Cross-border judgement deal reached

Hong Kong and the mainland will today sign an agreement making commercial judgments delivered in each other's courts enforceable on both sides of the border, the South China Morning Post reported. Both sides have agreed on a list of 469 mainland courts whose judgments in commercial cases may be enforceable in Hong Kong, including the Supreme People's Court, 32 higher people's courts, 389 intermediate courts and 47 basic-level courts. The pact also provides grounds for refusing mutual enforcement in cases such as a judgment obtained by fraud or the losing party being given insufficient time to prepare a defense. The two governments have been negotiating the pact since 2002 but concerns over the quality of mainland courts have been a stumbling block.