Recently, the Supreme People's Court ("SPC") issued the Supplementary Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral awards between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the "Supplementary Arrangement"). Articles 1 and 4 of the Supplementary Arrangement shall come into force as of the date of issuance, while the effective date of Articles 2 and 3 will be announced by the SPC after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region finishes relevant procedures.

The Supplementary Arrangement mainly revises the following aspects: (1) "Recognition" procedures are clearly stipulated, and the application of laws is unified, as for the mainland courts have different opinions on whether arbitral awards of Hong Kong are enforceable only upon recognition. (2) The scope of mutual recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards is expanded. Concerning the arbitral awards of Hong Kong which are applied for recognition and enforcement, it is stipulated that the application for recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards filed pursuant to the Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance can be filed with the mainland people's courts. (3) It is provided that an applicant can apply for the enforcement of an arbitral award with courts of the mainland and Hong Kong at the same time. (4) Relevant provisions on preservation measures before or after courts accept applications for recognition and enforcement are added.

(Source: Supreme People's Court)