賈桂德司長
在海牙判決公約國際研討會
開幕式上的致辭
2019年9月9日，外交部條法司司長賈桂德出席海牙判決公約國際研討會並在開幕式上致辭。致辭全文（中、英文）如下：
中
文
尊敬的香港特別行政區政府律政司長鄭若驊女士，
尊敬的海牙國際私法會議秘書長貝納斯科尼博士，
女士們，先生們：
大家上午好！仲秋時節的香港，天高雲淡，金風送爽。我謹代表中國政府，向出席此次研討會的各位嘉賓表示最誠摯的歡迎！大家知道，近一段時間來，在香港圍繞特區政府修訂移交逃犯條例等法例，發生了一系列遊行示威和暴力事件，儘管行政長官已宣告撤回修例，一小部分極端激進分子蓄意製造和不斷升級暴力活動，嚴重衝擊香港法治和社會秩序。在此形勢下，此次會議在香港如期召開，既充分體現了香港特區政府堅守法治的信念，中央政府對特區政府的理解和支持，也體現了國際社會對香港法治的信心。我要特別感謝香港特區政府律政司、海牙會議及其亞太區域辦事處所作的周到安排和細緻工作，感謝各位嘉賓的積極參與和鼎力支持。
本次研討會的主題是“2019海牙會議判決公約：民商事判決的全球執行”。在此我想首先與大家分享對《公約》的三點感受：
第一，《公約》是維護多邊主義的“好典範”。當今世界正經歷百年未有之大變局，和平、發展、合作、共贏的時代潮流浩蕩向前，同時世界多極化、經濟全球化也遭遇了單邊主義、貿易保護主義的逆流。在這種形勢下，《公約》的通過是多邊主義的勝利，因為《公約》承載了幾代國際私法工作者的心血與付出，凝聚了70多個國家400多位代表的努力和智慧，展現了各國加強多邊合作、共同應對挑戰的意願，是國際社會在多邊主義旗幟下開展合作的積極成果。
第二，《公約》是促進判決全球流通的“金鑰匙”。《公約》系統全面地規定了承認和執行外國民商事判決的範圍和條件，體現了各國在此領域合作的“最大公約數”。同時，《公約》規定的一系列聲明機制等靈活安排，充分兼顧了各國利益訴求，最大限度地包容了法律制度差異。因此，我有理由相信，《公約》將成為一把“金鑰匙”，為民商事判決承認與執行打開合作之門、展現光明前景，推動實現民商事判決在各國間的自由流通。
第三，《公約》是國際民商事規則制定的“里程碑”。《公約》的通過意義重大，影響深遠。它是全球首個全面確立民商事判決國際流通統一規則的國際文書，標誌著創設該領域國際司法合作制度的努力獲得成功。《公約》與《紐約公約》、《新加坡公約》涵蓋訴訟、仲裁、和解三大爭端解決機制，共同組成了國際民商事糾紛解決的“三駕馬車”。這將為國際民商事活動提供更全面更優質的司法保障，進一步促進民商事活動的蓬勃發展。
女士們、先生們，“凡是過往皆為序章”。我們有理由為《公約》的通過而欣喜，我們也有責任為《公約》的未來而努力：
一是著力實現《公約》的普遍性。《公約》未來的成功離不開各國對《公約》的接受，這需要各位專家學者、政府官員開展對《公約》更多研究和推廣，不斷強化各國以《公約》為基礎深化合作的意願，確保更多國家積極考慮加入《公約》。中國2017年9月簽署了《選擇法院協議公約》，目前正在加緊推動批准。中國作為判決《公約》談判的主要參與方之一，也將積極研究參加《公約》的問題。
二是推動《公約》造福各國民眾。《公約》有利於保障各國民商事判決的流通，積極預防和妥善解決民商事爭端，為各國經貿與人員往來營造穩定的法治化環境，最終服務於提升各國人民福祉，這與中國國家主席習近平提出推動構建人類命運共同體和“一帶一路”倡議的目標高度契合。中國希望與各國加強包括《公約》在內的法治合作，推進“一帶一路”建設，推動構建人類命運共同體。
三是支持海牙會議發揮更大作用。《公約》的成功通過再一次表明，面對新課題、新挑戰日益增多的世界，海牙會議大有可為。她不斷適應時代需要，善於發現和解決新問題，通過架立不同法律文化間的橋樑，幫助各國克服不同法域之間的隔閡，制定共同接受的規則，促進國際交往。中國願與海牙會議繼續攜手同行，期待通過這一平臺與各國共同應對挑戰，建設更美好的世界。
女士們，先生們，首個推介《公約》的全球會議在香港召開可謂佔據了天時地利。“天時”是恰逢《公約》通過伊始，勢頭正勁；“地利”是香港文化和法律制度東西合璧、融會貫通且正在著力打造區域法律服務和爭端解決中心。此次研討的議題涵蓋《公約》的方方面面，各位嘉賓也是國際私法領域的專家，希望大家暢所欲言，提出真知灼見，為《公約》發展貢獻智慧。
再過幾天就是中國的傳統節日中秋節，這個節日象徵著團圓、美滿。值此中秋佳節即將來臨之際，我衷心祝願各位嘉賓身體健康、家庭幸福，祝願會議取得圓滿成功，也祝願香港的法律和秩序儘快得到恢復，明天更加美好！
謝謝大家。
英
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Honorable Secretary of Justice, Teresa Cheng,
Honorable Secretary-General of the HCCH Dr. Bernasconi,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
On behalf of the Chinese Government, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests to this conference. As you are aware, there have been protests, demonstrations and violence over the recent months in Hong Kong, surrounding the proposed bill to amend the two ordinances relating to the transfer of fugitives. A small fraction of extremists continued to resort to, and increased intentional violence even though the Chief Executive has declared to withdraw the bill. Such acts of violence seriously undermines the rule of law and public order in Hong Kong.
