Arbitration in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is conveniently located next to Mainland China and is easily accessible from major commercial centres in East Asia. It has a strong, arbitration-friendly legal system, and a large pool of arbitrators, lawyers and other professionals. Arbitral awards made in Hong Kong are readily enforceable in all East Asian jurisdictions, including Mainland China. The HKIAC is an independent body established to promote the use of arbitration in Hong Kong. It provides facilities and support services for arbitrations conducted in Hong Kong. Under the Arbitration Ordinance, the HKIAC is authorised to appoint arbitrators (and to determine the number of arbitrators) where the parties to a dispute are unable to agree. The HKIAC has formulated several sets of rules, which the parties are free to adopt. These rules include rules for domestic arbitrations, “short form” proceedings, small claims, documents only proceedings, and electronic transaction disputes. Hong Kong amended its Arbitration Ordinance in 2010.The new Arbitration Ordinance unifies a system that formally provided different procedures depending on whether the arbitration was considered "international" or "domestic."With the new Arbitration Ordinance, there is no longer such a distinction and the UNCITRAL Model Law in effect applies to all arbitrations in Hong Kong.