On 6 March 2018, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the Institute of Modern Arbitration of the Russian Federation (IMA) signed a Cooperation Agreement that aims to support and promote the development of international arbitration and other dispute resolution options in Russia and Hong Kong.
This is a further development in HKIAC's on-going efforts to meet growing demand in the Russian market for disputes to administered by established Asian arbitration institutions, such as HKIAC and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), which has signed a similar cooperation agreement with IMA.
In recent years, HKIAC has built up a panel of 30 Russian-speaking arbitrators, translated the HKIAC rules into Russian, and hosted and participated in a number of events in Russia. HKIAC has also announced that it is developing a new set of Administered Arbitration Rules, with innovative features "that will bring a new level of arbitration experience to users in Russia and other parts of the world".
According to a recent survey by the Russian Arbitration Association, Russian users have indicated that Asian centres including SIAC, HKIAC and CIETAC are viable alternatives to the more traditionally-used European arbitral institutions such as ICC, SCC, LCIA and the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (ICAC). In addition, the survey indicates that Singapore and Hong Kong are increasingly popular seats, and the laws of these jurisdictions are respectively the sixth and seventh most popular choices among the survey respondents.
Key contacts
Simon Chapman KC
Managing Partner, Dispute Resolution and Global Co-Head – International Arbitration, Hong Kong
Andrew Cannon
Partner, Global Co-Head of International Arbitration and of Public International Law, London
Kathryn Sanger
Partner, Head of China and Japan, Dispute Resolution, Co-Head of Private Capital, Asia, Hong Kong
Christian Leathley
Partner, Co-Head of the Latin America Group, Co-Head of the Public International Law Group, US Head of International Arbitration, London
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