Key elements for enforcing HK arbitral awards in mainland China

In contrast to foreign arbitration awards, an application may be made directly to a competent mainland court for the enforcement of an arbitration award rendered in Hong Kong, without first going through the “application for recognition” procedure. The legal basis for this is the Arrangement for the Mutual Enforcement of Arbitration Awards Between Mainland China and the HKSAR, which has made the mutual enforcement of arbitration awards by both places more convenient and rapid under “one country, two systems”. This column proposes to describe some of the points that require attention when making the application.

Can an application be made in mainland China for the enforcement of an ad hoc arbitration award? The mainland’s Arbitration Law specifies that an arbitration award can only be rendered by an arbitration institution. This question has drawn considerable attention.

China acceded to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in 1958. Pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Convention, “The term ‘arbitral awards’ shall include not only awards made by arbitrators appointed for each case but also those made by permanent arbitral bodies to which the parties have submitted.” This provision affirms that both ad hoc arbitration awards and awards rendered by arbitration institutions are arbitration awards.