在之前六月份的研讨中，我们曾就有关CISG在香港的适用问题上发起过讨论，提出了相关的问题。在此次第二部分的写作中，我们将进一步探究该问题涉及的法律争点并简单探寻可行的解决方法。
Earlier in June, we have had discussions as Part I regarding the application of CISG to Hong Kong, and proposed relevant questions. In this writing as Part II, we will further probe into the legal issues involved and explore briefly possible and feasible solutions.
有关《公约》适用的条款应当参照公约的第93条规定。
Reference shall be made to Article 93 of the Convention regarding the application of the Convention.
第九十三条
（1）如果缔约国具有两个或两个以上的领土单位，而依照该国 宪法规定，各领土单位对本公约所规定的事项适用不同的法律制度，则该国得在签字、批准、接受、核准或加入时声明本公约适用于该国全部领土单位或仅适用于其中的一个或数个领土单位，并且可以随时提出另一声明来修改其所做的声明。
（2）此种声明应通知保管人，并且明确地说明适用本公约的领土单位。
（3）如果根据按本条做出的声明，本公约适用于缔约国的一个或数个但不是全部领土单位，而且一方当事人的营业地位于该缔约国内，则为本公约的目的，该营业地除非位于本公约适用的领土单位内，否则视为不在缔约国内。
（4）如果缔约国没有按照本条第（１）款做出声明，则本公约适用于该国所有领土单位。
Article 93
（1）If a Contracting State has two or more territorial units in which, according to its constitution, different systems of law are applicable in relation to the matters dealt with in this Convention, it may, at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, declare that this Convention is to extend to all its territorial units or only to one or more of them, and may amend its declaration by submitting another declaration at any time.
（2）These declarations are to be notified to the depositary and are to state expressly the territorial units to which the Convention extends.（3）If, by virtue of a declaration under this article, this Convention extends to one or more but not all of the territorial units of a Contracting State, and if the place of business of a party is located in that State, this place of business, for the purposes of this Convention, is considered not to be in a Contracting State, unless it is in a territorial unit to which the Convention extends.
（4）If a Contracting State makes no declaration under paragraph (1) of this article, the Convention is to extend to all territorial units of that State.
当中国于1988年1月1日加入公约时，并没有也不可能就该公约在香港地区的适用作出声明。1997年7月1日香港回归后，我国于1997年8月陆续向联合国秘书处就16项多边国际公约在香港地区的适用递交了声明，但是CISG公约并不包含在内。1 尽管中央政府并未对公约在香港地区的适用作出明确的声明。似乎根据公约第93条第（4）项的规定，公约应当被默示适用于香港地区,因为香港是中国领土的一部分。
When China became a member state of CISG on Jan 1, 1988, it did not and could not make any declaration regarding the applicability of CISG to Hong Kong. After the return of HongKong on July 1, 1997, China has successively made depository notifications to the UN Secretory-General regarding the application of 16 multilateral international treaties to HongKong, but CISG was not included. Although the Chinese government has not made an express declaration regarding the applicability of CISG to Hong Kong, the Convention, by default, seems to be automatically applied to Hong Kong，since Hong Kong is a territorial unit of China.
然而，公约在香港地区的适用问题并没有如此简单。
However, the issue of the applicability of CISG to Hong Kong defies easy categorization.
一方面，从上文第一节中提到的两个案例来看，不同国家法院的法官基于大致相同的法律解释理据，却在公约是否适用于香港的这一问题上做出了相反的判决。不确定的规则解释使得从事货物贸易的香港当事人承担的法律风险和不确定性也随之增大。
On the one hand, as we can see from the two cases in our writing in Part I, even though the judges in different courts have made references to similar legal rules of interpretation, opposite judgement has been made as to the application of CISG to Hong Kong. Legal risks for Hong Kong parties dealing with trade in goods also increases due to uncertain interpretation of rules.
另一方面，“1984年中英联合声明”附件一第11条的规定排除了中国签订的相关国际条约在香港地区的自动适用。附件一第11条规定，中华人民共和国缔结的国际协议，中央人民政府可根据香港特别行政区的情况和需要，在征询香港特别行政区政府的意见后，决定是否适用于香港特别行政区。
On the other hand, relevant provisions in Annex I of the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 prevents automatic application of international treaties signed by the PRC to Hong Kong SAR. Article 11 of Annex I provides that the application to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of international agreements to which the People’s Republic of China is or becomes a party shall be decided by the Central People’s Government, in accordance with the circumstances and needs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and after seeking the views of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government 2.
针对上述分歧，我们认为,如果当事人不希望适用公约，应当根据公约第6条的规定在合同中明确排除。
Regarding to the above differences, we believe that if the Parties do not want the CISG to apply, they should expressly exclude the application of the CISG in their contract in accordance with Article 6 of CISG.
另外, 也应注意到，由于CISG 只对主权国家开放签署(公约第91条第3项)，香港特别行政区不能成为CISG的独立成员，而只能以中国领土一部分的身份适用该公约。
Furthermore, it should also be noted that, as the CISG is a convention only open for accession by sovereign states (Article 91(3)), Hong Kong SAR cannot become an independent member of CISG and it can only be applied by CISG as a territorial unit of the PRC.
