Recent developments in Hong Kong arbitration and dispute resolution

How these developments impact on arbitration in Hong Kong.
The main developments are:
1. a Working Group on Mediation (Mediation Working Group) has been
established in Hong Kong, and had its first meeting on 26 February
2008. Since its first meeting, the Mediation Working Group has worked
closely with its three Sub-groups to consider issues such as the
availability of suitable venues for mediation in Hong Kong, and whether
there should be a draft Hong Kong Mediation Code. In addition, one of
the matters being considered by the Regulatory Framework Sub-group is
whether Hong Kong should enact a Mediation Ordinance. Mediation has
been a hot topic in Hong Kong following the implementation of the Civil
Justice Reform (CJR) in Hong Kong on 2 April 2009 (see below), which
promotes mediation as an effective form of dispute resolution;
2. the Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of
Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the
Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region pursuant
to Choice of Court Agreements between Parties Concerned (Judgment
Arrangement), which came into force in both Hong Kong and the
Mainland on 1 August 2008;
3. the issuance by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)
of the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules (HKIAC Rules), which
came into effect on 1 September 2008;
4. the Hong Kong CJR, which came into effect on 2 April 2009. The CJR
implemented, inter alia, legislative amendments which now make it
clear that the Hong Kong courts can grant interim relief in aid of
arbitrations and foreign proceedings as an independent, free-standing
form of relief, without being ancillary or incidental to substantive
proceedings in Hong Kong; and
5. reform of the arbitration regime in Hong Kong: the new Arbitration Bill
was published in the Hong Kong Gazette on 26 June 2009 and is
expected to become law in summer 2010 (new Arbitration Bill).
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