4) where a party makes an application for interim measure after the relevant institution or permanent office has accepted the arbitration case, the request for arbitration setting out the main claim of the arbitration and the facts and justifications on which the claim is based,  together with the relevant evidential materials, as well as a letter from the relevant institution or permanent office certifying its acceptance of the relevant arbitration case;

(5) any other materials required by the people's court of the Mainland.

Where a document of identity is issued outside the Mainland, such document of identity shall be certified in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws of the Mainland.

Where a document submitted to a people's court of the Mainland is not in the Chinese language, the applicant shall submit an accurate Chinese translation.

Article 5 The  application  for  interim  measure  shall  specify  the following:

(1) particulars of the parties: where the party is a natural person, his/her name, address, particulars of identity document(s), means of contact, etc.; where the party is a legal person or an organisation which is not a legal person, its name, address as well as the name,  position, address, particulars  of  identity document(s), means of contact, etc. of its legal representative(s) or principal responsible person(s);

(2) details of the application, including the amount applied to be preserved, the particulars of the conduct applied to be preserved and the time period, etc.;

(3) the facts and justifications on which the application is based, together with the relevant evidence, including an explanation of the urgency of the circumstances so that if interim measure is not taken immediately, the legitimate rights and interests of the applicant may suffer irreparable damage or the enforcement of the arbitral award may become difficult, etc.;

(4) clear particulars of the property and evidence to be preserved or concrete threads which may lead to a train of inquiry;

(5) information about the property in the Mainland to be used as security or certification of financial standing;

(6) whether any application under this Arrangement has been made in any other court, relevant institution or permanent office, and the status of such application;

(7) any other matters as may be required to be specified.

Article 6 Before  the  arbitral  award  is  made,  a  party  to  arbitral proceedings administered by a Mainland arbitral institution may, pursuant to the Arbitration Ordinance and the High Court Ordinance, apply to the High Court of the HKSAR for interim measure.

Article 7 A party applying to the court of the HKSAR for interim measure shall submit the application, an affidavit supporting the application, exhibit(s) thereto, a skeleton argument and a draft court order in accordance with the requirements of the relevant laws of the HKSAR, and shall specify the following:

(1) particulars of the parties: where the party is a natural person, his or her name and address; where the party is a legal person or an organisation which is not a legal person, its name and address as well as the name, position, means of contact, etc. of its legal representative or principal responsible person;

(2) details of the request and justifications for the application;

(3) the location and status of the subject matter of the application;

(4) the answer asserted or likely to be asserted by the party against whom the application is made;

(5) any facts which might lead the court not to grant the interim measure being sought or not to grant such interim measure ex parte;

(6) the applicant's undertaking to the court of the HKSAR; 

(7) any other matters as may be required to be specified.

Article 8 A requested court shall examine a party's application for interim measure expeditiously.    A people's court of the Mainland may require the applicant to provide security, etc., while a court of the HKSAR may require the applicant to give an undertaking and provide security for costs, etc.

After examination and being satisfied that the party's application for interim measure is in accordance with the law of the requested place, the court of the requested place shall make a decision, order etc. for interim measure.

Article 9 Where a party is aggrieved by a decision, order etc. of the requested court, the matter shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws of the requested place.

Article 10 A party who makes an application for interim measure shall pay the fees in accordance with the laws and regulations on litigation fees of the requested place.

Article 11 This Arrangement does not prejudice any rights enjoyed by the arbitral institutions, arbitral tribunals or parties of the Mainland and the HKSAR under the laws of the other place.

Article 12 Any  problem arising  from the  implementation  of  this Arrangement or any amendment to be made to this Arrangement shall be resolved through consultation between the Supreme People's Court and the HKSAR Government.

Article 13 Following the promulgation of a judicial interpretation by the Supreme People's Court and the completion of the relevant procedures in the HKSAR, both sides shall announce a date on which this Arrangement shall come into effect.

This Arrangement is signed in duplicate in Hong Kong on this 2^nd day of April 2019.

Related Links:

内地与香港特区今日签署就仲裁程序相互协助保全的安排

*The original text is Chinese and has been translated into English for reference only. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.