Welcome to the ninth edition of Crossing Borders, a periodic review of developments in international arbitration across the world.
Continue Reading China year in review –Where we have been and where we are going?
Overseas Express丨AU Insight: Not Using Arbitration? Beware!
By Monique Carroll King & Wood Mallesons’ Melbourne office
Our recent experience shows that a surprising number of Australian companies (big and small) are failing to insert arbitration clauses into their contracts when the counter-party does not have a presence in Australia. In most cases, this means that the contract will not be enforceable against the counter-party should they act in breach of it. If your business has not developed a strategy or understanding for using arbitration clauses in contracts with a cross-border element – please continue reading.
Continue Reading Overseas Express丨AU Insight: Not Using Arbitration? Beware!
Singapore Arb-Med-Arb clause – A viable alternative?
By Edmund Wan and Alex Ma King & Wood Mallesons’ Hong Kong office.
The 21st century can arguably be described as an era of collaboration and cooperation. A tear-down of a smartphone or personal computer for example would reveal that its components are sourced and manufactured in multiple countries. These parts are then assembled into the final product and sold worldwide. This is international business at its absolute finest.
Continue Reading Singapore Arb-Med-Arb clause – A viable alternative?
Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in China: Progress and Challenges Go Hand-in-hand
By Dai Yue and Li Tianren King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution group
On 30th June 2017, the Intermediate People’s Court of Wuhan, Hubei Province (‘’Wuhan Intermediate Court’’) handed down its judgment in Application to Recognize and Enforce a Foreign Civil Judgment by Liu Li v. Tao Li and Tong Wu” (2015 E Wuhan Zhong Min Shang Wai Chu Zi No. 00026) (“Judgment”) in which the Court considered the recognition and enforceability of a foreign judgment in China. For the first time, the Court, on the basis of acknowledging juridical reciprocity between China and the US, ruled that a US civil court ruling was to be recognized as legally binding on Chinese soil.
Continue Reading Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in China: Progress and Challenges Go Hand-in-hand
The Choice of Court Agreement and Its Implications on China
By Guan Feng and Tang Lu King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution group
Recently, represented by Ken Wu, Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands, China officially signed the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (“the Convention”). The Convention is an international treaty that legally binds Contracting Parties to a uniform set of rules relating to civil and commercial matters. It currently has 33 Contracting Parties, mostly EU member states (excluding Denmark). Ukraine, the U.S. and China have not yet ratified the Convention under domestic law. We are still waiting for China to announce whether it has reservations about any of the provisions.
Continue Reading The Choice of Court Agreement and Its Implications on China
New Arbitration Funding Options and Lessons for Hong Kong
By Paul Starr, Dorothy Murray, James McKenzie and Kendal McCarthy King & Wood Mallesons
On 14 June 2017, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed the Arbitration and Mediation Legislation (Third Party Funding) (Amendment) Bill 2016 (“Third Party Funding Bill“), amending the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap 609) (Ordinance) (“AO”) to permit third party funding of arbitration proceedings seated in Hong Kong.As Hong Kong prepares to implement the reform (which is expected to take effect in late 2017), we take stock of some of the key features of the Third Party Funding Bill and what its passage will mean for users of Hong Kong arbitration. We also make comparisons with third party funding of arbitration in England and Wales to determine what practical lessons can be learned from the reform process in that jurisdiction.Continue Reading New Arbitration Funding Options and Lessons for Hong Kong
Thoughts on Disclosure of Third Party Funding
By Dorothy Murray and Edmund Northcott King & Wood Mallesons’ London office.
As more jurisdictions permit third party funding of international arbitration, the question of whether details of the funding must be disclosed arises ever more frequently.
Concerns to date focus on conflicts (ensuring that the identity of the funder poses no challenge to the independence and impartiality of the tribunal) and the ability of a respondent to apply for security for costs. The Tribunal in the case of Muhammet Cap v. Turkmenistan[1], was motivated by these concerns when requiring the Claimant to disclose whether it was being funded by a third party funder, and if so, the funder’s identity and nature of the funding arrangements, including to what extent the funder would share in a favourable award to the Claimant.
Continue Reading Thoughts on Disclosure of Third Party Funding
The Singapore International Commercial Court – Two years on
By Rebecca LeBherz and Zoe Walker. King & Wood Mallesons’ Brisbane office.
It has now been two years since the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”) was established as an alternative forum to resolve international commercial disputes in Singapore. There are three institutions in Singapore capable of resolving international commercial disputes – it is a veritable cocktail of dispute resolutions services.
London may still dominate cross-border commercial litigation, but it is no longer the default. The SICC has proven that it is able to quickly resolve complex disputes of substantial value. Rebecca LeBherz and Zoe Walker examine where the SICC is now, and what it achieved in its first two years.
Continue Reading The Singapore International Commercial Court – Two years on
A B&R Conversation with Dr Wang Wenying and Sarah Grimmer
By Paul Starr and James McKenzie King & Wood Mallesons’ Hong Kong office.
Paul Starr, Practice Leader Hong Kong Dispute Resolution and Infrastructure and James McKenzie, Senior Associate, King & Wood Mallesons, Hong Kong in conversation with Dr Wang Wenying, Secretary General at China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Hong Kong (CIETAC HK) and Sarah Grimmer, Secretary General at Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC).
Continue Reading A B&R Conversation with Dr Wang Wenying and Sarah Grimmer
Managing Risk along the Belt and Road of Opportunity
By Max Bonnell, Ruimin Gao and Erin Eckhoff King & Wood Mallesons’ Sydney office.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a visionary policy that aims to connect over 60 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa along five main routes of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Affecting a total population of some 4.4 billion (approximately 63% of the world’s population) and generating an aggregate GDP of over USD20 trillion (approximately 30% of global GDP), it is an ambitious framework that is projected to see significant numbers of infrastructure and other projects set up under its auspices. However, with such strikingly ambitious vision comes unchartered risks.
Continue Reading Managing Risk along the Belt and Road of Opportunity