Horace Cheung, deputy secretary for Justice of Hong Kong, delivers a speech at the inauguration ceremony. Photo courtesy of the Hong Kong government’s Information Services Department
The Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Court (BAC/BIAC) launched its Hong Kong centre on 12 November, marking its first overseas branch on the institution’s 30th anniversary. The office is located on the 61st floor of the International Finance Centre in the heart of the city’s legal and financial district.
Horace Cheung, deputy secretary for Justice of Hong Kong, said at the inauguration ceremony that the BAC/BIAC’s presence in the city was a key step in strengthening China’s foreign-related rule of law. “Today’s opening marks a new milestone in legal and dispute resolution co-operation between Beijing and Hong Kong,” he said.
Nearly 100 guests attended the event, including Yang Xiangbin, director-general of the Department of Public Legal Services at the Ministry of Justice; Liu Chunhua, director-general of the Department of Law at the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Cui Yang, director-general of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice; and Guo Wei, chair of the BAC/BIAC. The event was hosted by Jiang Lili, secretary-general of the BAC/BIAC.
Jiang said the BAC/BIAC would recommend Hong Kong as a preferred seat of arbitration to global parties, and aim to develop the new centre into a service and management hub for international arbitration cases.
The BAC/BIAC’s newly revised International Arbitration Rules support arbitration agreements designating Hong Kong as the seat, aligning with the UNCITRAL Model Law and interfacing with the Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance, she added.
Yang said he hoped the new centre would deepen collaboration with both the recently established International Organisation for Mediation and local Hong Kong institutions. The Ministry of Justice would continue to support the internationalisation of China’s arbitration institutions, he added.
According to a BAC/BIAC report, the institution accepted 14,060 cases in 2024, up 15% year on year, including 277 international arbitration cases. Since its establishment, the BAC/BIAC has handled international cases involving parties from 72 countries and regions.
Before the launch of this centre, four mainland arbitration institutions had already established branches in Hong Kong: the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, the China Maritime Arbitration Commission, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration and the Shanghai International Arbitration Centre.
