Arbitration law changes proposed

February 17, 2021

The Government will introduce legislative amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance. The bill will be gazetted on February 19 and introduced into the Legislative Council on February 24. 

 

The amendment aims to fully implement the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region signed between the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China last year.

 

The purpose of signing the supplemental arrangement is to bring it more fully in line with the current practice of international arbitration, including aligning the definition of the scope of arbitral awards with the prevalent international approach of "seat of arbitration" under the New York Convention.

 

It also allows parties to make simultaneous applications to both the courts of the Mainland and the Hong Kong SAR for enforcement of an arbitral award.

 

The Government noted that the implementation of the supplemental arrangement in full will be conducive to the promotion of the development of Hong Kong's legal and dispute resolution services.

 

It added that Hong Kong's status as an international legal hub for legal, deal-making and dispute resolution services will be further enhanced. 

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