Hong Kong Ordinances

NUCLEAR MATERIAL (LIABILITY FOR CARRIAGE) ORDINANCE - SECT 10

Jurisdiction, shared liability and foreign judgments

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

Adaptation amendments retroactively made - see 64 of 1999 s. 3; 14 of 2002 s.
3

(1) No court in Hong Kong shall have jurisdiction to determine any claim or
question under this Ordinance which is certified by the Chief Executive to be
a claim or question which, under any relevant  international agreement, falls
to be determined by a court of some other relevant territory, and any
proceedings to enforce such a claim which are commenced in any court in Hong
Kong shall be set aside. (Amended 64 of 1999 s. 3)

(2) Subject to subsection (3), where by virtue of section 3 and any
relevant law liability in respect of the same injury or damage is incurred by
2 or more persons, then, for the purpose of any proceedings in Hong Kong
relating to that injury or damage, including proceedings for the enforcement
of a judgment registered under the Foreign Judgments 
(Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance ( Cap 319), both or all of those persons
shall be treated as jointly and severally liable in respect of that injury or
damage.

(3) Where liability as described in subsection (2) is incurred as a result of
an occurrence involving nuclear material in the course of carriage in one and
the same means of transport, the maximum total amount for which such persons
shall be liable, apart from payments in respect of interest or costs, shall
not exceed the highest amount required to be made available by the
relevant law, together with such amounts, if any, as fall to be made available
by means of relevant contributions.

(4) The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance ( Cap  319) shall
apply to any judgment obtained in a court outside Hong Kong which is certified
by the Chief Executive to be a relevant foreign  judgment for the purposes of
this Ordinance, whether or not it would otherwise have so applied, and shall
have effect in relation to any judgment so certified as if in section 6 of
that Ordinance subsections

(1)(a)(ii), (2) and (3) were omitted. (Amended 64 of 1999 s. 3)

(5) Subject to subsection (6), it shall be a sufficient defence to proceedings
in Hong Kong against any person for the recovery of a sum alleged to be
payable under a judgment given in a country, territory or place outside Hong
Kong for that person to show that- (Amended 14 of 2002 s. 3)

   (a)  the sum in question was awarded in respect of injury or damage of a
        description which is the subject of a relevant international 
        agreement;

   (b)  the country, territory or place in question is not a relevant 
        territory; and (Amended 14 of 2002 s. 3)

   (c)  the sum in question was not awarded in pursuance of any of the
        international agreements referred to in section 6(2)(a).

(6) Subsection (5) shall not have effect where the judgment in question is
enforceable in Hong Kong in pursuance of an international agreement.

(7) Where, in the case of any claim by virtue of section 3 the
relevant operator is the government of a relevant territory, then, for the
purposes of any proceedings brought in a court in Hong Kong to enforce that
claim, that government shall be deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction
of that court, and accordingly rules of court may provide for the manner in
which any such action is to be commenced and carried on.

(8) Nothing in subsection (7) shall authorize the issue of execution against
the property of the government of a relevant territory. (Enacted 1995) [cf.
1965 c. 57 s. 17 U.K.]