The fact that conference opens as scheduled is an expression of the Hong Kong Government’s commitment of the rule of law, the Central Government’s understanding and support to the Hong Kong SAR Government, and also the international community’s confidence in the rule of law in Hong Kong. I would like to express my special thanks to the Department of Justice of Hong Kong SAR, HCCH and its Asia Pacific Regional Office for their thoughtful and meticulous arrangements.
As the theme of the conference is “Convention on the Global Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters”, I would like to begin by sharing some of my reflections on the Convention:
First, it is a fine model of multilateralism. The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. The trends for peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit remain robust, yet we are facing the counter-current of protectionism and unilateralism. The adoption of the Convention at this very moment is a victory of multilateralism, because it carries with it the extraordinary hard work and contribution of generations of private international law practitioners, it brings together the collective strength and wisdom of over 400 delegates from some 70 States, and it is a manifestation of the willingness of all the State Parties to pursue multilateral cooperation and to tackle common challenges. It is a fruit of the international community’s collaborative efforts under the banner of multilateralism.
Second, it is the “golden key” to facilitate the global circulation of judgments. The Convention provides for the scope and conditions for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in a comprehensive and systematic manner. It represents the “greatest common denominator” for cooperation among the States Parties in this area. At the same time, the Convention provides for a series of flexible mechanisms such as declarations, to accommodate, to the greatest extent, the interests and concerns of all States Parties, and the differences among legal systems. I therefore have every reason to believe that the Convention will become a “golden key” to open the door to the cooperation with respect to recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, and that it will bring about bright prospect for the free circulation of judgments among the States Parties.
Third, it is a milestone in the rules-making process for international civil and commercial matters. The adoption of the Convention will have far-reaching impact to the future. It is the first international instrument to establish the universal rules for the international circulation of judgments. It signifies the success of international efforts to create international judicial cooperation regimes in this field. This Convention, together with the Convention of the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration Awards and Singapore Convention on Mediation, encompass litigation, arbitration and mediation, they jointly constitute the troika in the international civil and commercial dispute-resolution mechanisms. This will provide more comprehensive and higher standard judicial protection for international civil and commercial activities, which will add strong momentum to the robust development of these activities.
Ladies and gentlemen,
To cite a famous quote from Shakespeare, “what’s past is prologue”. We should congratulate ourselves on the adoption of the Convention, we also share the responsibility to work for the future of the Convention.
Firstly, we should strive for the universal acceptance of the Convention.The future success of the Convention relies on it being accepted by all countries. This requires more research and promotion by the academia and government officials to increase the States Parties’ willingness to strengthen international cooperation on the basis of the Convention. In so doing, more countries will consider positively to accede to the Convention. In September 2017, China signed the Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. We are now undertaking internal legal procedures for its ratification. As one of the main parties to the negotiation of the judgment Convention, China will conduct an active study on the issue of joining the Convention.
Secondly, we should make sure that the Convention brings benefits to all the people. The Convention is a helpful safeguard to the circulation of civil and commercial judgments. By preventing and properly settling civil and commercial disputes, it will provide a sound rule of law environment for business-to-business and people-to-people interaction. This matches squarely with the goals of building a community of shared future for mankind and that of the Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI) , as proposed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping. China is committed to strengthening international judicial cooperation with all countries, including the cooperation under the Convention, to further the development of BRI and to promote the building of a shared future for mankind.
Thirdly, we should support a greater role by the HCCH. The adoption of the Convention is another showcase of the potentials of HCCH against new issues and new challenges. The HCCH is constantly adapting itself to the needs of the time, and is adept at discovering and solving new problems. By setting up a bridge for the different legal cultures, the HCCH helps the States overcome the barriers between different jurisdictions, and by formulating consensual rules, the HCCH facilitates international interaction. China will continue to work with the HCCH so that we can facilitate cooperation with all countries through this platform to address common challenges and build a better world.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Choosing Hong Kong as the first promotional conference for the Convention is what we in Chinese would say “doing the right thing at the right time and the right place”. In terms of timing, this conference takes place shortly after the adoption of the Convention, hence the conference picks up the right momentum. In terms of place, Hong Kong integrates the culture and legal traditions of the West and the East, and is working towards a regional hub for legal and dispute resolution services. The conference covers a wide range of issues relevant to the Convention, and it brings together experts in the field of private international law. I am confident that you will bring to the conference your wisdom and insights, which will contribute to the development of the Convention.
The traditional Chinese festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, is around the corner. This festival symbolizes family reunion, harmony and happiness. May I take this opportunity to wish you all the best, the conference a great success. I hope also that Hong Kong will restore law and order, and that it will have a brighter future.
Thank you!
