Hong Kong’s emergence as a number one worldwide arbitration middle owes a lot to a collection of institutional reforms, from visa relaxations to versatile financing guidelines, which have made it one of the crucial user-friendly authorized environments in Asia, in line with Paul Lam, the autonomous city-state’s secretary for justice.
“The Hong Kong authorities and the authorized group in Hong Kong have been working very arduous to attempt to enhance our authorized companies … to make our companies extra handy and extra environment friendly,” Lam informed The Korea Financial Every day in a latest interview.
Lam, who has served as justice secretary since July 2022, visited Korea for 4 days from Oct. 21 to attend the APEC Finance and Structural Reform Ministers’ Assembly and a joint authorized seminar hosted with Korea’s Ministry of Justice.
RECORD CASELOAD FOR HKIAC
Along with Singapore, Hong Kong is certainly one of Asia’s premier arbitration venues.
The Hong Kong Worldwide Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), based in 1985, dealt with 352 arbitration instances final yr, a report excessive, with values of such disputes totaling $13.5 billion, additionally an all-time peak.
Lam credited the expansion to government-level coverage help.
Since 2020, professionals coming into Hong Kong for arbitration-related work have been allowed entry with out a separate employment visa.
The association, expanded formally in March this yr, covers arbitrators, attorneys and witnesses alike.
“They’d not be required to acquire any working allow to come back to Hong Kong. So, it’s immigration comfort,” he stated.
Hong Kong has additionally moved to scale back the fee burden of arbitration.
It now permits third-party funding of instances and permits success-based authorized charges tied to arbitration outcomes.
“Over the previous few years, we now have supplied extra funding choices for the way individuals can finance the arbitration in order that they might pay their lawyer’s charges in arbitration. To be extra particular, we allow a 3rd occasion to fund the arbitration,” Lam stated.
FINANCIAL, JUDICIAL ECOSYSTEMS IN SYNC
Lam emphasised that the power of Hong Kong’s monetary market and its authorized system are “symbiotic.”
“The stronger our monetary middle, the stronger shall be our authorized system. The stronger the authorized system is, our monetary system will change into more practical. So, it’s like a circle … when one system turns into stronger, the opposite will change into stronger on the similar time. It’s a optimistic suggestions impact,” he stated.
COMMON LAW WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
Beneath the “one nation, two techniques” framework, Hong Kong retains an unbiased frequent regulation judiciary distinct from mainland China’s, in line with Lam.
This duality, autonomy below Chinese language sovereignty, provides the town “the very best of each worlds,” he stated.
“Many individuals like to check Hong Kong with Singapore as a result of we look like so comparable. However, we now have our respective distinctive options … I’m not saying one is superior or higher than the opposite. That’s not the purpose that I’m attempting to make,” he stated.
“To place it differently, Hong Kong has the very best of each worlds on the one hand, with our unbiased frequent regulation system alternatively. We keep a really shut reference to China’s mainland below the framework of 1 nation, two techniques.”
RESPONDING TO NEW CHALLENGES
Hong Kong’s authorized system, Lam stated, can also be adapting to new areas resembling ESG compliance and digital property.
The territory not too long ago enacted the Stablecoin Ordinance, which took impact on Aug. 1, to manage digital asset buying and selling.
The Division of Justice is at the moment reviewing the town’s arbitration ordinance to make sure it meets the altering calls for of the worldwide group.
COOPERATION WITH SEOUL
South Korea, too, is accelerating efforts to change into a world arbitration hub.
On the Asia-Pacific Various Dispute Decision Convention in Seoul on Oct. 29, Korean Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho pledged continued help to strengthen the nation’s arbitration infrastructure.
Lam praised Korea’s progress, citing its sturdy economic system and technological innovation.
“Korea has already developed an excellent worldwide operation service, however sooner or later, from my perspective, I want to improve the worldwide collaboration. Extra collaboration, extra interactions with different jurisdictions like Hong Kong, I believe, can be useful,” he stated.
