The Supreme Peoples’ Court of the People’s Republic of China (SPC) has recently announced that the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) is to be included in the China International Commercial Court’s (CICC) “One-Stop” Platform for Diversified International Commercial Dispute Resolution (“One-Stop” Platform). According to the Rules of the Supreme People’s Court on International Commercial … Read more

Summary In a further decision in the long-running G v X matter (see our previous blog post here), the Hong Kong court has decided to stay enforcement of a CIETAC award pending a challenge to the award at the seat of arbitration in Beijing.  The stay was granted in deference to the jurisdiction of the … Read more

Amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance, gazetted today, are the latest stage in the process to allow lawyers to charge based on success in an arbitration. The amendments, long-awaited by clients, passed Hong Kong’s legislative review quickly and without substantive amendment, demonstrating the strong support in the territory for these long-awaited changes. Hong Kong has enacted … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has secured an important judgment from the Hong Kong Court of Appeal, C v D [2022] HKCA 729, regarding escalation clauses – contractual provisions which require negotiation or mediation before either party can begin formal proceedings. These clauses are intended to promote the efficient resolution of disputes, but often lead to costly litigation. … Read more

The presumption that “rational businessmen” intend all their disputes to be resolved in the same forum may not apply where the parties clearly intended otherwise. Construing such intentions requires a “broad and commercially minded approach” to inconsistent dispute resolution clauses. In H v G [2022] HKCFI 1327, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance set … Read more

The Hong Kong Court recently considered in G v X, GMCI, GMCC [2022] HKCFI 829 whether a freezing order granted in support of the enforcement of a CIETAC arbitral award ought to have been granted. The freezing order was opposed on the basis that there was material non-disclosure and that there was no good arguable … Read more

Hong Kong has officially published a Bill that would allow lawyers to agree outcome-based fees for arbitration work in the territory. If, as expected, the Bill passes into law later this year, it will allow lawyers in and outside Hong Kong to agree fees based on their clients’ success in the arbitration. This is a … Read more

In a recent Hong Kong Court of First Instance decision MAK v LA [2022] HKCFI 285, the Court was presented with a dispute arising from a bonus letter silent on dispute resolution mechanism, and with conflicting dispute resolution clauses in related contractual instruments, including the employment contract. The Court ultimately concluded that the arbitration agreement … Read more