The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”) is pleased to announce that, pursuant to the decision made on 22 June 2022 by the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (“SPC”), it is the first arbitral institution outside the Mainland to be included in the “One-Stop” Platform for Diversified International Commercial Dispute Resolution (“One-Stop Platform”) of the China International Commercial Court (“CICC”). In June 2018, the SPC established the CICC to determine international commercial disputes. The CICC is comprised of SPC judges.
This means that parties to cases administered by HKIAC with an amount in dispute over RMB 300 million or with a significant impact, may apply for interim relief and/or the enforcement of arbitral awards directly to the CICC. In appropriate cases, this is a more effective alternative to the current arrangements between the Mainland and the Hong Kong SAR for interim relief and enforcement of arbitral awards.
Parties to arbitral proceedings seated in Hong Kong and administered by HKIAC can already apply to the competent Intermediate People’s Court (“IPC”) on the Mainland for interim relief in the form of preservation of evidence, assets, and conduct (for more information, see here).
In terms of enforcement, currently parties seeking to enforce a foreign award (including a Hong Kong-seated award) on the Mainland should apply to the competent IPC. Before refusing enforcement, an IPC should report the case to the SPC and obtain the SPC’s endorsement of any decision not to enforce the award.
With HKIAC joining the One-Stop Platform, parties in qualifying HKIAC cases will benefit from direct access to the CICC for interim relief and enforcement of arbitral awards on the Mainland. This new arrangement can save considerable time and costs. Further, it is expected that CICC, like the SPC, will continue to support the development of arbitration. Direct access to the CICC for large and significant cases will improve the efficiency, transparency, and predictability of outcomes in arbitrations.
Rimsky Yuen, GBM, SC, JP, Co-chairperson of HKIAC, says, “HKIAC is delighted to join the CICC One-stop Platform. This ground-breaking development provides parties to HKIAC cases with an important additional option for obtaining interim relief and the enforcement of awards before judges of the highest calibre on the Mainland.”
