The Hong Kong Government has proposed to change the “continuous contract” requirement under the Employment Ordinance (Cap 57) (“EO”) from the current “4-18” requirement to a more relaxed “4-17” or “4-68” requirement....more
What lawyers call a “battle of the forms” occurs when two parties, negotiating a contract, exchange conflicting standard terms during the contract negotiation and formation. This leads to the obvious and not uncommon dilemma:...more
4/29/2025
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Formation ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Hong Kong ,
Standard Form Contracts ,
Standard Forms ,
Subcontractors
In Sze Fung Engineering Limited v Trevi Construction Company Limited [2025] HKCA 278, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal (“CA”) ruled that the “back to back” wording in that case was not a “pay when paid” clause, but governed only...more
4/29/2025
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Hong Kong ,
Pay When Paid ,
Subcontractors
In CC v AC [2025] HKCFI 855 (Date of Decision: 27 February 2025), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“Court”) dismissed an application to set aside an order to enforce an arbitral award.
The main basis of challenge...more
The Hong Kong Government received 37 submissions from the public in July 2024 regarding the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) and held discussions with deputations from different stakeholders at a LegCo...more
10/8/2024
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
Exceptions ,
Fees ,
General Contractors ,
Hong Kong ,
Insolvency ,
Pay When Paid ,
Pending Legislation ,
Prompt Payment
In recent years, technology advancement has introduced new methods for contract formation. In particular, the rise of blockchain technology has led to the emergence of “smart contracts”, which are digital contracts which...more
9/27/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Blockchain ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Hong Kong ,
Smart Contracts ,
UK ,
UNCITRAL ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
On 16 July 2024, the Hong Kong LegCo Bills Committee which is considering the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) held a meeting to receive representations and submissions on the Bill from deputations sent...more
9/26/2024
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
General Contractors ,
Hong Kong ,
Insolvency ,
Pay When Paid ,
Prompt Payment ,
Subcontractors ,
Third-Party ,
UK
In SYL v GIF [2024] HKCFI 1324 (date of judgment: 20 May 2024), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“the Court”) set aside an Interim Award made by the arbitral tribunal (“Tribunal”) in an HKIAC-administered arbitration....more
Our earlier Insight “LegCo in-house lawyers request clarifications regarding the Security of Payment Bill” reported that the Legal Service Division of the LegCo wrote a letter on 19 June 2024 to the HK Government seeking to...more
On 21 June 2024, the Hong Kong LegCo Bills Committee which is considering the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) held a meeting to discuss various policy concerns of the Bill....more
In AAA, BBB, CCC v DDD (HCCT 39/2023) [2024] HKCFI 513 (date of decision: 16 February 2024), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“the Court”) provides much welcomed guidance on the situation where there is a group of...more
7/11/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Business Disputes ,
Commercial Arbitration ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution Clauses ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Loan Documentation ,
Promissory Notes
In CNG v G & G (HCCT 29/2023) [2024] HKCFI 575 (date of reasons for decision: 27 February 2024), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“the Court”) dismissed an application to set aside an arbitration award, reiterating...more
In W v Contractor [2024] HKCFI 1452, the Hong Kong High Court dismissed an application for leave to appeal against the interim measures granted by an arbitrator to restrain an employer from calling on a bond in relation to a...more
In May 2024, the Hong Kong Government introduced the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (Bill) to the Legislative Council for first reading. If the Bill is passed into law, the Bill will introduce a statutory...more
In Manulife Financial Asia Limited and Kenneth Joseph Rappold & Others [2024] HKCFI 989 (date of decision: 5 April 2024), the Hong Kong High Court refused a company’s application to enforce a 12-month non-compete clause...more
The long-anticipated Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) was gazetted on 17 May 2024 and was introduced into LegCo for its first reading on 29 May 2024. The Bill aims to establish a legislative framework...more
The Hong Kong Edition of the New Engineering Contract (“NEC”) was published in July 2023 in a joint undertaking with the Development Bureau (“DEVB”) of the HKSAR Government (“Government”). ...more
In Sheffield Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust v Hadfield Healthcare Partnership Ltd and others, the Technology and Construction Court provides helpful guidance about the use of standstill agreements to pause limitation...more
More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, anecdotal reports are that there have been many disputes between landlords and tenants about how the pandemic might affect the tenant’s payment obligations. Tenants reportedly...more
3/9/2022
/ Abatement ,
Commercial Leases ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Hong Kong ,
Landlords ,
Relief Measures ,
Rent
The most common remedy for breach of contract is the award of damages. The usual aim of the court is to place, as far as possible, the innocent party in the position it would have been in had the breaching party performed...more
On 12 October 2021, the Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) handed down its judgment on the merits of the first private action in Hong Kong seeking remedies against the contravening party for a contravention of a competition...more
What is the allocation of responsibility for damage and defects after the expiry of a tenancy -
The dispute in So Hon Ming Francis v Cheung Lau Shau Chun and Another ([2021] HKDC 1494, DCCJ 367/2019, 29 November 2021)...more
1/7/2022
/ Contract Disputes ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Cost Allocation ,
Damages ,
Hong Kong ,
Landlords ,
Property Damage ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Leases ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Tenants
Where an arbitration clause provides that parties “may” submit their disputes to arbitration, does this mean that arbitration is mandatory or merely permissive? What is the effect of a proviso in an arbitration clause which...more
The UK Supreme Court recently handed down a highly anticipated judgment on the interpretation of clauses which pertain to liquidated damages and limitations on a contractor’s liability for damages. Most notably, the Supreme...more
8/17/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Civil Liability ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Damage Caps ,
Fraud ,
General Contractors ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Negligence ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court
In the recent important decision of Law Ting Pong Secondary School v Chen Wai Wah [2021] CA 873, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal adopted the modern test for penalty clauses as laid down in the UK Supreme Court decision in...more