While one would be forgiven for assuming that the doctrine of privity of contract would preclude a non-signatory from being bound by a dispute resolution process to which it had not subscribed, an arbitration clause may be binding on a third party by assignment,...
Security of Payment (“SOP”) legislation has been enacted in numerous jurisdictions around the world as a successful means of ensuring that construction industry participants are paid on time, disputes are resolved early, and contractors and sub-contractors maintain...
Aren’t these award ceremonies amazing ? When you get nowhere, and someone else wins, you think 'what a load of rubbish'. But when you actually win, you are on Cloud Nine – best award ever etc. Well, this was the best award ever. What made us stand out? I put it...
One topic that has received quite a lot of attention in the Courts over the past few years is how insolvency interacts with arbitration clauses. The question is: can insolvency steps proceed in Court on the basis of a debt which is disputed, where parties agreed to...
Arbitration is now the dispute resolution forum of choice for cross-border transactions, not least because a complex transaction involves multiple related agreements entered into between the same or different parties. When disputes arise and relationships turn sour...
Before we start the ‘inception’ style mental gymnastics, it may be best to take a deep breath. What are anti-suit injunctions? In most common law jurisdictions, anti-suit injunctions are a widely used tool to force a party to withdraw (or not commence) proceedings in...
We often see pre-arbitration steps in an arbitration clause. Typically, parties agree first to try to resolve the dispute by negotiation or mediation, failing which arbitration will follow - a standard "multi-tiered dispute resolution" clause. But what happens if...
I was very honoured to have been invited by Hong Kong’s Department of Justice and the Asian Academy of International Law (AAIL) to speak recently in several of their “Why Hong Kong?” seminars. These were designed to answer concerns about investing in Hong Kong in...
Queen Mary University of London and White & Case have just published the results of their 12th International Arbitration Survey. For those of you in the field, you’ll know that this is the preeminent empirical study on arbitration. As a Team, we have...
Our resident experts on experts have set out their top 10 tips for dealing with expert witnesses
Hong Kong’s position - representative proceedings as an alternative to class action On 28 May 2012, the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong published a Report on Class Actions (Report), introducing class action regime as one of the law reform initiatives in Hong Kong....
In 2020, the Hong Kong Judiciary took much awaited steps to harness modern technology into the resolution of cases it hears. Passing of Court Proceedings (Electronic Technology) Bill On 17 July 2020, the Court Proceedings (Electronic Technology) Bill (“Bill”) passed...
Over the past two years, I’ve seen an alarmingly high number of clients come to us as victims of cyber-fraud. The modus operandi can vary greatly. Examples of Cyber Fraud Here are some examples we have seen: Example 1: Email instructions from a “senior executive” of...
On 27 November 2020, Hong Kong[1] and China Mainland signed the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and Hong Kong (Supplemental Arrangement), which clarifies and refines the procedures for the recognition and...
Quick notes: 10 questions on Hong Kong arbitration With a modern arbitration law and supportive court system, Hong Kong is well known as a major venue for international arbitration. Below is a short primer intended to give an overview of Hong Kong’s arbitration...
From January 2021, the District Court of Hong Kong will introduce Case Settlement Conferences (CSC) to assist parties to settle their disputes at an early stage. The CSC is a meeting between the parties, overseen by a District Court Master. The aim of a CSC is to...
On 9 October 2020, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) handed down its judgement in Xiamen Xinjingdi Group Co Ltd v Eton Properties Limited and Others [2020] HKCFA 32 (Xiamen Xinjingdi), marking an end to a 15 year long dispute between the parties concerning the...
While COVID-19 has necessitated physical meetings being conducted virtually, the Hong Kong Courts has remained conservative in allowing witnesses to give evidence via video-conferencing (VC). The following case comparison shows that Courts will accept health concerns...
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. Kluwer previously...
It is not uncommon for a Defendant to try and stay, or even dismiss, court proceedings by arguing that there is an arbitration agreement concerning the dispute in issue and thus the proper method of dispute resolution is arbitration instead of court proceedings. In...