In T v B (Arbitration) [2022] 1 HKLRD 279 the Hong Kong court confirmed that an arbitral tribunal is the "master of its own procedural rules", and that compliance with preconditions to arbitration goes to admissibility, not...more
As the world welcomes in the Year of the Tiger, we look back at seven recent decisions that made an impact in the past year. In the decisions, the Hong Kong courts grappled with issues such as when winding-up petitions can be...more
Mediation has sometimes been described as a bit like marriage counselling. The mediator, like a counsellor, is there to listen to and facilitate discussions between the two parties in an attempt to identify common ground and...more
As the world welcomes in the Year of the Ox, we take a look back at 10 recent decisions that made an impact in the past year. In the decisions, the courts considered fundamental issues such as when an arbitral award may be...more
3/16/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Arbitrators ,
Boilerplate Language ,
Business Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Forgery ,
Hong Kong ,
Impartiality ,
International Arbitration
Companies in the life sciences and health care industry, like most companies, navigated unparalleled challenges in 2020. But unlike other industries, they had to do so while simultaneously facing the biggest challenge of all...more
Arbitration has become an important part of commercial dispute resolution in China. For international investors, arbitration has considerable advantages due to its neutrality, enforcement, confidentiality, flexibility, and...more
The NSL came into force in Hong Kong on 1 July 2020. -
Some observers have expressed concern that the law will threaten Hong Kong's status as an international dispute resolution center. Of particular concern is the...more
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has dismissed an application by a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company (C) for an interim anti-suit injunction against proceedings commenced by a Cayman Islands company (D) for the...more
8/21/2020
/ Anti-Suit Injunctions ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
British Virgin Islands ,
Cayman Islands ,
Contract Terms ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Share Buybacks ,
Winding Up Petitions
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has dismissed an application by a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company (C) for an interim anti-suit injunction against proceedings commenced by a Cayman Islands company (D) for the...more
8/18/2020
/ Anti-Suit Injunctions ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
British Virgin Islands ,
Cayman Islands ,
Contract Terms ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Share Buybacks ,
Winding Up Petitions
In several Commonwealth jurisdictions, the corporate legislation allows creditors to petition a court to order the winding up of a debtor in circumstances where that debtor is unable to pay its debts as they fall due. Such...more
Email overload on whether COVID-19 triggers a force majeure clause?
Whether you're considering a claim, worried about receiving one or busy drafting following the outbreak, here's our 10-point, jargon-free checklist on...more
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a public health emergency of international concern. ...more
As the world welcomes in the Year of the Rat, we take a look back at five recent decisions that made big waves in the Year of the Pig in their different ways, across Hong Kong, Singapore, and England.
...more
3/5/2020
/ Arbitral Authority ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Litigation ,
Forum Selection ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Hong Kong ,
Injunctions ,
International Arbitration ,
Jurisdiction ,
Singapore ,
Statute of Limitations
Construction companies entering into joint venture (JV) contracts should be cautious of entering into agreements where the responsibility for, and timing of cost overruns is not tightly specified, to avoid unexpected...more
The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice recently released the Administrative Measures for Business Offices Established by Overseas Arbitration Institutions in Lin-Gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone...more
11/18/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Business Litigation ,
China ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Free Trade Zone ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) ,
International Arbitration ,
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ,
International Litigation ,
Investment Disputes
Our team in Hong Kong recently developed a Hong Kong Law Contract Guide. The guide discusses relevant legal principles that inform the most common contractual clauses in Hong Kong. The guide offers practical points to...more
11/13/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Consent ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Formation ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Hong Kong ,
Jurisdiction ,
Legal Project Management ,
Legal Representatives ,
Limitation of Liability Clause ,
Privity of Contract ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Waiver of Liability
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal has suggested that a previous Court decision may have overstepped the mark by suggesting that an arbitration clause in a client agreement should generally take precedence over a creditor's right...more
According to an announcement made on the People's Court Daily, the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong...more
The question of whether an arbitration clause has been successfully incorporated into a contract is one that has come before the courts regularly, with different jurisdictions taking different approaches to what counts as...more
In one of its first major rulings, Hong Kong's Competition Tribunal (the "Tribunal") has ruled against 10 decorating contractors for serious anti-competitive conduct as set out in the Competition Ordinance (the "Ordinance")...more
Hong Kong and Australia have signed a wide-ranging free trade agreement in a variety of areas including trade in goods and services, government procurement, construction, communications, and intellectual property....more
The Court of Appeal in Mears Limited v Costplan Services (South East) Limited & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 502, in a judgment published on 29 March 2019, has considered the meaning of "practical completion" in an authoritative...more
Hong Kong becomes the first and only jurisdiction outside the Mainland where the Mainland courts can grant interim measures in aid of a foreign arbitration if administered by an institution....more
International arbitration is increasingly recognized as the preferred dispute resolution mechanism for cross-border derivative transactions. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) originally...more
The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) announced on 18 October 2018 that it updated its Administered Arbitration Rules, which had entered into effect on 1 November 2018.
...more