The Law Office of Jeremy D.

Morley handles many international family law cases concerning

the United States and Hong Kong in collaboration with top law firms in Hong Kong. The cases
that we work on include international divorce issues, international child custody issues, and
international child abduction cases.

We firmly believe that in many international family law cases it is absolutely essential to

secure independent and wise "big picture" advice before initiating a lawsuit in one
jurisdiction or another or before responding to the other party's selection of the governing
jurisdiction.

HONG KONG DIVORCE: JURISDICTION AND

INCONVENIENCE  
by Jeremy D. Morley

The courts of Hong Kong deal with large numbers of international divorce cases. Hong Kong has
jurisdiction if certain specified conditions are fulfilled but it is important to understand that the
courts may decline jurisdiction on the grounds of inconvenience in some cases.  

Jurisdictional Requirements:  

Hong Kong courts have jurisdiction of divorce cases if –  

a) Either of the parties to the marriage was domiciled in Hong Kong at the date of the petition or
application; or  

b) Either of the parties to the marriage was habitually resident in Hong Kong throughout the
period of 3 years immediately preceding the date of the petition or application; or  

c) Either of the parties to the marriage had a substantial connection with Hong Kong at the date
of the petition or application.  

The meaning of the term “domicile” is significantly affected by a Domicile Ordinance “to
consolidate and reform the law for determining the domicile of individuals” enacted as of 1
March 2009, which amends the common law of domicile in certain respects. The Ordinance
provides that:

-every person has a domicile but not more than one;

-on becoming an adult, an individual retains the domicile that he had immediately beforehand;

-an adult acquires a new domicile in a country or territory if he is present there and intends to
make    a home there for an indefinite period;

-a child is domiciled in the country or territory with which he is for the time being more closely
connected;
-where the child's parents are domiciled in the same country or territory and the child has his
home with either or both of them; it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved; that the
child is most closely connected with that country or territory; and

-where the child's parents are not domiciled in the same country or territory and the child has his
home with one of them, but not with the other, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is
proved, that the child is more closely connected with the country or territory in which the parent
with whom he has his home is domiciled.   

The meaning of the term “substantial connection” has been discussed in several international
divorce cases. Cases have held that a party's connection with Hong Kong must be “of sufficient
significance or worth, to justify the courts of Hong Kong assuming jurisdiction in respect of
matters going to, and consequential upon, the dissolution of that party's marriage.” In this regard,
a judge stated that:

“good sense dictates that there is a difference between residing in Hong Kong for a month or
two to oversee a short-term project and being posted here together with one's family for a period
of several years.”    

In one case, the Court held that,

“… one has to look at other factors such as the party's past pattern of life, the frequency of his
visit to Hong Kong, the length and purpose of the stay, whether the party is engaged in business
or work here, whether the rest of the family is here and whether a home has been established
here and whether the children are at school here. It is also important to bear in mind that since
the legislation only requires the party to establish a substantial connection in Hong Kong, he or
she at the same time may have a substantial connection elsewhere, see S v S. In my view, if a
party is shown to have substantial connection elsewhere by reason of his home or work, this may
be used to contrast with the connecting factors he has in Hong Kong to see whether the Hong
Kong connection is a substantial one.”   ZC v. CN  [2014] HKCA 389.

Declining Jurisdiction in International Cases:  

Hong Kong courts may decline to accept jurisdiction by reason of the doctrine of forum non
conveniens.  

In order to warrant such an order the applicant must establish that there is another available
forum that has competent jurisdiction and that is the appropriate forum for the trial of an action
i.e. in which the action may be tried more suitably for the interests of all the parties and the ends
of justice.  

In order to answer this question, the applicant for the stay has to establish that:  

1.      That Hong Kong is not the natural or appropriate forum (‘appropriate' in this context means
the forum has the most real and substantial connection with the action); and  

2.      That there is another available forum which is clearly or distinctly more appropriate than
Hong Kong.   
If the applicant is able to establish both of these two matters, then the plaintiff in the Hong Kong
proceeding has to show that he will be deprived of a legitimate personal or juridical advantage if
the action is tried in a forum other than Hong Kong.  

If the plaintiff is able to establish this, the court will have to balance the advantages of the
alternative forum with the disadvantages that the plaintiff may suffer.  Deprivation of one or
more personal advantages will not necessarily be fatal to the applicant for the stay if he is able to
establish to the court's satisfaction that substantial justice will be done in the available
appropriate forum.  

While the Hong Kong courts have granted applications to stay divorce cases in some
international divorce cases the courts have often expressed pride in their experience in
international matters and their ability to handle such matters. In one case the judge stated that:  

“The family courts in Hong Kong have vast experiences in dealing with cases of an international
dimension.  Many involved the large expatriate community in Hong Kong whose assets are
located both in Hong Kong and overseas.  The Hong Kong courts regularly deal with the
valuation of overseas properties and make orders thereto.  In terms of convenience and expense
of hearing, Hong Kong has a purpose-built technology court room with video linkage to
overseas countries.”

In one case, LLTJ V. SRJ, [2013] HKFAMC 86; FCMC2950/2013i, n which the parties were
both French and had come to live in Hong Kong for the husband's work assignment, and had
lived in Hong Kong with their daughter for nearly five years when the wife initiated divorce
proceedings there, the Hong Kong court dismissed the Hong Kong case on condition that the
husband proceeded with divorce proceedings forthwith in France. Of great significance was the
fact that when the wife issued her petition in March 2013, she had already decided to leave Hong
Kong permanently to return to France having secured employment in Paris with her current
employer, and that the parties had also agreed that their daughter would only stay in Hong Kong
until the end of the 2013 school year and then leave Hong Kong permanently to move to France
to be with her mother in Paris.

After careful analysis of expert testimony submitted by both parties as to French law, particularly
concerning the available disclosure and the provisions for spousal maintenance, the Court found
that, " I am unable to find, objectively speaking, that justice or fairness will not be achieved if the
Wife is compelled to pursue her remedy for financial provisions in the courts of her home
country in France, which as I have found provides quite plainly and distinctly the more
appropriate and natural forum for the resolution of the matrimonial disputes between these
parties."

Jurisdiction to Make a Financial Award Even After a Foreign Divorce Has Been Obtained:

Pursuant to Part IIA of the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Ordinance effective 2011,
courts in Hong Kong may order financial relief to a former spouse whose marriage has been
dissolved outside Hong Kong.  Before doing so, the court must consider the following matters:

a) the connection that the parties to the marriage have with Hong Kong;
b) the connection that those parties have with the place where the marriage was dissolved or
annulled or where they were legally separated;

c) the connection that those parties have with any other place outside Hong Kong;

d) any financial benefit that the applicant or a child of the family has received, or likely to
receive, in consequence of the divorce, annulment or legal separation, by virtue of any agreement
or the operation of the law of a place outside Hong Kong;

e) if an order has been made by a contemporary authority outside Hong Kong requiring the other
party to the marriage to make any payment or transfer any property to, or for the benefit of, the
applicant or a child of the family-

     (i) the financial relief given by the order; and

     (ii) the extent to which the order has been complied with or is likely to be complied with;

f) any right that the applicant has, or has had, to apply for financial relief from the other party to
the marriage under the law of any place outside Hong Kong and, if the applicant has not
exercised that right, the reason for that;

g) the availabilty of any property in Hong Kong in respect of which an order for financial relief
in favor of the applicant may be made;

h) the extent to which any order for financial relief is likely to be enforceable; and

i) the length of time that has elapsed sice the date of the divorce, annulment or legal separation.

Source: https://www.international-divorce.com/Hong-Kong-Family-Law