HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Frederick Hui and Samuel Li, Zhong Lun Law Firm
• be signed by the arbitrator or arbitrators (a majority signature is sufficient if the reason for any missing signature is stated); • give reasons for the decision, unless the parties have agreed that no reasons are required or the award simply records a settlement agreed by the parties; • state the date of the award and the seat of arbitra- tion; and • be delivered in signed form to each party. Time Limits for Delivery of the Award The AO does not prescribe any general deadline for an arbitral tribunal to issue its award. The timing of the award is therefore a matter for party agreement and, where applicable, institutional rules. For example, under the 2024 HKIAC Rules, the tribunal is gener - ally required to close the proceedings (or a separate phase of them) within 45 days after the last directed substantive submission, and to issue the award within three months after closure. The three-month time limit for the issuance of an award may be extended by agreement of the parties or by HKIAC (see Article 31 of the 2024 HKIAC Rules). Under the expedited proce - dure, the award should normally be issued within six months from HKIAC’s transmission of the case file to the tribunal, subject to extension in appropriate cases (see Article 42.2 (f) of the 2024 HKIAC Rules). After receiving the award, a party may apply within 30 days (subject to the extension of time by the tribunal) to: • correct clerical, typographical or similar errors; • request an interpretation of a specific part of the award, if the parties have agreed that interpreta - tions are allowed; or • request an additional award to deal with claims that were presented but accidentally omitted. 10.2 Types of Remedies Under the AO, a Hong Kong-seated arbitral tribunal can generally grant any remedy or relief that the Hong Kong courts could grant in similar civil proceedings. This includes final injunctions, declarations, specific performance, rectification, damages, interest (simple or compound) and costs.
There are, however, some important limits set by the AO. For example, a tribunal cannot order specific per - formance of a contract relating to land or an inter - est in land unless the parties have agreed that it may do so (Section 70 (3) of the AO). In practice, parties can agree to restrict certain remedies (for example, excluding punitive or exemplary damages or limiting the types of injunctions available). The tribunal can also order interim measures (such as interim injunctions) under the framework adopted from the Model Law, and Hong Kong courts can support and enforce those measures where appropriate. Further practical limits arise from general law. Tribu - nals cannot impose criminal or public law penalties, bind third parties who are not part of the arbitration, or make orders that are reserved to the courts (such as winding-up orders). Non-compensatory damages, such as exemplary or punitive damages, are only available if permitted by the governing law; under Hong Kong law, they are recognised only in narrow circumstances. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs In Hong Kong arbitrations, both interest and legal costs are generally recoverable, largely at the tribu - nal’s discretion under the AO. For interest, the tribunal may award simple or com - pound interest on sums due, for the period before the award, at the rates and intervals it considers appro - priate. This can include interest on both the principal claim and costs. The tribunal may also award interest for the period after the award. If the tribunal does not deal with post-award interest, interest may arise at the statutory judgment rate if the award is enforced through the courts. For costs, the tribunal has wide power to decide who should pay, to what extent, and in what manner. This includes the costs of the arbitration itself and of any interim applications. The tribunal will usually award costs it considers reasonable and is not bound by court scales when assessing them. As to general practice, Hong Kong usually follows a “costs follow the event” approach. This means
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