HONG KONG - Teresa Cheng, secretary for justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Thursday that the HKSAR Legislative Council (LegCo) earlier passed the Mainland Judgments in Matrimonial and Family Cases (Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement) Ordinance, which is in the interest of parties to cross-boundary marriages and their families.

Cheng said that the provisions of the ordinance can be divided into three parts, which are recognition and enforcement of mainland judgments, recognition of mainland divorce certificates, and facilitation of recognition and enforcement in the mainland of Hong Kong judgments.

Cheng said that with the passage of the ordinance, parties to cross-boundary marriages and their children will be benefitted.

By providing a more expeditious and cost effective mechanism for parties to apply to the Hong Kong courts for the recognition and enforcement of judgments given by the mainland courts in matrimonial and family cases, this will reduce the need for divorce and related proceedings to be brought in both Hong Kong and the mainland as well as mitigate the impact of a divorce on the parties to the marriage and their children, she said.

This is a crucial step towards implementing the "Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Civil Judgments in Matrimonial and Family Cases by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" signed between Hong Kong and the mainland, she said.

The successful implementation of the arrangement once again demonstrates that Hong Kong and mainland strive to foster mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters in accordance with the "one country, two systems" principle on the basis of mutual understanding and respect, so as to complement the needs that arise from social developments in both societies, she said.