CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yaxing Zhang, Bing San, Yi Cao and Jiahui Zhu, Han Kun Law Offices
Parties may apply to courts in Mainland China for rec - ognition and enforcement of relevant arbitral awards from these jurisdictions under the above arrange - ments and regulations. 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Procedure of Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards The procedure for applying for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in China con - sists of two steps. First, the applicant applies to the court for recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral award. After review, the court issues a ruling on whether to recognise the award. After obtaining the recognition ruling, the applicant then applies to the court for compulsory enforcement of the foreign arbitral award. Regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, an applicant shall file an application with the Intermediate People’s Court where the award debtor is domiciled or where the debtor’s assets are located. If the domicile or assets of the award debtor are not within the territory of the PRC, the application shall be filed to the Intermediate People’s Court at the applicant’s domicile or at a location with an appropri - ate connection to the dispute subject to the award. Procedure of Enforcement of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Arbitral Awards The procedure for applying for recognition and enforcement of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan arbi - tral awards in China consists of two steps. First, the applicant applies to the court for recognition and enforcement of the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan arbitral award. After review, the court will issue a rul - ing on whether to recognise and enforce the award. After obtaining the recognition ruling, the applicant then applies to the court for compulsory enforcement of the foreign arbitral award. For the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in Hong Kong, the applicant shall apply to the Intermediate People’s Court at the respondent’s domi - cile or the location of assets.
For the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in Macau, the applicant shall apply to the Inter - mediate People’s Court at the respondent’s domicile, habitual residence, or the location of assets. For the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in Taiwan, the applicant shall apply to either the Intermediate People’s Court at the applicant’s domicile/habitual residence, or at the respondent’s domicile/habitual residence/location of assets, or a specialised people’s court. Procedure for Enforcement of Domestic Arbitral Awards Domestic arbitral awards do not require a separate recognition procedure; the applicant may directly apply for enforcement. Regarding the enforcement of domestic arbitral awards, jurisdiction principally lies with the Interme - diate People’s Court at the award debtor’s domicile or the location of assets subject to enforcement. Excep - tionally, where special local provisions apply (eg, pur - suant to judicial authorisation by the SPC allowing Basic People’s Courts in Shenzhen to handle certain domestic award enforcement cases), jurisdiction may vest with the Basic People’s Court. 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced Categories of Foreign Arbitral Awards Not Enforceable Pursuant to China’s commercial reservation decla - ration upon acceding to the New York Convention, the New York Convention shall apply exclusively to disputes arising from contractual or non-contractual commercial legal relationships as defined under Chi - nese law. Consequently, China recognises and enforces foreign arbitral awards under the New York Convention only for commercial disputes, excluding disputes between foreign investors and host state governments. The term “contractual or non-contractual commercial legal relationships” specifically refers to economic rights and obligations arising from contracts, torts or
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