Arbitration (Amendment) Bill passed

On 10 July 2013, the Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2013 was passed by the Legislative Council. Its purpose is to make miscellaneous amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609) and to implement the “Arrangement Concerning Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region” signed by the Hong Kong and Macau Governments on 7 January 2013.

Some provisions of the Arbitration (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 (“the Amendment Ordinance”) came into effect on 19 July 2013 and others will come into effect on a date to be appointed by the Secretary for Justice, by notice to be published in the Gazette.

The following miscellaneous amendments, aimed at further supporting Hong Kong's arbitral regime, came into effect on 19 July 2013:

• New Part 3A, providing for the enforcement of emergency relief granted by an emergency arbitrator, reflecting the trend among leading arbitral institutions for including emergency arbitration procedures in their rules. Under this new regime any emergency relief granted by an emergency arbitrator in or outside Hong Kong is enforceable, with leave of the court, in the same manner as an order or direction of the court.
• Amendment of section 75 of the Arbitration Ordinance to provide that if the parties to arbitration have agreed that the costs of the arbitration are to be taxed by the court, the costs are to be taxed on a party and party basis.
• Addition of five new parties to the New York Convention, namely Fiji, Liechtenstein, Myanmar, Sao Tome and Principe, and Tajikistan.
• Consequential amendments to the Rules of High Court as regards the enforcement of arbitral awards under those Rules.

The provisions relating to the enforcement of Macao Awards (including the evidence to be produced for enforcement of Macau awards and the circumstances in which enforcement of Macau awards may be refused) are set out in a new Division 4 to Part 10 of the Arbitration Ordinance and will come into effect on a day to be appointed by the Secretary for Justice by notice to be published in the Gazette.