Cross-Border Enforcement Guideline - Macau
2025-06-12
1、 CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL JUDGMENTS
（1）With which jurisdictions does this jurisdiction have reciprocal arrangements for enforcement of civil and commercial judgments?
The Macau Special Administrative Region (“Macau”) has reciprocal arrangements for the recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments with Mainland of China. According to the Arrangement on Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments between Mainland of China and Macau, which came into effect in 2006, judgments of Mainland of China and Macau can be mutually recognized and enforced, injunctions can also be requested before or after the Court accepts the application for recognition and enforcement of judgments.
（2）If there is no reciprocal arrangement, is it still possible to enforce a foreign civil and commercial judgment?
Yes, but only if the foreign judgment meets Macau’s domestic legal requirements (e.g., finality, jurisdiction, and due process) and the originating jurisdiction is deemed reciprocal by Macau courts on a case-by-case basis.
（3）What is the approximate time required to recognize and enforce a foreign civil and commercial judgment or a Chinese Mainland civil and commerical judegment if unopposed?
In the recognition judicial procedure, the Court is required to summon the respondent. Generally speaking, after the summons is completed, if there is no opposition, it will take approximately half a year to complete the recognition judicial procedure. After the recognition judicial procedure is completed, the enforcement judicial procedure can be immediately initiated and the seizure of all assets in Macau of the person subject to enforcement can be applied to the Court. After completing the seizure of all assets in Macau of the person subject to enforcement, the Court is required to inform the person subject to enforcement of the enforcement application and the seizure of all his/her/its assets in Macau so that he/she/it can raise any opposition. If there is no opposition, it will generally take approximately half a year to a year to carry out related assets sale procedure. After completing the assets sale procedure, the executor can apply to the Court for payment. If the proceeds from the said sale are not enough to pay the enforcement amount, the enforcement judicial procedure will continue until the enforcement amount is fully paid.
（4）What is the approximate cost of recognition and enforcement of a foreign or a Chinese Mainland civil and commercial judgment (including court fees and other disbursements) if unopposed?
If there is no opposition, in general, related Court fees with the recognition judicial procedure are approximately several thousand Patacas, and other disbursements should not exceed several thousand Patacas. The Court fees and other disbursements of the enforcement judicial procedure (including government fees such as registration fees, if any) need to be calculated according to the enforcement value. If there is no opposition, in general, related Court fees and other disbursements (including government fees such as registration fees, if any) will be at least several thousand to tens of thousands of Patacas.
（5）What is the approximate cost of recognition and enforcement of a foreign or a Chinese Mainland civil and commercial judgment (including court fees and other disbursements) if opposed?
In the recognition judicial procedure, if the respondent raises an opposition to the application for such recognition, Court fees related to the recognition judicial procedure will be at least several thousand Patacas. The Court fees will ultimately depend on the value of the matters claimed in the said opposition. In general, other disbursements should not exceed several thousand Patacas. In the enforcement judicial procedure, if the person subject to enforcement raises an opposition for the enforcement application and the seizure of all his/her/its assets in Macau, related Court fees will ultimately depend on the matters claimed in such opposition and the enforcement value. In general, related Court fees and other disbursements (including government fees such as registration fees, if any) will be at least several thousand to tens of thousands of Patacas.
（6）Are there any unusual difficulties in the recognition and enforcement of a foreign or a Chinese Mainland civil and commercial judgment in Macau?
In the recognition judicial procedure, issues such as defective process for civil and commercial judgments outside Macau to be recognized, lawsuits that Macau Courts have exclusive jurisdiction (lawsuits related to property rights of immovable property in Macau, lawsuits for bankruptcy or insolvency of legal persons domiciled in Macau, etc.), public policy (such as gambling-related judgments), etc. may also be raised. In the recognition judicial procedure, it is particularly time-consuming in case translation of relevant documents into one of the Macau official languages (Chinese and Portuguese languages) is required. After completing the recognition judicial procedure, in the enforcement judicial procedure, the person subject to enforcement or a third party may raise opposition for the enforcement application and the seizure of all his/her/its assets in Macau, etc. Common opposition mainly involves the ownership related to seized assets. In this case, the Macau Court is required to make a judgment on the said opposition on a case-by-case basis, and appeals may be filed against such judgment.
