Hong Kong

Conditional fee agreements, Contingency Funding, Costs, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Counsel, Counsel fees, Fee Agreeements, Hong Kong, outcome related fee structures, Singapore

(Shearman & Sterling LLP) and (Shearman & Sterling)/ /Leave a comment

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…

Conditional fee agreements, Costs, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Counsel, Counsel fees, Hong Kong

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Herbert Smith Freehills

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…

Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tonga, UNCITRAL Model Law

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YIAG

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…

China, Courts, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Interim measures, PRC

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HK45

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…

China, Hong Kong, Lusophone countries, Macau, Tax Obligations, Taxation, UNCITRAL Model Law

(MdME Lawyers) and (University of Macau)/ /Leave a comment

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…

BAC, China, CIETAC, Emergency Arbitrator, HKIAC, Hong Kong, Interim measures, interim relief

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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…

Hong Kong, Investment Treaties, investor-State arbitration and mediation, ISDS, Japan

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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…

Civil Procedure, Costs, Enforcement, Hong Kong, Set aside an arbitral award, Singapore

(Queen Mary University of London)/ /1 Comment

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….

Arbitration, Fee Agreeements, Hong Kong, outcome related fee structures, Third party funding

(Shearman & Sterling LLP)/ /Leave a comment

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…

2020 In Review, Arbitrability, Arbitration institution, Armenia, China, COVID-19, Document Production, Enforcement, Free Trade Zones, Georgia, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Interim measures, Japan, Macau, South Korea, Virtual hearings

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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…

Belt Road Initiative, China, HKIAC, Hong Kong, Kluwer Podcast, Podcast

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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…

China, Economic, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Trade, USA

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HK45

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…

HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Interviews with Our Editors

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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…

China, CIETAC, Hong Kong, Party Representation

(Zhong Lun Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

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…

China, Hong Kong, Interim measures, interim relief, Legislation, PRC

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HK45

On 1 October 2019, the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the “Arrangement”) came into force. It was previously reported on the blog here and here. On 8 October 2019, the first interim measure under…

China, Enforcement, Hong Kong, Limitation period, PRC

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CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center

For awards issued in cases administered by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) Hong Kong Arbitration Center, parties can enforce them in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong out of the many other possible jurisdictions. What they cannot do, however, is to simultaneously enforce the award in both jurisdictions. This is expressly prohibited under…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia, China, Hong Kong, India, Intellectual Property, Paris Arbitration Week, Set aside an arbitral award, Singapore, South Korea, Webinar

(Schellenberg Wittmer Pte Ltd)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

On 10 July 2020, a panel of arbitration practitioners discussed the topic of “Recent Developments and Key Arbitration Trends in Asia” as part of the 2020 Paris Arbitration Week. The panel discussion covered the distinctive features of and the latest developments in five different jurisdictions: Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and India. Hosted by…

Arbitration, Contingency Funding, Hong Kong, Singapore, Third party funding

(Shearman & Sterling LLP) and (Shearman & Sterling)/ /Leave a comment

While Hong Kong and Singapore legislated in 2017 to allow third party funding of arbitrations (“TPF”),1)In Hong Kong, the amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609) ultimately took effect in February 2019. both jurisdictions presently still bar “No-Win, No-Fee” and other outcome related fee arrangements between parties to arbitration and their lawyers. This is out-of-step…

Australia, Enforcement, England, Hong Kong, New York Convention, Public Policy, Singapore

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Public policy defences to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards continue to generate uncertainty. Under Article V(2)(b) of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”), an award may be refused recognition or enforcement if “[t]he recognition or enforcement of the award would be contrary…

ADR, Arbitration Industry, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Belt Road Initiative, Case Management, China, CIETAC, Conciliation, Domain Names, Hong Kong, Interim measures, Interviews with Our Editors, Jurisdictional challenge, Macau, Mediation, Taiwan, Tribunal Secretary

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CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center

Dr. Li Hu is Deputy Secretary-General of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”), Vice Chairman of China Maritime Arbitration Commission, and also Board Member of the Arbitration Institute of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. He has authored several publications on dispute resolution in China and has served as arbitrator in over 120 domestic and…

2019 In Review, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belt Road Initiative, China, Georgia, HK Arbitration Week, HKIAC, Hong Kong, Interim measures, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Online Dispute Resolution, South Korea, Third party funding, Trade, Uzbekistan

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Gong Xi Fa Cai! The Year of the Earth Pig has drawn to a close. In what was certainly an auspicious and lucky year for arbitration developments in East and Central Asia, we take a closer look at five key developments:   1. Initiatives in PR China to boost arbitration In southern coastal China, the…

China, CIETAC, HKIAC, Hong Kong, Interim measures, interim relief

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On 1 October 2019, Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong bodies brought into force a reciprocal arrangement with significant implications for Hong Kong as a seat of arbitration. The arrangement allows the courts of each jurisdiction to award interim measures in support of arbitrations seated in the other territory. Parties to Hong Kong-seated arbitrations have been…

Artificial Intelligence, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Intellectual Property, Interviews with Our Editors

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Introduction Ms Winnie Tam SC is a leading intellectual property specialist in Hong Kong, and was the first female specialist of the field to be appointed Senior Counsel by the Chief Justice of Hong Kong in 2006. After her elected term as Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association (“HKBA”) between January 2015 and January…

Climate change, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Investment, Sustainability

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HK45

Introduction The fourth annual Harbour Lecture took place on 21 October 2019, with hundreds of attendees packed into the Eaton Club, Hong Kong to hear a thought-provoking lecture delivered by Sophie Lamb QC, global co-chair of the international arbitration practice at Latham & Watkins. The theme of this year’s lecture was whether arbitration is sustainable….