The UK Supreme Court has unanimously decided that, in the absence of express wording, parties seeking to rely on a force majeure clause with a reasonable endeavours proviso are not required to accept offers of non-contractual...more
The Indonesia Supreme Court has stated that the absence of a Bahasa Indonesia language version of a contract should not of itself mean that the contract should be voided, except where it can be proven that the absence of such...more
The Technology and Construction Court in London has given a wide-ranging review of the law that frequently arise in construction projects, particularly on issues of limitation and when a cause of action over a supposedly...more
An important international convention, which promises to free up trade between Hong Kong and some of its most important trading partners, comes into force on 1 December 2022. Businesses who enter into international...more
A French court decision in the case of Kabab-Ji v Kout Food issued on 28 September 2022 by France's highest court brings into particularly sharp focus the different approaches by the French and English courts in deciding the...more
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal (Poon CHJC, Barma, and Au JJA) has imposed upon a statutory corporation an obligation to consider whether it should take measures to enforce a lease against a tenant, following an application by...more
Student loan debt is a complex issue for both employees and employers. Employees must live with the overwhelming burden of paying off the loan in addition to paying personal expenses. However, employers who offer valuable...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
It is not uncommon for companies exploring expansion or other ways of raising capital to engage financial advisers to provide a range of consultancy services, including the introduction of potential investors or deals of...more
The Hong Kong government is proposing much-anticipated legislation for the introduction of a corporate rescue procedure and insolvent trading regime. Hong Kong has, for years, struggled to introduce a statutory corporate...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
8/18/2020
/ 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 a recent judgment, the Hong Kong Court reiterated the principles outlined in Kam Leung Sui Kwan v. Kam Kwan Lai [2015] 18 HKCFAR 501 (Yung Kee), the case concerning the famous roast goose restaurant in the heart of Hong...more
Another Hong Kong court decision has questioned whether the judgment in the leading case of Lasmos Limited v. Southwest Pacific Bauxite (HK) Limited [2018] HKCFI 426, may have gone too far when it suggested that an...more
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
With the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV, the "Coronavirus") spreads globally at alarming speed some countries have responded to the crisis by taking measures such as restricting or denying importation from China and requiring...more
2/18/2020
/ Air Cargo ,
Best Practices ,
China ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exports ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Imports ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Ports ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Safety Standards ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Trade Policy ,
Vessels ,
World Health Organization
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
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