Two recent decisions illustrate what constitutes exceptional circumstances justifying the rare intervention of Hong Kong courts in arbitration matters.

Hong Kong is internationally renowned as a pro-arbitration jurisdiction where the courts’ approach is to permit enforcement of arbitral awards save in exceptional circumstances. Two recent decisions of the Hong Kong Court of First Instance, both with “unusual” facts, illustrate the extent to which Hong Kong courts are prepared to set aside an arbitral award or refuse to enforce if the requisite high thresholds are established. Specifically, the Court of First Instance concluded that the award in the first case was made beyond the arbitrator’s jurisdiction, and that the arbitrator’s error in the second case was so serious that it amounted to a denial of due process.