Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Arbitration definition

What does Arbitration mean? Arbitration is a private process where parties resolve disputes by one or more arbitrators who issue a final, binding award instead of a court judgment. It is consensual, usually agreed by an arbitration clause, and the law of the seat governs the procedure (lex arbitri). In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the Arbitration Act 1996 applies. Courts stay court proceedings in favour of arbitration, provide support, and enforce awards; challenges are limited to lack of jurisdiction (s.67), serious irregularity (s.68) and, unless excluded, appeal on a point of law (s.69). In Scotland, the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 provides a similar...

Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance: scope, Model Law structure, tribunal jurisdiction and separability, seat selection, confidentiality, court support and enforcement, including emergency relief—an archived practitioner guide

Published by a LexisNexis Arbitration expert

Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained.

Scope of the Arbitration Ordinance

The Arbitration Ordinance, Chapter 609 (AO), governs arbitrations conducted under an Arbitration agreement that designates Hong Kong as the seat. This holds true irrespective of whether the agreement was entered into in Hong Kong. The AO applies to both domestic and international arbitrations.

Where the seat is outside Hong Kong, only particular AO provisions continue to apply, namely:

the stay of any court proceedings where the matter is subject to an arbitration agreement (AO, s 20)
interim measures ordered by the court in support of arbitration within and outside Hong Kong (AO, ss 21, 45, 60)
enforcement of emergency relief granted by emergency arbitrators (AO, ss 22A, 22B)
enforcement of orders and directions made by the arbitral tribunal (AO, s 61)
recognition and enforcement of awards (AO, ss 82–98)

Save for certain exceptions, the AO’s provisions also apply to statutory arbitrations under other ordinances, so long as the AO is consistent with that other ordinance (AO, s 5).

Structure of the AO

The old Arbitration Ordinance, Chapter 341, operated separate, distinct regimes...

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Valerie Li

DLA Piper

Valerie Li is an Of Counsel in the Litigation and Regulatory team, based in DLA Piper's Hong Kong office. Valerie has extensive experience in international arbitration and commercial litigation. She is the Co-Chair of HK45 for the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). In 2018, Valerie is accredited as a Tribunal Secretary at the HKIAC. She regularly handles commercial disputes covering areas including intellectual property and technology, investment funds, joint ventures, licensing and distribution, energy and natural resources, and international trade and sale of goods in arbitrations seated in jurisdictions including Hong Kong, London, Singapore and Mainland China under rules including HKIAC, CIETAC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, ICC, and LMAA Terms. Valerie has represented clients from the Middle East, Americas, United Kingdom, Europe, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and other parts of Asia. Valerie has also acted for clients in...

Bryan Chan

DLA Piper

Bryan is a senior associate at DLA Piper Hong Kong. He has substantial experience in commercial litigation and arbitration. He has advised and acted for banks, funds, joint ventures and companies in various industries including real estate, pharmaceutical, sports, TMT, hotel, property management and shipping.Bryan has a particular focus on handling shareholders disputes, breach of directors’ duties, contractual disputes, insolvency and winding-up, breach of trust, fraud, property management and defamation.Bryan regularly advises and represents clients in proceedings at various levels of the Hong Kong courts, as well as arbitrations in the HKIAC, CIETAC, LCIA and SIAC.Most recently, Bryan has acted for a leading global investment manager in an HKIAC administered arbitration in respect of a shareholders' dispute which concerns a USD200 million investment in a joint venture in Mainland China, and also acted for one of the largest commercial real estate services and...

Janice Li

DLA Piper

I am currently an associate in DLA Piper's litigation and regulatory group. I am a solicitor admitted in the High Court of Hong Kong and an US attorney qualified to practice law in the New York State. My practice focuses on international arbitration and commercial litigation. I have handled disputes covering areas including financial instruments, licensing and distribution, construction, insurance, international trade and sale of goods, shipping, energy and natural resources and general commercial disputes in the High Court of Hong Kong, and arbitrations seated in jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Singapore, London, the US and Mainland China.I have advised clients in all aspects of disputes including asset preservation, injunctions, as well as enforcement of arbitral awards in various jurisdictions....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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