Public Policy and Partial Recognition of Judgments:Perspectives from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao

Abstract

    The public policy reservation allows courts to refuse to give effect to judgments from other jurisdictions that are manifestly incompatible with local fundamental values. Its application also raises questions about the scope of refusal and whether the remaining parts can be preserved. Using doctrinal and comparative methods, this article examines the relationship between public policy intervention and partial recognition through relevant rules and judgments from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. The article proposes an analytical sequence covering the threshold for intervention, the scope of refusal, and the limits of severability. It argues that refusal should be confined to the content affected by the specific incompatibility. The original judgment's rights and obligations should be preserved by examining the relationships between the obligations and respecting the prohibition on reviewing the merits. This approach helps reconcile the protection of fundamental legal principles, the continuity of existing relationships and the circulation of judgments.