Earlier this month, the Hong Kong Government unveiled its long-anticipated legislative proposal to regulate online hailing hire car services.
This legislative proposal will pave the way to remove the legal uncertainty...more
7/29/2025
/ Delivery Drivers ,
Drivers ,
Hong Kong ,
Licensing Rules ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Online Platforms ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Surface Transportation ,
Taxi Cabs ,
Transportation Industry
On 11 July 2025, the Hong Kong Government gazetted the Construction Industry Security of Payment Rules (“Rules”).
The Rules, made by the Chief Judge of the High Court under section 50 of the Construction Industry...more
In May 2025, for the first time since the enactment of the Competition Ordinance (Cap 619) (“Ordinance”), the Hong Kong Competition Commission (“Commission”) prosecuted a person for failing to attend an interview before the...more
In PI 1 and PI 2 v MR, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“Court”) dismissed the plaintiffs’ application to set aside an arbitral tribunal’s decision that it did have jurisdiction to hear a dispute. It is noteworthy that...more
In our previous article titled Fraud Cases: Hong Kong Court’s Jurisdiction on the Grant of Vesting Orders, our team discussed the remedy of vesting orders in providing relief to victims of internet fraud in recovering their...more
In two separate decisions in April 2025, the Hong Kong High Court first refused, but then allowed, an IT company’s application for an interlocutory injunction to enforce post-termination restrictive covenants against its...more
6/13/2025
/ Breach of Contract ,
Contract Disputes ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Former Employee ,
Hong Kong ,
Injunctions ,
Interlocutory Injunctions ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
It is common for construction industry participants to source various machinery, materials or components from overseas for construction projects in Hong Kong, or to have part of the construction and fabrication or assembly...more
6/5/2025
/ Buyers ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Hong Kong ,
International Trade ,
New Legislation ,
UNCITRAL ,
United Nations
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies with values tied to fiat currencies or other assets, and are often said to be “pegged to” a single or a basket of fiat currents and/or other assets....more
In 周惠明 v 挪信新能源科技 ( 南通 ) 有限公司 [2025] HKCFI 1503h, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance ordered (a) that worldwide Mareva injunctions be continued, and (b) that interim receivers be appointed over the assets of the respondent...more
On 15 April 2025, the Hong Kong Government’s Digital Policy Office published the Hong Kong Generative Artificial Intelligence Technical and Application Guideline (“Guideline”), which aims to provide operational guidance for...more
5/15/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Copyright ,
Data Privacy ,
Hong Kong ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
New Guidance ,
Personal Data ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
From 1 May 2025, in respect of Hong Kong’s MPF scheme, the MPF offsetting mechanism will be abolished, meaning that employers no longer will be able to use the accrued benefits of their mandatory contributions under the...more
5/7/2025
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hong Kong ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Severance Pay
The Hong Kong Government has proposed to change the “continuous contract” requirement under the Employment Ordinance (Cap 57) (“EO”) from the current “4-18” requirement to a more relaxed “4-17” or “4-68” requirement....more
What lawyers call a “battle of the forms” occurs when two parties, negotiating a contract, exchange conflicting standard terms during the contract negotiation and formation. This leads to the obvious and not uncommon dilemma:...more
4/29/2025
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Formation ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Hong Kong ,
Standard Form Contracts ,
Standard Forms ,
Subcontractors
In Sze Fung Engineering Limited v Trevi Construction Company Limited [2025] HKCA 278, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal (“CA”) ruled that the “back to back” wording in that case was not a “pay when paid” clause, but governed only...more
4/29/2025
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Hong Kong ,
Pay When Paid ,
Subcontractors
In Y and Another v GI and Another [2025] HKCFI 1317[1], the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“Court”) allowed the defendant’s application for security for costs against the plaintiffs in respect of the plaintiffs’...more
In CC v AC [2025] HKCFI 855 (Date of Decision: 27 February 2025), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“Court”) dismissed an application to set aside an order to enforce an arbitral award.
The main basis of challenge...more
With the continued prevalence of the “gig economy”, a common question that arises is whether “gig workers” are employees or independent contractors of the digital platform. ...more
3/19/2025
/ Employee Definition ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Hong Kong ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
A creditor commences winding-up proceedings against a debtor company on the basis that the company is insolvent. The petition debt relates to a dispute within the ambit of the arbitration agreement between the creditor and...more
These are exciting times for sports in Hong Kong.
With the Hong Kong team’s success at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympics, the opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park and the 15th National Games (which Hong...more
Adjudication has become a key tool in the construction industry, helping employers and contractors resolve disputes quickly and keep cash flowing on projects. But when insolvency enters the picture, things can get tricky —...more
2/14/2025
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Hong Kong ,
Insolvency ,
Jurisdiction ,
Security of Payment Act ,
Singapore ,
Stays ,
UK
The second and third reading of the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill concluded at the Legislative Council on 18 December 2024....more
The Hong Kong Government received 37 submissions from the public in July 2024 regarding the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) and held discussions with deputations from different stakeholders at a LegCo...more
10/8/2024
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
Exceptions ,
Fees ,
General Contractors ,
Hong Kong ,
Insolvency ,
Pay When Paid ,
Pending Legislation ,
Prompt Payment
In recent years, technology advancement has introduced new methods for contract formation. In particular, the rise of blockchain technology has led to the emergence of “smart contracts”, which are digital contracts which...more
9/27/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Blockchain ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Hong Kong ,
Smart Contracts ,
UK ,
UNCITRAL ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
On 16 July 2024, the Hong Kong LegCo Bills Committee which is considering the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) held a meeting to receive representations and submissions on the Bill from deputations sent...more
9/26/2024
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
General Contractors ,
Hong Kong ,
Insolvency ,
Pay When Paid ,
Prompt Payment ,
Subcontractors ,
Third-Party ,
UK
In Beijing Songxianghu Architectural Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd v Kitty Kam [2024] HKCFI 1657 (date of reasons for decision: 19 June 2024), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“the Court”) dismissed an application for...more