上文提到的“中英联合声明”中约定的程序步骤在“香港基本法”中也做出了同样的规定。对于澳门地区，亦是如此。根据“香港基本法”第153条第（1）项和“澳门基本法”第138条第（1）项的规定，中央政府在决定把诸如CISG这样的条约适用于特别行政区之前，应当征询香港或澳门特别行政区的意见。征询意见虽然不同于征得同意，但仍暗示着中央政府与特别行政区达成一致的意愿。然而，如果在征询意见后，不能达成一致，中央政府仍可以自行决定将条约延伸适用于特别行政区, 因为中央政府不得不就某一国际条约作出最有利于中国利益的决定3。
The procedural steps agreed in the “Sino-British Joint Declaration” is also provided in the Basic Law of Hong Kong. The same applies to Macau. Under Art.153 (1) of the Basic Law of Hong Kong and Art.138 (1) of the Basic Law of Macau, consultation with the HKSAR government or MSAR government is a necessary step before the Central Government decides to extend a treaty like the CISG to these SARs. Consultation, though it is different from consent and approval, still suggests the desirability of agreement between the Central Government and the SAR. However, if after consultation a consensus cannot be reached, the Central Government may still be able to extend the CISG to Hong Kong and Macau in the exercise of its discretion, because the Central Government has to make a decision on a particular international treaty in the best interests of China.
CISG公约第93条第（1）款赋予了拥有两个或两个以上领土单位的主权国家就公约适用于全部或部分领土作出声明并随时修改最初声明的权利。然而，该条第（3）款也同样规定了这些成员国的义务。根据第93条的规定，行使“声明权”是十分必要的。因为不行使该项权利可能将导致CISG公约适用于全部领土。
Art.93 (1) of the CISG confers a sovereign state consisting of two or more territorial units the right to make a decision declaring whether the CISG applies to all or some of the territorial units, and to amend the original declaration at any time. However, Art.93 (4) of the CISG also imposes an obligation on such member states. In accordance with Article 93, the exercise of the right to make a declaration is necessary, because the failure of exercising such right will likely lead to automatic application of the CISG to all territorial units.
有学者呼吁中央政府尽快就CISG公约适用于香港和澳门地区作出决定。与CISG第93条相比，根据基本法的规定明确把CISG扩展适用于香港和澳门地区更像是一种形式要求。毫无疑问，明确声明CISG公约适用于两个特别行政区将澄清该公约目前在港澳地区适用的不确定性状态。即使我们认为中国向联合国递交的声明根据第93条的规定是有效的，中国仍能如愿地把公约扩展适用于香港和澳门地区，因为这种立场的转变是被公约第93条所允许的。总之，CISG公约成功地促进了全球货物贸易的统一性和稳定性：这种统一性和稳定性也符合中国的最佳利益,包括香港和澳门4。
Scholars urge the Chinese Central Government to make a decision as early as possible to extend CISG to Hong Kong and Macau. The express extension of CISG to Hong Kong and Macau appears to be more of a formality requirement under the relevant Basic Law than under Art. 93 of CISG. An explicit declaration of the application of CISG in the two SARs would certainly clarify the present uncertainty regarding the status of CISG in Hong Kong and Macau. Even if we accept the view that China’s notifications to the Secretary General of the UN are valid declarations under Art. 93, China may still extend CISG to Hong Kong and Macau as it wishes because such change of position is allowed under Art. 93. Overall, the CISG has been successful in promoting uniformity and stability in global commerce of merchandise trade: such uniformity and stability are also in the best interests of China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
上文已经提及，如果中国决定将公约延伸到香港，必须要征询香港的意见。尽管根据“香港基本法”第153条的规定，中央政府有权作出最终决定。我们依然认为，为了未来“一国两制”政策的和谐运行，在协商层面达成一致是十分重要的。谨慎前行，在中央政府行使其决定权之前，与特别行政区的全面协商、达成共识是十分必要的。中国中央政府应采取适当行动方案，促进货物贸易领域中的统一法在我国多个法域中的发展和实施。
As we mentioned above, if China decides to initiate the extension of the Convention to Hong Kong, Hong Kong has to be consulted. Although the Central Government retains the right to make a final decision in accordance with Article 153 of the “Basic Law” of Hong Kong, we hold the view that “consensus” reached on the consultation level is very important for the harmonious running of the “One Country Two Systems” policy in the future. To take a prudent step forward, comprehensive consultation and consensus with the SARs is necessary before the Central Government uses its discretion. It is time for the Central Government of China to initiate an appropriate action plan in this regard, to promote the development and implementation of uniformity of law in the area of goods transaction among the several legal jurisdictions in China.
1、参见 https://treaties.un.org/pages/CNs.aspx?cnTab=tab2&clang=_en.
2、 Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 Annex I,available at https://www.cmab.gov.hk/en/issues/jd3b.htm#foreign.
3、 John Mo, Transfer of sovereignty and application of an international convention: CISG in China in the context of “One Country, Two Systems”, Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2015, p.10.
4、 John Mo, Transfer of sovereignty and application of an international convention: CISG in China in the context of “One Country, Two Systems”, Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2015 p.12.
北京霖理律师事务所是北京市司法局批准设立的律师事务所，主要业务覆盖国际仲裁、知识产权和商事投资合同争议解决。霖理法律英语是“为了法律的目的学习简洁英语”而开创的公众号，是霖理律师事务所涉外业务的研发平台，旨在促进法律英语和中文法律语言的应用和普及，努力打造中文社区内生的法律英语的多元生态，促进复合型法律职业人士交流经验互动学习。