INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 1/3LY
WE S TRI VE TO MAKE I T E A S IER FOR THE PART IES AND THE ARBI TRATORS TO GE T ON WI TH WHAT THE Y NEED TO DO TO RESOLVE THE DI SPUT E QUI CKLY.
CHI ANN I don’t know the exact split but it’s generally in the range of 75 per cent international and 25 per cent domestic. K IM I know that the HKIAC does a lot of promotional road trips around the world and I was wondering: What are your current main areas of interest?Where have you been visiting, not somuch to set up shop but tomake your presence felt? CHI ANN We spend themost time in Asia as youmight expect. But we are also frequently further afield in Europe or the Americas. Over the last couple of years, we have rolled out a few events programmes where the idea is to add value to the dialogue rather than just to promote HKIACwholesale. For example, we held a series of state-owned enterprise events all over the world, partly because there’s been interest in how state-owned enterprises operate and how to arbitrate against them. We have a good bit of experience in that regard so we thought it would be useful to share this information. We also know that industries are now seekingmore tailored information as to howarbitration can cater to their industry, and have beenworking to establishmore bespoke services to individual industries. K IM Which sorts of industries are the focal point? CHI ANN It’squitebroad,butconstruction,maritime, financiaI,andintellectualpropertyareallonourradar. K IM Youmentioned before that numerous China-related arbitrations conducted at HKIAC. Do you knowwhat the record is for enforcement of HKIAC or Hong Kong awards in China?
CHI ANN Late last year, we held a panel in China and the PRC representativementioned that between 2010 and 2012, 20 awards saw enforcement and reached the enforcement stage at the Supreme People’s Court. Seven of themwere denied but not one of these was fromHong Kong.
HK I A C ’ S K E Y SEL L ING P O IN T S
K IM When it comes to drafting arbitration clauses, I’moften asked by clients which seat to choose andwhich institution. What’s HKIAC’s biggest selling point and howdoes HKIAC differentiate itself fromsome of the other well-known institutions either in this region or internationally? CHI ANN HKIAC has brought value to the arbitration process by thinking about it from the end user perspective. Our costs structures are intended to give parties a range of choices as to how theywant tomanage the process. Our aim is to appoint the right arbitrator and not interfere with the process after the right tribunal has been constituted. I think that many people like our “light touch” approach. My goal has been to get a high-quality secretariat in place so that we can strike the right tone when administering arbitrations. We are not in the business of interfering with the substance of the process but rather facilitating the arbitral process. We strive tomake it easier for the parties and the arbitrators to get onwithwhat they need to do to resolve the dispute quickly. I think this philosophy, along with our cost effective structure, puts us at an advantage. If we can continue to provide a high-quality service, hopefullywordwill travel. Then we will have establishedwhat we set out to do.
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