In 2022, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre’s (HKIAC) arbitration caseload reached its highest level in over a decade. The statistics demonstrate the steady strength of Hong Kong (“HK”) as a seat for arbitration. As the global economy turns towards Asia, increased commercial and investment activity will lead to increased disputes and demand for effective dispute…
East and Central Asia made further strides to promote arbitration, including through legislative reforms and enhancement of judicial assistance, as well as the accession, ratification, and creation of treaties. Some domestic courts clarified views on fundamental issues in arbitration. On the user side, East and Central Asian parties continued to be active as both claimants…
International arbitration is reputed for its flexibility shaped by the underlying principle of party autonomy. Past years have witnessed the development of various types of funding arrangements for arbitration users, including third-party funding (“TPF”) and, most recently, alternative fee arrangements with counsel (“AFAs”) in Singapore and Hong Kong. While these new initiatives undoubtedly increase flexibility…
The differences between admissibility and jurisdiction in arbitration have been recognized in various jurisdictions, such as the UK, US and Singapore, and they have been covered extensively in academic scholarship. This post will discuss the distinctions drawn between admissibility and jurisdiction by the Court of Appeal in Hong Kong in C v D.1)[2022] HKCA 729;…
Allen & Overy’s webinar on the second day of Hong Kong Arbitration Week 2022 brought together six practitioners from the fields of arbitration, insolvency and enforcement to discuss the key practical and strategic considerations when acting for and against parties in financial distress. Guided through a hypothetical case study involving jurisdictions such as Hong Kong,…
This August, Dr. Mariel Dimsey assumed the position of HKIAC Secretary-General, succeeding Ms. Sarah Grimmer, who served in the position for six years. Mariel brings with her extensive, 15-years’ experience as counsel and arbitrator in international arbitration, spanning various jurisdictions and legal traditions. Mariel takes the helm during an exciting period at HKIAC and for…
After a gala evening at the National Museum of Scotland filled with Scottish gastronomy and ceilidh dancing, delegates returned to the conference centre for the last day of the ICCA Congress. Renaissance Arbitrator This panel asked: “what can lawyers and arbitrators learn from disciplines outside the law and arbitration?”. That question is particularly timely as…
At the recent hybrid 7th ICC Asia-Pacific Conference on International Arbitration (the “Conference”), a palpable sense of happiness and community resonated throughout the day. Mr Justin D’Agostino (Global CEO, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hong Kong) moderated the first panel discussion in a quick fire manner on recent arbitration developments in the Asia-Pacific region with leading practitioners…
London International Disputes Week 2022 (LIDW) 2022 kicked off yesterday with outstanding sessions and panellists in a hybrid format all around the city, centred around this year’s theme: Dispute Resolution: Global, Sustainable, Ethical?. Each year, the LIDW concentrates on several hot topics and controversial issues in international dispute resolution from all over the world. Yesterday’s…
As he embarks on the second half of his term, Mexico’s President, Andres Manuel López Obrador (known as “AMLO”), continues to fight foreign investors in a myriad of sectors. By now it is clear that his presidency will be marked by his stance against the private sector and previous administrations which, in his view, “pillaged…
In Singapore, lawyers and their clients will soon be able to enter into conditional fee agreements (“CFAs”) for arbitrations and certain court proceedings. CFAs provide parties with an alternative to traditional fee arrangements and third-party funding (“TPF”) by enabling part or all of their lawyers’ fees and costs, as well as an uplift fee, to…
At present, Hong Kong lawyers are prohibited from charging outcome related fees in arbitration. As discussed in a previous blog, the landscape started to change since the publication of a Consultation Paper by the Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration Sub-committee (the “Sub-committee“) of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong (the “Commission“). The Sub-committee…
The Kingdom of Tonga is dedicated to furthering the development of arbitration. A little more than a year ago, this blog published a post reporting that Tonga had acceded to the New York Convention on 12 June 2020. The New York Convention came into force for Tonga on 10 September 2020, and exactly three months…
Hong Kong Arbitration Week 2021 is upon us, with a number of exciting in-person, virtual and hybrid events. On 27 October 2021, the ADR in Asia Conference was held, focussing on “Tomorrow’s Disputes Today”. After opening remarks by The Honourable Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng GBM, GBS, SC, JP, and an update on developments at…
If you are a party to a lease agreement or a grant of right to use commercial space in Macau, tax considerations may now be critical for determining whether “to arbitrate or not to arbitrate”. In fact, aside from the typical advantages of arbitration over litigation, tax reduction has now become an additional advantage for…
In 2019, Mainland China and Hong Kong entered into a groundbreaking bilateral arrangement regarding interim measures for arbitration, i.e., 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 Special Administrative Region (the “Arrangement”).1)Thanks to Lingming Xu for his contribution to…
In March 2021, a major newspaper broke the story that a Hong Kong investor had filed what may be considered the very first investment treaty arbitration claim against Japan under the Hong-Kong Bilateral Investment Treaty (Hong Kong, China SAR – Japan BIT 1997). While it may take anywhere from a few months to a few years…
Where a plaintiff unsuccessfully applies to set aside an arbitral award or resist enforcement of the same, should the costs of the application, as a default rule, be awarded to the defendant on a standard or indemnity basis? The recent string of Singapore decisions on BTN v BTP address this question from a Singapore perspective….
Hong Kong currently prohibits lawyers from using outcome related fee structures (“ORFSs”), including “No-Win, No-Fee” type arrangements, for arbitrations and other contentious matters. This looks set to change for arbitrations, however, following the publication late last year of a compelling Consultation Paper by the Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration Sub-committee of the Law Reform…
In spite of unfamiliar challenges that emerged in 2020, arbitration progress in East and Central Asia has persisted. In this post, our East and Central Asian editorial team recapitulates major arbitration trends and developments of the region featured in the past year from the perspectives of national and interstate policies, judicial and legislative changes, as…
Welcome to the third post in the series of International Law Talk. In this series of podcasts, Wolters Kluwer will bring you the latest news and industry insights from thought leaders and experts in the field of International Arbitration, IP Law, International Tax Law and Competition Law. Here at Kluwer Arbitration Blog, we will highlight…
Day three of Hong Kong Arbitration Week 2020 featured, as part of the ADR in Asia Conference, a panel session on US-China relations and the challenges and opportunities that arise out of that relationship. The session was chaired and moderated by Mr Peter Yuen of Fangda Partners. Mr Yuen was joined by a diverse group…
Chiann Bao has been with Arbitration Chambers since 2018. She is currently Vice President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration. She previously acted as Secretary General of the HKIAC between 2010 and 2016, during which HKIAC was recognized in a 2015 International Arbitration Survey as the most preferred arbitral institution outside of Europe and…
The arbitration laws of many established arbitral jurisdictions, for instance, the English Arbitration Act 1996, German Code of Civil Procedure, the Swedish Arbitration Act 2019 (see post on the revised Act here) and the US Revised Uniform Arbitration Act, place no restrictions as to who may act as a party representative in an arbitration. The…
