MACAU SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Frederico Rato, Pedro Cortés and Calvin Tinlop Chui, Lektou
• No doubts about the authenticity of the document containing the foreign judgment, or its meaning, should arise. • The foreign judgment is final, and no appeal is pos- sible under the applicable laws. • The foreign judgment was not obtained fraudu- lently and was not issued on one of the matters for which the Macau courts consider themselves (by law) to have exclusive jurisdiction. The courts of Macau consider themselves as having exclusive jurisdiction to decide upon ownership rights cases over immovable assets located in Macau (lex rei sitae), as well as bankruptcies of companies with their registered main office in Macau. • No identical suit is pending before a court in Macau, and no identical suit has already been judged by a Macau court. • Due process and equitable rights were granted to the parties by the foreign courts. • The foreign judgment obtained does not violate any public policy of Macau. Arbitral Awards An arbitral award rendered in Macau is enforceable in the courts of general jurisdiction with the same effect as a domestic court judgment. Foreign arbitral awards are subject to review and confirmation by a Macau court before enforcement, in line with the standards established under the New Arbitration Law (Law No 19/2019) and the New York Convention, unless other mutual recognition agreements between the jurisdic- tions in question apply. 6.4 A Foreign Lender’s Ability to Enforce Its Rights There are no matters that might significantly impact a foreign lender’s ability to enforce its rights under a loan or security agreement in Macau, except that all the documents to be submitted to the Macau courts are required to be translated into either of the two official languages: Portuguese or Chinese.
maturity of all debts, the cessation of the accrual of interest or other charges on the obligations of the company, and the termination of any actualisation of the obligations to which the company is subject. The declaration of insolvency also precludes the ini- tiation or continuation of any proceedings against the company. 7.2 Waterfall of Payments Under the Macau Civil Procedure Code, payment is immediately made to the creditors with real estate col- lateral, upon liquidating the assets, and if such credi- tors are not paid in full, they are then included among the common creditors. The rules for the order of payments are distributed throughout the Macau Civil Code, and a systemat- ic approach can be used to interpret the rules and determine the order for income assignment, pledge, mortgage, privileged credit and lien, as well as the relationship between the creditor and the company. 7.3 Length of Insolvency Process and Recoveries The duration of insolvency proceedings in Macau can vary significantly depending on the complexity of the case, the size of the company, the co-operation of the parties involved, and other factors. In some cases, the process can take several months to a few years to complete. The exact timeline will depend on the specific circumstances and the efficiency of the legal system. The recovery rates for creditors in insolvency proceed- ings can also vary. In Macau, the goal of insolvency proceedings is to ensure the fair distribution of the insolvent company’s assets among its creditors. How- ever, the actual recovery for creditors will depend on several factors, including the value of the company’s assets, the priority of creditor claims, the existence of secured creditors, and the overall financial situation of the company. 7.4 Rescue or Reorganisation Procedures Other Than Insolvency Under Macau law, there is no alternative to insolvency proceedings. However, under this process, it is pos-
7. Bankruptcy and Insolvency 7.1 Impact of Insolvency Processes
The declaration of insolvency determines the closure of the company’s current accounts, the immediate
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