The Court of Final Appeal Clarifies the Tests applicable to Section 21M Applications

The Court of Final Appeal (CFA) recently handed down a judgment in Compania Sud Americana de Vapores SA v Hin-Pro International Logistics Ltd FACV 1/2016 which clarifies the tests applicable to applications under section 21M of the High Court Ordinance (Section 21M). Under Section 21M, the Hong Kong Court may grant an injunction or other interim relief in aid of proceedings commenced or to be commenced in a place outside Hong Kong. In this case, the Plaintiff/Appellant sought a Mareva injunction to freeze the Defendant’s/Respondent’s assets in Hong Kong to aid it in the enforcement of its judgment obtained against the Defendant in England for damages for breach of exclusive jurisdiction clauses.

The CFA held that there are two stages involved in determining a Section 21M application. The first stage is for the court to consider whether, if the proceedings that have been or are to be commenced in the foreign court result in a judgment, that judgment is one that the Hong Kong court may enforce.