If a person presents a petition for their own bankruptcy (“self-petition”), are there any safeguards to ensure that the self-petition is genuine, as opposed to a cynical device by the person to buy themselves time to pay, or...more
John Wiley & Sons UK2 LLP v Collector of Stamp Revenue [2021] 5 HKLRD 20, [2021] HKCFI 3060 was a ruling on whether the Court of First Instance has jurisdiction to hear a stamp duty appeal under section 14 of the Stamp Duty...more
On 12 October 2021, the Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) handed down its judgment on the merits of the first private action in Hong Kong for a contravention of a competition rule (“contravention”).
This case concerns an...more
On 12 October 2021, the Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) handed down its judgment on the merits of the first private action in Hong Kong seeking remedies against the contravening party for a contravention of a competition...more
What is the allocation of responsibility for damage and defects after the expiry of a tenancy -
The dispute in So Hon Ming Francis v Cheung Lau Shau Chun and Another ([2021] HKDC 1494, DCCJ 367/2019, 29 November 2021)...more
1/7/2022
/ Contract Disputes ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Cost Allocation ,
Damages ,
Hong Kong ,
Landlords ,
Property Damage ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Leases ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Tenants
Given Hong Kong’s status as a special administration region of China, there are in place special arrangements for the mutual service of judicial documents between the two jurisdictions.
The Arrangement for Mutual Service...more
A recent Hong Kong Court of First Instance judgment, in Foxhill Investments Ltd v Sino Golden International Group Holdings Ltd [2021] HKCFI 3662 (HCA 2938/2018, 15 December 2021), clarifies the scope of the obligation of the...more
In Hong Kong, an implied duty of mutual trust and confidence (“Duty”) exists between an employer and an employee. This duty requires that an employer shall not “without reasonable and proper cause, conduct itself in a manner...more
12/7/2021
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Duty ,
Damages ,
Duty of Trust ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hong Kong ,
Labour Tribunal ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Wrongful Termination
Hong Kong’s personal data privacy law recently has been amended to introduce new provisions to combat doxxing acts which are intrusive to personal data privacy. This marks the first stage of the stream of proposed amendments...more
Hong Kong now has its own set of recommended best practices for the development and use of AI published in a guidance note issued by the PCPD. Businesses which intend to or have begun to use AI in their operations are advised...more
In a recent English judgment, Vale SA and others v Steinmetz and others [2021] EWCA Civ 1987, which concerned the effect that an arbitral award had upon a proprietary claim against a non-party to the arbitration, the Court of...more
China’s new legislation on personal information protection (“PIPL”) will come into force on 1 November 2021. Mr Yang Heqing, an official from the responsible law making commission, has given some helpful explanatory comments...more
China recently has passed its Personal Information Protection Law. The law will take effect on 1 November 2021....more
In a recent judgment (Construction Company v Guarantor [2021] HKCFI 2558, judgment date: 17 August 2021), a Hong Kong court upheld a U.S. arbitral award made pursuant to a split dispute resolution clause. In dismissing the...more
10/7/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Commercial Arbitration ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Dispute Resolution Clauses ,
Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
Hong Kong ,
Jurisdiction ,
Parent Corporation ,
Subsidiaries
In W v AW [2021] HKCFI 1707 (date of decision: 17 June 2021), a case described by the court as “highly unusual”, an arbitral award was held to be manifestly invalid.
The award in question contained findings that were...more
Where an arbitration clause provides that parties “may” submit their disputes to arbitration, does this mean that arbitration is mandatory or merely permissive? What is the effect of a proviso in an arbitration clause which...more
It sometimes happens that there is an irregularity or mistake in the way in which a party is named in the formal arbitration papers. Will such an irregularity or mistake cause problems when the successful party seeks to...more
The UK Supreme Court recently handed down a highly anticipated judgment on the interpretation of clauses which pertain to liquidated damages and limitations on a contractor’s liability for damages. Most notably, the Supreme...more
8/17/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Civil Liability ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Damage Caps ,
Fraud ,
General Contractors ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Negligence ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court
In the recent important decision of Law Ting Pong Secondary School v Chen Wai Wah [2021] CA 873, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal adopted the modern test for penalty clauses as laid down in the UK Supreme Court decision in...more
The recent English case of Timberbrook Ltd v Grant Leisure Group Ltd [2021] EWHC 1905 (TCC) (Date of Judgement: 16 July 2021), which was heard in the Technology and Construction Court, is a good illustration of the factors...more
In light of the prevalence of doxxing and cyber harassment in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government is keen to step up the efforts to curb the dissemination of personal data which is done to harass or harm to data subjects. It...more
Hong Kong proposes to widen the current definition of “personal data” to cover not just “identified” persons but also “identifiable” persons. The amendment is expected to cover the use of online tracking technologies such as...more
7/22/2021
/ Amended Legislation ,
Cookies ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Hong Kong ,
IP Addresses ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Policy ,
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) ,
Web Tracking
In the upcoming round of amendments to the PDPO, Hong Kong likely will follow the footsteps of overseas regulatory authorities to introduce measures that regulate data processors directly.
This post is the fourth in the...more
In Lengler Werner v. Hong Kong Express Airways Limited [2021] HKCFI 1333, the Court of First Instance (the “Court”) examined the power of “suspension” of an employee, including under section 11 of the Employment Ordinance...more
Many modern commercial contracts contain dispute resolution clauses which submit disputes to arbitration. It is common for parties to agree to a set of pre-conditions or escalation mechanisms which have to be complied with...more