18 December, 2018
Hong Kong has published its long-awaited Code of Practice for third party funders and announced that amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance, which permit funding of Hong Kong arbitrations, will come fully into force on 1 February 2019. However, similar amendments to the Mediation Ordinance (Cap. 620) have been deferred for further consultation.
The Department of Justice has announced that commencement of the New Mediation Ordinance provisions will be deferred to a future date following further deliberation at the Steering Committee on Mediation. The DoJ will continue to engage the mediation community and relevant shareholders, so that the New Mediation Ordinance provisions may be brought into operation as soon as practicable with the necessary code of practice to complement it.
The effect of this deferment in practice may be minimal. We believe that mediations undertaken in connection with arbitrations will be covered by the Arbitration Ordinance amendments (and therefore may be funded) and it is less likely that 'standalone' mediations will require or seek funding. We will keep appraised of developments and update subscribers accordingly.
For further information, please contact:
Briana Young , Herbert Smith Freehills
briana.young@hsf.com