（7）Which types of foreign or the Chinese mainland civil and commercial judgments can be recognized and enforced in Macau?
Common cases mainly involve final civil and commercial monetary and divorce judgments. If a Court in a jurisdiction other than Macau also disposes of assets in Macau in a divorce judgment, according to current Macau laws and Court decisions in this respect, the recognition judicial procedure shall be carried out in Macau first, and, subsequently, related assets in Macau can be divided according to such divorce judgment.
（8）What are the practices and channels for investigating the assets of the person subject to execution?
Asset investigation (including investigation of all bank information, insurance, real estate, vehicles, companies, etc. in Macau of the person subject to enforcement) requires a Court order. Before obtaining such Court order, there are many restrictions on this investigation. Macau lawyers can obtain information from the public registration system (such as information on the ownership of real estate, vehicles, companies, etc. to confirm whether such real estate, vehicles, companies, etc. belong to the person subject to enforcement), and prepare a due diligence report for clients' evaluation before initiating related judicial procedures.
（9）What is the framework and standard for attorneys’ fees for the recognition and enforcement of foreign or the Chinese mainland civil and commercial judgments? Is contingency fee possible?
Fees are typically hourly or fixed; contingency fees are not permitted in light of Macau laws.
2、 ARBITRATION AWARDS
（1）Is Macau a party to the New York Convention?
Yes, Macau applies the Convention via China’s accession.
（2）What is the approximate time required to recognize and enforce a foreign or a Chinese Mainland arbitration award if unopposed?
Please refer to the comments in point 3 of Paragraph 1 “CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL JUDGMENTS” above.
（3）What is the approximate cost of recognition and enforcement of a foreign or a Chinese Mainland arbitration award (including court fees and other disbursements) if unopposed?
Please refer to the comments in point 4 of Paragraph 1 “CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL JUDGMENTS” above.
（4）What is the approximate cost of recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitration award or an arbitration award of Chinese Mainland (including court fees and other disbursements) if opposed?
Please refer to the comments in point 5 of Paragraph 1 “CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL JUDGMENTS” above.
（5）Are there any unusual difficulties in the recognition and enforcement of a foreign or a Chinese Mainland arbitration award in Macau?
Please refer to the comments in point 6 of Paragraph 1 “CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL JUDGMENTS” above.
3、LIMITATION
（1）What is that limitation period of the enforcement of foreign or Chinese Mainland civil and commercial judgement or arbitration in Macau?
Under Macau’s Civil Code, the general limitation period of 15 years may be suspended and/or interrupted. Generally speaking, the limitation period is interrupted by a summons or notification made by the Court. The interruption of the limitation period makes the time that has passed ineffective, so related limitation period needs to be calculated from scratch. If the interruption is caused by the summons or notification, related limitation period will not be recalculated until the judgment that terminates the judicial procedure becomes final.
4、ENFORCEMENT
（1）What papers will be needed for the enforcement of a foreign or a Chinese Mainland judgmentor arbitration award in Macau?
Recognized judgment/award by the Macau Court, proof of finality, Chinese/Portuguese translations, and reciprocity evidence (if applicable).
（2）What is the general procedure and methods to enforce a foreign or a Chinese mainland civil and commercial judgment/arbitration award in Macau?
Methods include asset seizure (via Court order), garnishment (bank accounts) and property auction. Winding-up is possible for companies.
（3）How to recover all fees and costs of enforcement?
Court fees for enforcement and other expenses related to the enforcement judicial procedure (such as publication of public notices) will be recovered as part of the enforcement. Lawyer fees shall be borne by the parties.
*Note regarding time/cost estimates throughout this questionnaire:
Time/costs estimates are based on the assumption that the other party fully cooperates with the relevant legal procedures, which rarely happens in practice. Even without opposition, enforcement may face unexpected delays due to changing legislation or bureaucratic hold-ups. Additionally, as litigation in Macau is adversarial in nature, when litigation is involved, the actual time and costs of the relevant legal procedures are in large part determined by the parties' litigation strategies. As such, it is almost impossible to provide a general but accurate cost/time estimate, and clients should instead seek a case-by-case evaluation for more specifically accurate estimates.
