Hong Kong is a long-established arbitration centre for commercial and maritime disputes, with an experienced bar, a common law framework and a judiciary familiar with supporting the arbitral process. For counterparties in different jurisdictions, a neutral and predictable seat is often easier to agree than either side’s home courts.
The detail matters more than the choice of city. Governing law, seat, institution, number of arbitrators and language all need to be consistent with each other and with the rest of the contract — and enforceability of any eventual award has to be checked against where the counterparty actually holds assets. We raise those questions while terms are being drafted, because a dispute clause written in haste tends to be discovered at the worst possible moment.
Harbour Strategies (HK) Limited · 19 March 2024
Editorial commentary by Harbour Strategies. Figures and regulatory details should be verified against primary sources before being relied upon.
