China (Macao SAR) - Other Authority (Art. 18) & practical information

Central Authority:

The Procuratorate of the Macao Special Administrative Region
(The Other Authority as laid down in Article 18 of the Convention)

Contact details:

Address: Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, no. 683, Edifício do Ministério Público, Macao
Telephone: 853-28727272
Fax: 853-28753231
E-mail: info@mp.gov.mo
General website: https://www.mp.gov.mo/en/standard/index.html
Contact person: Mr. Ng Meng Tai
Mr. Vu Ka Vai
Languages spoken by staff: Chinese and Portuguese

 

Practical Information:

Forwarding authorities
(Art. 3(1)):
The judge in charge of the process in question and the Procuratorate of the Macao Special Administrative Region (hereinafter referred to as the Macao SAR) (Article 131 of the Macao Civil Procedure Code (hereinafter referred to as the CPC)).
Methods of service
(Art. 5(1)(2)):

Upon the receipt of a request for service, it will be transmitted to the competent authorities of the Macao SAR.

Generally, service can be made by means of registered letters with reception notice or of personal contact of a judicial officer with the addressee (Articles 175 and 203 of the CPC, read together with its Articles 180(1) and (2), 182 and 185).

The service by means of personal contact of a judicial officer with the addressee is only used if the service by means of registered letters fails. When the judicial officer delivers to the addressee the relevant documents, a certificate attesting that the documents have been delivered will be signed by the addressee (Article 185(1) of the CPC).

In certain cases, the lawyer can request the service to be performed by him/her. The lawyer may declare another person duly registered to render forensic services or another lawyer (appointed by the same lawyer) to serve the document (Articles 180(3) and 191 of the CPC).

Translation requirements
(Art. 5(3)):
Documents to be served in the Macao SAR under Article 5(1) shall be written in either Chinese or Portuguese, or be accompanied by a translation in either Chinese or Portuguese (Please refer to the declaration made by the Government of the People's Republic of China under Article 5(3) in relation to the Macao SAR).
Costs relating to execution of the request for service
(Art. 12):
The costs relating to execution of the request for service are possibly charged on a case-by-case basis under the Macao SAR law.
Time for execution of request: Generally executed in 3-4 months.
Judicial officers, officials or other competent persons
(Art. 10(b))
The Courts and the Procuratorate of the Macao SAR.
Oppositions and declarations
(Art. 21(2)):
Click here to read all the declarations made by this State under the Service Convention.
Art. 8(2): The means of service stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 8 may be used within the Macao SAR only when the document is to be serviced upon a national of the State in which the document originates
Art. 10(a): No opposition
Art. 10(b): No opposition
Art. 10(c): No opposition
Art. 15(2): Declaration: All the conditions provided in Article 15(2) are fulfilled, the judge of the Macao SAR, notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph of that Article, may give judgement even if no certificate of service or delivery has been received.
Art. 16(3): Declaration: In the Macao SAR the application for relief from the effects of the expiration of the time for appeal shall not be entertained except that it is filed within one year following the date of the judgement.
Derogatory channels (bilateral or multilateral agreements or internal law permitting other transmission channels)
(Arts. 11, 19, 24 and 25)
Disclaimer:
Information may not be complete or fully updated – please contact the relevant authorities to verify this information.

In addition to the Hague Service Convention, no other multilateral or bilateral agreements specifically on international service are applicable. 

As to internal law, Article 135 of the CPC provides that “The court which is requested for certain act has competence to stipulate the compliance with the Letter of Request according to the law” and that “If the request in the Letter of Request requires the compliance with certain formalities, the request shall be satisfied insofar as such formalities do not contradict the laws of Macao.

Useful links:

www.court.gov.mo/ (The official website of the Courts of the Macao SAR) (in Chinese and Portuguese only) 

https://www.mp.gov.mo/en/standard/index.html (The official website of the Procuratorate of the Macao SAR)

https://www.al.gov.mo/en/ (The official website of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR)

https://www.io.gov.mo/ (The official website of the Printing Bureau of the Macao SAR Government) (in Chinese and Portuguese only) 

The CPC mentioned above can be consulted online (both in Chinese and Portuguese) at:
http://bo.io.gov.mo/bo/i/99/40/codprocivcn/indice_art.asp and
http://bo.io.gov.mo/bo/i/99/40/codprocivpt/indice_art.asp.

Competent authorities
(Arts 6, 9)

The competent authority to complete a certificate referred to in Article 6 of the Convention is the Primary Court of the Macao SAR. 

The competent authority to receive requests for service forwarded by other Contracting States through consular channels referred to in Article 9 of the Convention is the Procuratorate of the Macao SAR.

Other authorities
(Art. 18)
The Procuratorate of the Macao SAR.

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