On 1 January 2018, new provisions in the Arbitration Ordinance have come into force to confirm that all disputes relating to intellectual property rights (“IPRs” or “IPR”), whether registered or subsisting within or outside Hong Kong, will be arbitrable as between the parties to an arbitration and that any arbitral award will not be contrary to public policy only because it concerns a dispute relating to IPRs. The reform is part of the Hong Kong…
The Hong Kong courts have the power to grant interim relief in Hong Kong in aid of arbitral…
The Hong Kong courts can issue interim orders in aid of foreign (including the PRC) seated arbitrations, which…
On 9 December 2016, the Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court (“Jiangsu Court”) handed down a decision recognizing and enforcing a civil judgment made by the Singapore High Court (“Nanjing IPC Decision”) based on the principle of reciprocity. This is a landmark development and is the first time that a Chinese court has recognized and enforced a Singapore commercial judgment. More significantly, this is the first time that a Chinese court has recognized and enforced a foreign…
Hong Kong courts have a discretion to enforce foreign awards under the New York Convention (“NYC”) even though…
Recent developments The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong (“LRC”) published a report on 12 October 2016 (“Report”) in…
Australian courts will not lightly set aside arbitral awards, including on public policy grounds. The recent case of Sino Dragon Trading Ltd v Noble Resources International Pte Ltd [2016] FCA 1131 demonstrates the Court’s systematic appraisal and ultimate dismissal of the applicant’s challenge to the arbitral award. The Court also confirmed in the separate costs judgment of Sino Dragon Trading Ltd v Noble Resources International Pte Ltd (No 2) [2016] FCA 1169 that unmeritorious challenges…
In a recent PRC case (the “Taizhou Court Case”), the Taizhou Intermediate People’s Court (“Court”) refused enforcement of…
Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2015. Since then, the consultation period during which comments…
Parties entering into related contracts should carefully consider how future disputes ought to be resolved. This alert will look at a recent Hong Kong decision in Bluegold Investment Holdings Limited v Kwan Chun Fun Calvin [2016] HKEC 532 (“Bluegold Case”) involving the construction of inconsistent dispute resolution clauses in related contracts. We will also discuss how to avoid jurisdictional disputes in this context, and associated cost and delay. The Bluegold Case The plaintiff, a BVI…