On 13 July, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed a law (the Apology Law) intended to facilitate the resolution of civil disputes in the territory. The Apology Law, which is expected to be gazetted and come into force shortly, reforms the legal consequences of making any sort of apology (written, oral or by conduct). An apology … Read more

Hong Kong's Legislative Council has passed a law allowing third parties to fund arbitrations seated in the territory, as well as work done in Hong Kong for arbitrations seated elsewhere, and for mediations. This development has been long anticipated, and will be widely welcomed by Hong Kong's thriving arbitration community, which views it as essential to … Read more

Hong Kong's status as a leading international dispute resolution hub is well-known. It enjoys a strong, independent judiciary as well as world class international arbitration services. Mediation and other forms of ADR are heavily supported by a myriad of institutions. Although not a compulsory requirement, mediation in the context of civil litigation tends to be … Read more

In the recent decision of Wee Shuo Woon v HT S.R.L [2017] SGCA 23, the Court of Appeal considered whether evidence which had been made available on WikiLeaks as a result of the Respondent's ("HT S.R.L."') computer systems being hacked had lost its confidential and legally privileged status.  The decision, which has taken on added … Read more

Julian Copeman, May Tai and Anita Phillips discuss their client research and the outputs of the recent Global Pound Conference to assess what is required to bring mediation into the mainstream for commercial parties in Hong Kong. Click here to access their article in Asian Dispute Review, which was published on 3 April 2017. Read more

          The third edition of our ADR in Asia Pacific Guide spotlights alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Indonesia.  We summarise the state of play in relation to ADR in Indonesia and its interplay with adversarial processes like litigation and arbitration. We delve into the detail of the Supreme Court's new mediation … Read more

The Global Pound Conference (GPC) series presents a unique opportunity to engage all stakeholders in a conversation about dispute resolution and how it should best be used in commercial disputes. The time is ripe to review all processes (litigation, arbitration and the range of less formal processes like mediation). Anita Phillips, secretary of the Hong … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has launched a new Alternative Dispute Resolution Hub (at www.hsf.com/adr).   Sitting alongside our ADR Notes blog (which keeps subscribers up to date on legal and other developments in the ADR landscape), the ADR Hub features the latest thinking and in-depth commentary on the role ADR can and should play within dispute resolution and how it can be used to … Read more