On 18 October 2018, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (Court) in Z v Y [2018] HKCFI 2342 refused to recognise an Award of the China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission by reason of public policy. Mimmie Chan J presided and… Read more

The Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) recently administered the first emergency arbitration proceeding in mainland China. Wei Sun was the emergency arbitrator who heard the application and he has since published a discussion of the matter online. Although the decision has… Read more

In U v S [2018] HKCFI 2086, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (Court) dealt with an application to adjourn an application to set aside an enforcement order. In granting the adjournment, Chan J took into account public policy… Read more

In Paloma Co. Ltd. v. Capxon Electronic Industrial Co. Ltd [[2018] HKCFI 1147], the Hong Kong Court of First Instance rejected a public policy challenge to a New York Convention Award rendered by a tribunal in Japan. The Respondent applied… Read more

In Baosteel Engineering & Technology Group Co. Ltd. v. China Zenith Chemical Group Ltd. [HCCT 7/2018], the Hong Kong Court of First Instance granted a temporary stay of enforcement of an arbitral award. In order to ensure that the award… Read more

In the past few years, discontent about Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS, a recognised shorthand for ad hoc arbitration of investor-state disputes) has been fomenting in various parts of the world but nowhere more so than within the EU. The European… Read more

In five recent judgments, the Indian courts have offered important guidance on the enforcement of both domestic and international awards in India. This post first discusses three judgments of the Supreme Court of India ("Supreme Court"), clarifying the interpretation of… Read more

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958, the "New York Convention". Widely seen as one of the most successful international law treaties, the New York Convention was the… Read more

In Allianz Insurance and Sirius International Insurance Corporation v Tonicstar Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 434, the English Court of Appeal has reversed the decision of the High Court on whether a party-appointed arbitrator met the contractual requirements as to requisite… Read more

In a decision dated 2 March 2018 (the "Decision"), the English High Court has set aside parts of an award on jurisdiction (the "Award") from a London-seated arbitration (the "Arbitration") concerning claims brought by GPF GP S.a.r.l ("Griffin") against Poland… Read more

Justin D'Agostino, Herbert Smith Freehills' Global Head of Disputes, has been appointed chair of a new ICC Court commission to develop the ICC's approach to dispute resolution procedures for China's Belt and Road initiative. "There is no 'one-size-fits-all' method of… Read more

In a decision dated 10 January 2018, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (Court) stayed its proceedings in favour of arbitration under an arbitration agreement between a firm of solicitors and its former clients. The Court held that there… Read more

Almost 18 years after the Uniform Act on OHADA arbitration law was adopted and the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration created (the CCJA), the OHADA Council of Ministers has adopted three new, very important, texts for arbitration and dispute… Read more

On 15 September 2017,Fiji passed the International Arbitration Act 2017 (the Act). The Act, which is based on the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on International Commercial Arbitration 1985 (incorporating the 2006 amendments) (Model Law), implements Fiji’s commitments… Read more

Supreme People's Court Monitor has published a highly informative article on proposals by the SPC relating to China's"Belt and Road" initiative. These include establishing a dedicated court, along the lines of the Singapore International Commercial Court, to hear Belt &… Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills is delighted to announce the promotion of Dana Kim (Seoul) to Of Counsel and Martin Wallace (Hong Kong) to Senior Consultant. Dana Kim specialises in international arbitration and corporate crime and intelligence and also leads the intellectual… Read more

In Navig8 Chemical Pools Inc v Inder Sharma, HCMP 2885/2016, 17 January 2017, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance issued a warrant for committal against a Defendant who repeatedly refused to appear before the court for examination relating to… Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills’ Robert Stephen and Joseph Bentley have contributed the United Arab Emirates Chapter to the 2017 edition of Getting the Deal Through: Arbitration. Getting the Deal Through: Arbitration contains expert local insight into arbitration laws and institutions worldwide,… Read more

On 1 January 2017, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) announced the launch of a panel of tribunal secretaries which will serve as a resource for tribunals and parties undertaking arbitration in Australia and the region. ACICA also published… Read more

On 22 December 2016 Justice Mimmie Chan delivered her reasons in A v D, where the Plaintiffs had applied to set aside an arbitrator's decision on the ground of serious irregularity under section 4 of Schedule 2 of the Hong… Read more

In an opinion issued on 21 December 2016, EU Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston QC has concluded that the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) will need to be finalised by the European Union and the Member States acting jointly, i.e. entered… Read more

Hong Kong's Court of Appeal (CA) has given judgment in the latest instalment of the dispute between Malaysia's Astro media group and Indonesia's Lippo. On 5 December 2016, the CA dismissed an appeal by First Media, a Lippo Group entity,… Read more

Hong Kong has introduced amendments to its Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609) (Ordinance), clarifying that disputes over intellectual property rights (IPRs) may be resolved by arbitration and that it is not contrary to Hong Kong public policy to enforce arbitral awards… Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has launched the latest edition of its practical guide, "Governing law and dispute resolution clauses for China-related contracts‎". Popularly known as 'The Dragon Book', the guide helps in-house lawyers negotiating China-related commercial contracts to understand the workings… Read more

Last week saw two important and novel pieces of legislation related to dispute resolution put before the Singapore Parliament.  The first is a bill to amend current legislation to permit third party funding in international arbitration and related litigation.  The… Read more

The Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (“SCIA”), formerly CIETAC's Shenzhen Sub-commission, published its latest rules (the "Rules") on 26 October 2016. The Rules will take effect on 1 December 2016. This is the first time that SCIA has revised its rules… Read more

New amendments to the New Zealand Arbitration Act 1996 (Act) received Royal Assent on 17 October 2016, and will come into force on 1 March 2017. There are two key amendments to the Act: Definition of ‘arbitral tribunal’ Previously, an… Read more

Briana Young, Professional Support Consultant in Herbert Smith Freehills' Hong Kong office, has been appointed to the Council of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). Briana is the third Herbert Smith Freehills' appointee to the governing body of the… Read more

Date: Thursday 3 November 2016 Time: 5:30pm:Registration and welcome drinks   6:30pm: Seminar followed by drinks and networking Venue: Exchange House, Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2EG   Please click here to view map The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) is… Read more

The Financial Dispute Resolution Centre (FDRC), which since June 2012 has been providing alternative dispute resolution services to financial institutions and their individual customers in Hong Kong, has recently launched a consultation to significantly enhance the Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme… Read more