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Legal Updates

  • Overview of Five Recent Arbitration Cases

    Hong Kong’s arbitration landscape saw significant developments over the past 12 months, with the courts delivering important rulings on key procedural and substantive issues. From challenges to awards to jurisdictional disputes, these decisions continue to shape the future of arbitration in the region. We have…Read More

  • Joining the Exclusive Confidentiality Club

    Background In litigation proceedings, parties may understandably be concerned about the disclosure of confidential documents.  This concern is more pronounced in intellectual property proceedings involving valuable and commercially sensitive patents and trade secrets, especially where the opposing party is a business competitor. A party receiving…Read More

  • Directors guilty of fraudulent trading

    Directors beware! Under section 275 of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance, if during the winding-up of a company liquidators discover that the business was carried on with intent to defraud creditors (or for any fraudulent purpose), then they can apply to the…Read More

  • Claiming Ownership of a Flat: The Role of Common Intention Constructive Trusts

    Hong Kong has the lowest home ownership rate in the world, and the average home in the city costs as much as the average family earns in 16.7 years.  Unsurprisingly, this concerning situation has led to a substantial number of disputes over landed properties. One…Read More

  • Personal data transfers in the Greater Bay Area of China

    Here’s a conundrum. Two locations in the same country apply different laws to personal data transfers. Those locations are closely integrated economically, with policies that are designed to foster closer collaboration and development. Data sharing is a critical element to accomplish those objectives. This is…Read More

  • Social media posts highlight workplace sexual harassment

    In January, the media noted social media posts about a female employee from a Korean chain restaurant who complained about an alleged sexual harassment by her branch manager and co-workers. This was said to involve nicknames and comments of a sexual nature about her physical…Read More

  • Cybersecurity: Lessons to learn from the recent SFC thematic review

    More than 95% of all active traders in Hong Kong trade through internet trading systems. In this article, Pádraig Walsh from our Cybersecurity team highlights key points in a report from a recent thematic cybersecurity review of licensed corporations published by the Securities and Future…Read More

  • Factors in deciding damages for “injury to feelings” in discrimination cases

    Under express statutory provisions in each of the anti-discrimination ordinances of Hong Kong, a successful claimant may be awarded damages for “injury to feelings” in addition to other remedies. In this regard, Hong Kong follows the Vento scale established in the English case of Vento…Read More

  • Must a foreign judgment be registered before being relied on as a petitioning debt?

    The Court of Appeal of England and Wales (“EWCA”) recently handed down its decision in Servis-Terminal LLC v Valeriy Ernestovich Drelle [2025] EWCA Civ 62 clarifying that, as a matter of English law, an “unrecognised” foreign judgment cannot be relied upon as a basis to…Read More

  • Legal Update – Launch of the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Persons Participating in Arbitral Proceedings

    On 1 March 2025, the Hong Kong Government will launch the refined Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Persons Participating in Arbitral Proceedings (“Scheme”). Under the new Scheme, the following eligible persons (“Eligible Persons”) will be allowed to enter Hong Kong as a visitor to participate in…Read More

  • Legal Update: Anti-Suit Injunction restraining a Defendant in a Hong Kong Court action from continuing proceedings it commenced in the People’s Court of Beijing

    On behalf of China City Construction (International) Co., Limited (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation) (“CCCI”) and Dingway Investment Limited (In Compulsory Liquidation) (“Dingway”), both acting through their liquidators, Tanner De Witt successfully obtained an Anti-Suit Injunction (“ASI”) against China City Construction & Development Co., (HK) Limited…Read More

  • 5 Impactful R&I Cases from 2024

    If you would like to discuss any of the matters raised in this article, please contact: Robin Darton   Partner | E-mail Tim Au Partner | E-mail The above is not intended to be relied on as legal advice and specific legal advice should be sought…Read More