MACAU SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: João Nuno Riquito, Bruno Almeida and Daniel de Senna Fernandes, Riquito Advogados
7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief Subject to their competence for the main proceed- ings (multiple factors or circumstances justify the competence of the local courts), injunctive relief can be requested and awarded by the Macau SAR courts. Enforcement of injunctive relief awarded by the Macau SAR courts in foreign jurisdictions depends on inter- national conventions or agreements for judicial co- operation and recognition of judicial or arbitration decisions, between the Macau SAR and those juris- dictions. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Under special circumstances, injunctive relief meas- ures may be awarded against individuals or entities who are not parties to the main proceedings to which the injunctive relief is ancillary (third parties). This will be the case when the assets to be arrested are in the possession of an individual who is not the debtor. This third party will be a respondent to the injunctive relief proceedings, but not to the main proceedings where the claimant will be requesting that the court convict the defendant to settle the debt. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance Breach of injunctive relief entails criminal liability for qualified disobedience, which is subject to imprison- ment for up to two years, or criminal fine of up to 240 days. A day-fine is a criminal sanction used as an alterna- tive to imprisonment. The number of days of the fine varies with the type of crime as well as the particulars of its commitment, from a minimum of ten and up to 360 days. The daily rate of the fine ranges between MOP50 to MOP10,000, which is determined by the judge in accordance with the proportionality principle and the financial condition of the offender.
Civil court proceedings start with written submissions; following these, the trial is primarily oral and is presid- ed over by a judge. Once all summoned are present, trial will commence with an attempt at conciliation which, if unsuccessful, will give way to the deposi- tions from the respondent and the plaintiff, followed by the taking of evidence, expert testimonies, hear- ing of witnesses, and oral arguments on the facts, in that order although subject to change when deemed necessary or convenient. The court will then recall and issue the judgment on the facts, delivered in writing and read aloud in the presence of all those directly involved. It is common to adjourn the proceedings for the issuance and reading of the decision on the facts. Parties may submit complaints and clarifications against the decision on the facts. After a decision on such queries, the parties shall present their legal argu- ments, in writing, or subject to agreement, orally. The judge shall then issue the final judgment. 7.2 Case Management Hearings Case management hearings are allowed by the Code of Civil Procedure, but are not common practice in the Macau SAR, where most of the ruling is made in writ- ing by the judges. An attempt at conciliation may take place prior to the trial, at the request of the parties or by a summons to appear before a judge. A summons to appear before a judge may also be issued at any other stage of the proceedings, provided the parties have not previously requested an attempt at concili- ation and the summons is issued no more than once. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases According to Macau SAR’s Code of Civil Procedure, trial by jury is not available. Instead, civil court pro- ceedings are either decided at first instance by one single judge or by a panel of three judges, depending mostly on the value of the proceedings. In the superior courts, judgments are generally issued by a panel of three judges, although the presiding judge has powers to rule by themselves on proce-
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