HCCH | Declaration/reservation/notification

CCC-249923

California Superior Local Rules

Article 8 that the means of service stipulated in the first paragraph of that

Article may be used within the territory of the People's Republic of China only when the document is to be served upon a national of the State in which the documents originate. 3. to oppose the service of documents in the territory of the People's Republic of China by the methods provided by

Article 10 of the Convention. 4. to declare in accordance with the second paragraph of

Article 15 of the Convention that if all the conditions provided in that paragraph are fulfilled, the judge, notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph of that Article, may give judgment even if no certificate of service or delivery has been received. 5. to declare in accordance with the third paragraph of

Article 16 of the Convention that the application for relief from the effects of the expiration of the time for appeal shall not be entertained except that it is filed within one year following the date of the judgment." _____________________ Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (entry into force: 19 July 1970) The Convention had been extended to Hong Kong by the United Kingdom by Note dated 20 May 1970 (entry into force for Hong Kong: 19 July 1970), with the following declarations: "(

a) In accordance with

Article 18 of the Convention the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong* is designated as the Authority competent to receive requests for service in accordance with

Article 2 of the Convention. * "The Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong" has been re-designated as "the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong" (May 1984). (

b) The authority competent under

Article 6 of the Convention to complete the Certificate of Service is the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong. (

c) In accordance with the provisions of

Article 9 of the Convention the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong is designated as the receiver of process sent through consular channels. (

d) With reference to the provisions of paragraphs (

b) and (

c) of

Article 10 of the Convention, documents sent for DECLARATION/RESERVATION/NOTIFICATION 

HCCH | Declaration/reservation/notification https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/status-table/notifications/?csid=393&disp=resdn service through official channels will be accepted in Hong Kong only by the central or additional authority and only from judicial, consular or diplomatic officers of other Contracting States. (

e) The acceptance by the United Kingdom of the provisions of the second paragraph of

Article 15 of the Convention shall equally apply to Hong Kong. The authorities designated above will require all documents forwarded to them for service under the provisions of the Convention to be in duplicate and, pursuant to the third paragraph of

Article 5 of the Convention, will require the documents to be written in, or translated into, the English language." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, depositary of the Convention, gave notice that on 16 June 1997 the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands received a Note dated 11 June 1997 from the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at The Hague and a Note dated 10 June 1997 from the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China at The Hague concerning Hong Kong.

The Note from the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland reads as follows: "Your Excellency, I am instructed by Her Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to refer to the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters done at The Hague on 15 November 1965 (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) which applies to Hong Kong at present.

I am also instructed to state that, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong signed on 19 December 1984, the Government of the United Kingdom will restore Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China with effect from 1 July 1997. The Government of the United Kingdom will continue to have international responsibility for Hong Kong until that date.

Therefore, from that date the Government of the United Kingdom will cease to be responsible for the international rights and obligations arising from the application of the Convention to Hong Kong.

I should be grateful if the contents of this Note could be placed formally on record and brought to the attention of the other Parties to the Convention. (...) (signed Rosemary Spencer) The Note from the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China reads as follows: (Translation) "Your Excellency, In accordance with the Joint Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the Question of Hong Kong signed on 19 December 1984, the People's Republic of China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong with effect from 1 July 1997.

Hong Kong will, with effect from that date, become a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and will enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs which are the responsibilities of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China.

In this connection, I am instructed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China to make the following notification: The Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters done on 15 November 1965 (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention"), by which the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is designated as the depositary, to which the Government of the People's Republic of China deposited its instrument of accession on 3 May 1991, will apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with effect from 1 July 1997. (...) The Government of the People's Republic of China will assume responsibility for the international rights and

HCCH | Declaration/reservation/notification https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/status-table/notifications/?csid=393&disp=resdn obligations arising from the application of the Convention to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It would be appreciated if the contents of this Note could be placed formally on record and brought to the attention of the other Parties to the Convention. (...) (signed Zhu Manli, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Kingdom of the Netherlands)". Declarations (articles 8 and 10): 1. In accordance with paragraph 2 of

Article 8 of the Convention, it declares that the means of service referred to in paragraph 1 of this

article may be used within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region only when the document is to be served upon a national of the State in which the document originates. 2. (...) 3. (...) 4. With reference to the provisions of sub-paragraphs b and c of

Article 10 of the Convention, documents for service through official channels will be accepted in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region only by the Central Authority or other authority designated, and only from judicial, consular or diplomatic officers of other Contracting States. ____________________ Special Administrative Region of Macao (entry into force: 12 April 1999) By a Note dated 9 February 1999, Portugal had extended the Convention to Macao. On 7 October 1999, Portugal communicated the following to the depositary: "1. In accordance with

