Hong Kong is a legally and economically autonomous area
of China. It has a common law system which upholds the rule of law
and is a leading international arbitration centre for the
region.
Senior judges from other common law jurisdictions sit in its
Court of Final Appeal. Founded in 1985, the Hong Kong International
Arbitration Centre is one of the first and most active independent
arbitration centres in Asia. In 1990, Hong Kong became the first
Asian country to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law. In cases stretching
back more than two decades, the Hong Kong courts have consistently
upheld party autonomy and supported arbitration. Awards published
in Hong Kong are readily enforceable in most other jurisdictions,
including Mainland China (The New York Convention was applied to
Hong Kong by the UK government in 1977; the convention continues to
apply to Hong Kong following the change of sovereignty in
1997).
