The Hong Kong Court Of Appeal Upholds The Appeal In Pacific China Holdings Ltd V. Grand Pacific Holdings Ltd And Confirms Hong Kong As An Arbitration-friendly Venue

The Hong Kong Court of Appeal upholds the appeal in Pacific China Holdings Ltd v. Grand Pacific Holdings Ltd and confirms Hong Kong as an arbitration-friendly venue 

Thursday 31st May 2012

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In mid-May 2012, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal allowed the appeal of the Requesting Party in an arbitration in which that party had been awarded a damages claim of US $55 million and in which the Responding Party's counterclaim had been dismissed.  The Responding Party had previously succeeded in having that Arbitral Award set aside by the Court of First Instance in Hong Kong on the grounds that it had been unable properly to present its case and that the procedure adopted by the Arbitral Tribunal had not been in accordance with the agreement of the parties.  The Judgment was rendered by Mr Justice Saunders, the Hong Kong Judge in charge of the Construction and Arbitration List.

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In allowing the Appeal and reinstating the Award, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal found that it would not interfere with the Arbitral Tribunal's case management decisions and that there had been no violation of due process.

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Michael Cover commented: 'In emphasizing that the Hong Courts will not readily interfere with the decisions of arbitral tribunals sitting in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal has shown that Hong Kong, with its Arbitration Ordinance based on the UNCITRAL Model Law, remains an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction.  As a Member of the Mediation Panel of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and someone who had the privilege to act as a judge at the Vis East International Arbitration Moot 2012, I am delighted to see this.'