Article 18 of the Convention, the Ministério Público de Macao is designated as the competent authority in Macao to receive requests for service coming from other Contracting States and to proceed in conformity with the provisions of Articles 3 to 6. The address of the Ministério Público de Macao is as follows: Ministério Público de Macao Praceta 25 de Abril Macao Phone: 326736 Fax: 326747 2. Court clerks (escrivães de direito) and deputy court clerks (escrivães adjuntos) from the Supreme Court of Justice (Tribunal Superior de Justiç

a) of Macao are entitled to complete in Macao the certificate provided for [in] Articles 6 and 9 of the Convention. 3. In accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of

Article 8 of the Convention, Portugal reiterates that it recognizes to the diplomatic or consular agents the right to forward documents, for the purpose of service, exclusively to the nationals of the State in which the documents originate. 4. The Ministério Público de Macao is also designated as the competent authority in Macao to receive documents forwarded through consular channels, in accordance with

Article 9 of the Convention. 5. Portugal declares that the judges of the courts of Macao, notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph of

Article 15 of the Convention, may give judgment on whether the conditions referred to in the second paragraph of the same

article are fulfilled. 6. In accordance with the third paragraph of

Article 16 of the Convention, Portugal declares that the applications referred to in the second paragraph of

Article 16 will not be entertained if they are filed after the expiration of one year

HCCH | Declaration/reservation/notification https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/status-table/notifications/?csid=393&disp=resdn following the date of the judgment." The Ambassador of Portugal at The Hague informed the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands by letter of 26 November 1999 of the following: "Upon instructions from my Government and referring to the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters concluded at The Hague on 15 November 1965 (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) which currently applies to Macao, I have the honour to inform Your Excellency of the following: In accordance with the Joint Declaration of the Government of the Portuguese Republic and of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the question of Macao, signed in Beijing on 13 April 1987, the Government of the Portuguese Republic will remain internationally responsible for Macao until 19 December 1999, the People's Republic of China resuming from that date the exercise of sovereignty over Macao, with effect from 20 December 1999.

From 20 December 1999 the Portuguese Republic will cease to be responsible for the international rights and obligations arising from the application of the Convention in Macao. (…)" The Ambassador of the People's Republic of China at The Hague informed the Minister for Foreign Affairs by letter of 10 December 1999 of the following: (Translation) " In accordance with the Joint Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Portugal on the Question of Macao signed on 13 April 1987, the Government of the People's Republic of China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Macao with effect from 20 December 1999.

Macao will from that date become a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and will enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs which are the responsibilities of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China.

In this connection, I am instructed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China to inform Your Excellency of the following: The Convention on the service abroad of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters, concluded at The Hague on 15 November 1965 (hereinafter referred to as the Convention), to which the Government of the People's Republic of China deposited the instrument of accession on 3 May 1991, shall apply to the Macao Special Administrative Region with effect from 20 December 1999. (...) The Government of the People's Republic of China shall assume the responsibility for the international rights and obligations arising from the application of the Convention to the Macao Special Administrative Region. (...)".

Declarations (Articles 5, 8, 15 and 16) 1. (...) 2. In accordance with the second paragraph of

Article 8 of the Convention, it declares that the means of service stipulated in the first paragraph of that

article may be used within the Macao Special Administrative Region only when the document is to be served upon a national of the State in which the document originates. 3. In accordance with the second paragraph of

Article 15 of the Convention, it declares that if all the conditions provided in that paragraph are fulfilled, the judge of the Macao Special Administrative Region, notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph of that article, may give judgment even if no certificate of service or delivery has been received. 4. In accordance with the third paragraph of

Article 16 of the Convention, it declares that in the Macao Special Administrative Region, the application for relief from the effects of the expiration of the time for appeal shall not be entertained except that it is filed within one year following the date of the judgment. Furthermore, the Government of the People's Republic of China made the following supplementary declaration:

HCCH | Declaration/reservation/notification https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/status-table/notifications/?csid=393&disp=resdn "In accordance with paragraph 3 of

Article 5 of the Convention, it declares that documents to be served in the Macao Special Administrative Region under the first paragraph of

Article 5 shall be written in either Chinese or Portuguese, or be accompanied by a translation in either Chinese or Portuguese". The World Organisation for Cross-border Co-operation in Civil and Commercial Matters © HCCH 1951-2019. All Rights Reserved. USEFUL LINKS Contact About FAQ News Archive Sitemap Recruitment Disclaimer Latest updates GET CONNECTED     

Document details

Collection	California Superior Local Rules
Citation	CCC-249923
Type	court_rule
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	CA_LOCAL
Identifier	c05809b6bfba4205b5a9438f9e18e374efec5d44

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