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A. LEGISLATION AND RULES A.1 Legislation International arbitration in Japan continues to be governed by the Arbitration Act of 2003 (“Arbitration Law”), which took effect in 2004, but this has recently changed. From 1 April 2024, the amended Arbitration Law took effect (“Amended Arbitration Law”). After several steps in both the public and private sectors to build the country as an international dispute resolution hub in recent years, the overhaul of the underlying legislation represents…

Introduction In recent years, the world has witnessed an explosive growth in the popularity and value of virtual assets. This “digital gold rush” has been largely driven by the rise of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The unique nature of these digital assets, authenticated by blockchain technology, has attracted significant investment, transforming the way value and ownership is perceived. The terms virtual assets (VAs) and crypto-assets are often used interchangeably to describe digital assets that…

Whether an arbitral tribunal’s decision constitutes an “award” is an important question. It determines, for example, whether the decision is subject to review by the supervisory court, the available recourse against it, and its enforceability. As there is no universally accepted definition of “award”, its meaning depends on the jurisdiction in question. The Court of First Instance considered in two recent cases whether the arbitrator’s decision amounted to an award: Both cases concerned interim measures…

On 1 June 2024, the 2024 Administered Arbitration Rules of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre will come into effect. The 2024 Rules can be accessed here. The 2024 Rules maintain HKIAC’s “light touch” approach to case administration, which respects party autonomy and has been a fundamental feature of HKIAC administered arbitrations. This means that parties who have adopted arbitration under the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules in force when the arbitration commences can rest assured…