Did you know?
Hong Kong has a long history of providing arbitration services. The development of arbitration in the territory can be traced back to its early years as a trading port, when British officers performed arbitral activities among Chinese and English traders. Since then, Hong Kong has developed into one of the world’s leading centres for international arbitration. In the 2025 International Arbitration Survey conducted by Queen Mary University of London in April, Hong Kong ranked joint first with Singapore in the Asia-Pacific region and joint second, behind London, as the most preferred seat of arbitration worldwide.
Case statistics recently released by the HKIAC (Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre) show that the total number of arbitrations submitted in 2024 were the highest ever – 503 cases. The total amount in dispute over all arbitrations was also a record high at HK$106 billion (around US$13.6 billion).
Arbitrations filed in 2024 continued to be predominantly international, featuring parties from over 50 jurisdictions. The vast majority [76.4%] of all arbitrations and [86.1% of] administered arbitrations were international with at least one non-Hong Kong party.
There has also been a significant increase in applications under the Hong Kong-Mainland China Arrangement for Interim Measures. Under the Arrangement, a party to arbitral proceedings in Hong Kong can apply for interim measures such as preservation of assets and evidence from the Mainland Chinese courts any time before the arbitral award is made.
In 2024, the HKIAC processed 40 applications made to Mainland Chinese courts under the Arrangement seeking to preserve evidence, assets or conduct in Mainland China, worth a total of RMB 9.1 billion (approximately US$1.2 billion). Approximately 70% of applications under the Arrangement in 2024 were made by parties from outside Mainland China.
By virtue of a Supplemental Arrangement in 2020, the Mainland Chinese courts can also order post-award interim measures for the arbitral awards made in Hong Kong, which addresses the risk of assets being dissipated after the arbitral award is made, but before enforcement. The Supplemental Arrangement also permits the simultaneous enforcement of arbitral awards in Hong Kong and the Mainland. This is important to ensure prompt enforcement against parties with assets in both Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Why does this matter to you?
Hong Kong has a rich common law heritage and a unique English-Chinese bilingual legal system. This makes it an ideal hub to resolve international disputes for foreign parties conducting business in or with parties based in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Hong Kong law also specifically provides that all disputes relating to intellectual property rights (IPRs) can be arbitrated, including disputes over enforceability, infringement, validity, ownership, or scope of an IPR, as well as disputes over an IPR transaction, and over any compensation payable for an IPR. This means that parties can appoint arbitrators with specialist IP knowledge, and maintain confidentiality in sensitive cases. Also, for multiple jurisdictional disputes, the parties can agree to resolve everything in a single arbitration, saving substantial time and costs, and avoiding inconsistent outcomes.
Reasons to arbitrate in Hong Kong:
- One of the top three most-preferred seats in the world.
- The only common law jurisdiction that enjoys comprehensive reciprocal arrangements with Mainland China for the enforcement of arbitration awards and access to interim measures from Mainland Chinese courts.
- Third-party funding (TPF) and outcome-related fee arrangements for arbitration and related proceedings. TPF has been permitted in Hong Kong since 2019 where the place of arbitration is Hong Kong or, if outside Hong Kong, for funding of services provided in Hong Kong.
- Worldwide enforceability of Hong Kong awards.
- Convenient location with a visa-free scheme for arbitration participants to facilitate the short-term entry into Hong Kong of eligible persons participating in arbitral proceedings
Want to know more?
Our award-winning litigation team is also highly experienced in all aspects of arbitration including the drafting of dispute resolution terms in contracts and conducting arbitration proceedings. We have unique experience in IP arbitration including a complex matter involving breach of confidence, patent and copyright infringement, spanning over four jurisdictions.
For further information, please contact:
Catherine Zheng, Partner, Deacons
catherine.zheng@deacons.com
