Hong Kong Court Upholds Award Challenge For Lack Of Reasons

• Published date: 01 April 2024
• Law Firm: Herbert Smith Freehills
• Author: Mr Simon Chapman and Martin Wallace

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has refused to enforce an AAA-ICDR award because the arbitrator failed to give reasons for her decisions on key issues (A v. B and Others[2024] HKCFI 751).

Mimmie Chan J found that the award simply recited the relevant contractual provisions (the interpretation and effect of which was disputed) and stated the orders made, without addressing the parties' arguments or explaining the arbitrator's reasoning. These failings were sufficiently serious to have affected the structural integrity of the arbitral process and undermined due process, such that it would be contrary to public policy to enforce the award.

It is unusual for an award to be successfully challenged before the Hong Kong courts on the basis of a lack of reasons. As the court noted in...