Three items of subsidiary legislation relating to the implementation of the “Arrangement on Mutual Service of Judicial Documents in Civil & Commercial Proceedings between the Mainland & the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” were published in the Government Gazette today.

The three items are as follows: Rules of the High Court (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026; Rules of the District Court (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026; and Matrimonial Causes (Amendment) Rules 2026.

All three will come into operation on March 30.

The Department of Justice and the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) signed the new arrangement on April 20 this year, with a view to enhancing the mechanism for mutual use of judicial documents in civil and commercial matters between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

The new arrangement also aims to further promote the alignment of mechanisms and rules between the legal systems of the two places.

The subsidiary legislation seeks to implement the new arrangement in Hong Kong, while the SPC will promulgate a judicial interpretation of the new arrangement in the Mainland.

The Hong Kong SAR Government and SPC have agreed that the arrangement will come into force on March 30, replacing an existing arrangement that has been in place for over 27 years.

The subsidiary legislation will be tabled at the Legislative Council on October 21 for negative vetting.