Hong Kong As The Arbitration Center For China-Related Commercial

Arbitration is an increasingly popular alternative dispute resolution method for commercial disputes.Arbitration is often the preferred choice of commercial parties because of the method's neutrality,flexibility,confidentiality,and enforceability.These characteristics are especially valued by parties involved in international business.Choosing arbitration reduces the parties' risk of being sued in a foreign jurisdiction.Arbitration has the power to resolve disputes non-litigiously and provide a final and binding outcome.As of late,Asia has witnessed considerable growth in its arbitration services market.While Hong Kong has thus far succeeded in becoming a leader in Asia's arbitration practice,various jurisdictions in Asia have begun to develop their own arbitration legislation and services,significantly increasing the competition.This presents a challenge for Hong Kong as it seeks to maintain its status as an international arbitration powerhouse.This thesis comparatively analyzes Hong Kong's status as an international arbitration center,focusing specifically on China-related cases.Hong Kong's status in terms of China-related cases is worth exploring for two reasons:(1)China has great influence over Asia's economy,and similarly so over the arbitration market;(2)Hong Kong has a special economic,cultural and arbitral relationship with Mainland China.The objective of this thesis is to answer two questions concerning Hong Kong's status for China-related contracts:(1)How can Hong Kong become more competitive in the growing arbitration service market in Asia?(2)Is Hong Kong still a good choice of seat for arbitration for China-related contracts?This thesis is divided into five chapters.Chapter 1 briefly outlines the background of the topic and introduces the objectives and methodology of this thesis.Chapter 2 gives an overview of the current arbitration situation in Asia,exploring the recent developments and looking ahead to future prospects,with an emphasis on the increasing challenges that Hong Kong faces.Chapter 3 focuses orn Hong Kong's development,discussing the legal,political and economic factors surrounding Hong Kong's success as an arbitration center,as well as its attractiveness for Chinese parties.In Chapter 4,the statutes of Hong Kong,Mainland China,and Singapore as arbitration centers for China-related cases are comparatively analyzed,with specific attention paid to four aspects of each jurisdiction:legislative' history,legal infrastructures,representative institutions,and arbitration-mediation.The final chapter concludes by affirming Hong Kong's favorability as an arbitration center and its attractiveness for Chinese clients.