Med-Arb and bias: An appeal against Keeneye

The Hong Kong Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal against a decision of the Court of First Instance refusing enforcement of a PRC arbitral award issued by the Xi'an Arbitration Commission on the basis of apparent bias and public policy. The Court of Appeal (Hon Tang VP, Fok JA and Sakhrani J) handed down its decision last week in Gao Haiyan and Xie Heping v Keeneye Holdings Limited (unrep., CACV 79/2011, 2 December 2011) allowing an appeal against Reyes J's decision earlier this year (Gao Haiyan and Xie Heping v Keeneye Holdings Limited [2011] 3 HKC 157, 12 April 2011). The latest decision deals with the connection between med-arb and the issue of bias.

What effect does public policy have on enforceability of awards?