8 March, 2018
The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”) is pleased to announce its entry into a Cooperation Agreement (“Agreement”) with the Arbitration Center at the Institute of Modern Arbitration (“IMA”) – a Russian arbitral institution approved by the Russian government to administer arbitrations in Russia. The Agreement was signed by Matthew Gearing QC, Chairperson of HKIAC, and Yury Pilipenko, President of the Board of IMA, at HKIAC on 6 March 2018.
The signing of the Agreement reflects HKIAC’s ongoing efforts to facilitate communications and collaborations between the legal and business communities in Russia and Asia. Mr. Gearing QC welcomes this development and comments that: “the Agreement provides an express framework under which the two institutions will work together to develop and promote international arbitration and other dispute resolution mechanisms through various forms of collaboration. I look forward to our future cooperation in this area.”
Echoing Mr. Gearing QC’s comment, Andrey Gorlenko, General Director and Executive Administrator of IMA, says “signing a memorandum of understanding with HKIAC is a huge step forward in our productive cooperation that has already led to fruitful outcomes in our joint events and discussions. The experience and practices of HKIAC are highly regarded in the international arbitration community and the Arbitration Center at the Institute of Modern Arbitration is looking forward to partnering with HKIAC and contributing to promoting arbitration and ADR, as well as providing reliable arbitration services to the users from Russia, Hong Kong and other jurisdictions worldwide.”
In recent years, Russia’s legal and business sectors have shown increased interest in HKIAC. A survey published by the Russian Arbitration Association in 2016 highlighted HKIAC as a top Asian institution for disputes involving Russian parties. Elena Borisenko, Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board at Gazprombank, recognises the emergence of HKIAC as a viable option for Russian companies to select for their contracts. She says “in light of Russia’s growing commercial activity in Asia, leading arbitration centres in Asia are well placed to resolve disputes arising out of the relevant transactions. HKIAC has developed a neutral, sophisticated, efficient and cost-effective arbitration system that is highly attractive to Russian businesses.”
In response to the Russian market’s growing interest in HKIAC arbitration, HKIAC has expanded its panel to include 30 Russian-speaking arbitrators, translated its 2013 Administered Arbitration Rules into Russian, and organised and participated in numerous events in Russia. HKIAC is in the process of developing a new set of Administered Arbitration Rules, with innovative features that will bring a new level of arbitration experience to users in Russia and other parts of the world.
Alexander Kozlov, Consul General of Russia in Hong Kong and Macao, supports HKIAC’s work and initiatives to connect the arbitration communities and practices between Hong Kong and Russia. He says “we are pleased to work with HKIAC to strengthen cooperation and deepen ties between Hong Kong and Russia in the arbitration sphere. Hong Kong provides an ideal platform to connect Russia with China and other Asian economies, and HKIAC plays an important role in facilitating that connection.”
With the Agreement and the support from various interest groups, HKIAC looks forward to working with IMA and other partners to develop and provide top-quality arbitration services to disputes involving Russian parties.
