Is Hong Kong a member of the Hague Convention?

The “Hague Convention” is a term that is used interchangeably for several different treaties that many countries are parties to. Overall, there are 42 “Hague Conventions”. The most commonly referred to treaty is the Service Treaty. The full name is The Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters. So when asking about the Service Convention, yes, Hong Kong is a member.

This means that process service in Hong Kong must conform to the protocols and requirements of the Convention. This is mandated by international law and the Supreme Court of the United States. However, Hong Kong has gone one step further and declares that the only valid service is service through Article 5 of the Convention. Thus, Hong Kong’s central authority is the only recognized agency for service. Even further, Hong Kong has special requirements for their pleadings and transmittal of the service documents. Failure to comply with Hong Kong’s requirements means you will lose time and money.

When you have a service request for Hong Kong, make sure to hire someone that knows Hong Kong’s rules. Hong Kong routinely sends documents back to attorneys for improper failure to comply. Ancillary Legal knows how to avoid this problem.

Ancillary has decades of experience serving process in Hong Kong . We have relationships with their agents and know exactly what they need for service. Ancillary guarantees its translations and submissions to Hong Kong for accuracy to Hong Kong’s specific requirements. We are happy to help you serve documents in Hong Kong, with competitive prices, attorney reviewed documents, and decades of knowledge to make sure your request is not returned for improper submission.