After nearly four years of discussions, the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region signed an agreement in Hong Kong to make civil and commercial judgments delivered in each others' courts enforceable in both places.

The long-awaited pact means that a judgment creditor will no longer need to bring a legal action again in the place where the property of the debtor is situated.

On behalf of the central government and HKSAR government, the Grand Justice Huang Songyou, Vice President of the Supreme People's Court, and Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung signed the agreement.

The agreement is applicable only to money judgments on disputes arising from commercial contracts where the parties involved have made an agreement in writing in which a mainland court or a HKSAR court is expressly designated as the court to have sole jurisdiction for resolving the dispute concerned.

Both sides have agreed on a list of 469 mainland courts whose judgments in commercial cases may be enforceable in Hong Kong, including the Supreme People's Court, 32 higher people's courts, 389 intermediate courts and 47 basic-level courts.

It is another mutual legal assistance agreement reached between the two places in line with the Basic Law, following the signing of the Arrangement for Mutual Service of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Proceedings and the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in 1999.

Calling the signing of the arrangement a landmark symbolizing the on-going progress of legal assistance between the Chinese mainland and the HKSAR, Huang said it marks a big step forward toward a closer relationship of legal assistance between the two places.

"It is another good example of successful cooperation between the two places following the signing of the 1999 arrangement," Huang said, adding the scope of mutual legal assistance is extending from the service of judicial documents in civil and commercial proceedings and enforcement of arbitral awards to a wider areas at higher level.

Huang said the arrangement will have a positive effect on the successful implementation of "One Country, Two Systems."