E-Arbitration-T Project - Online Dispute Resolution

With about 350 arbitration cases / year (mainly in construction matters) Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) is one of the most actives dispute resolution centres of the world. Main areas of activity of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC are:

Negotiation: The most common form of dispute resolution is negotiation. By this means alone nearly all disputes are solved. If negotiations fail, it is necessary to seek the assistance of a neutral third party or several neutral third parties to facilitate a solution.

Mr. Christopher To, Secretary General of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC, video:

Conciliation and Mediation: Conciliation and Mediation are often terms used interchangeably and they are together referred to as mediation. Both involve the appointment of a third party to assist disputing parties to reach a settlement of their difference. The mediator is not given any power to impose a settlement. His function is to try to break any impasse and encourage the parties to reach an amicable settlement. In commercial disputes an impasse most often arises from either a lack of trust in the integrity of the other party or a genuine good faith difference of opinion on the facts underlying the dispute or on the probable outcome of the case were it to go to court. The mediator may act as a shuttle diplomat acting as a channel for communication filtering out the emotional elements and allowing the parties to focus on the underlying objectives. He will encourage the parties to reach an agreement themselves as opposed to having it imposed upon them.

Arbitration: For an arbitration to take place, the disputing parties must agree to take their dispute to arbitration. In practice, this agreement is often made before the dispute arises and is included as a clause in their commercial contract. In signing a contract with an arbitration clause, the parties are agreeing that their dispute will not be heard by a court but by a private individual or a panel of several private individuals. If parties have agreed to arbitration, they will generally have to go to arbitration rather than court as the courts will normally refuse to hear their case by staying it to force the reluctant party to honour their agreement to arbitrate.

Arbitration is a legal process which results in an award being issued by the arbitrator or arbitrators. Arbitration awards are final and binding on the parties and can only be challenged in very exceptional circumstances. An award has a status very like a court judgment and is enforceable in a very similar manner. Arbitration awards made in Hong Kong are enforceable through the courts of most of the world’s trading nations.

Litigation: In the absence of an arbitration agreement or other consensual means of dispute resolution, the parties may commence proceedings in the courts. Litigation in Hong Kong courts is handled very competently. The decision of the Court of First Instance is not, however, final as an aggrieved party has an automatic right of appeal to the Court of Appeal and if the amount in dispute exceeds HK$1,000,000, they have an automatic right of appeal from the Court of Appeal to the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.

Online Arbitration in Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC places great emphasis to providing online dispute resolution services in a wide variety of areas including the areas of intellectual property and information technology. Thus it is fitting that the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC has set as one of its goals to be one of the leaders among online dispute resolution providers in regard to domain names and E-Commerce.

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC provides online dispute resolution services in the following ways:-

Dispute Resolution Service for Domain Names:

1. Dispute Resolution for gTLDs (for example: .com, .net and .org etc) - (UDRP)
As a partner in and manager of the Hong Kong Office of in the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre which is one of the four domain name dispute resolution providers approved by the Internet Corporation for the Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to provide domain name dispute resolution services in regard to generic top level domain names (gTLDs) such as .com, .net and .org. Disputes in regard to gTLDs are carried out under the Uniform Domain Name Policy (UDRP) issued by ICANN. Dispute Resolution for gTLDs

2. Dispute Resolution for ccTLDs (for example: .hk, .cn , .pw and .ph etc)
a. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC is the sole provider of dispute resolution services in regards to .hk domain names, having been appointed for such purpose by the Hong Kong Domain Name Registration Company Limited (HKDNR). Mandatory final and binding arbitration is the method chosen by HKDNR for the purpose of resolving disputes in regards to .hk domain names. Dispute Resolution for .hk
b. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC has been appointed by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) to resolve .cn domain name disputes. Dispute Resolution for .cn
c.The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC was appointed by the .pw Registry Corporation as the sole .pw Domain Name Dispute Resolution Service Provider. Dispute Resolution for .pw
d.The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC was recently appointed by the .dotPH – the Official Domain Name Registry for Philippines to resolve .ph domain name disputes. Dispute Resolution for .ph

3. DotAsia Sunrise Challenge Policy.

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) is the global official dispute resolution provider to handle disputes and challenges arising out of the launch of the .Asia domain.

Dispute Resolution for Registrar Transfer (TDRP)

The ADNDRC has started to handle Registrar Transfer Disputes under the ICANN Registrar Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy since 11 December 2004. Dispute Resolution for Registrar Transfer Disputes.

Dispute Resolution for Internet Keyword

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC has been appointed by the CNNIC as a provider to handle Internet Keyword Dispute under CNNIC’s Internet Keyword Dispute Resolution Policy. Dispute Resolution for Internet Keyword Dispute.

Dispute Resolution for E-Commerce - HKIAC Webtrust Programme

Webtrust Programme is a third party arbitration framework for the use and adoption by on-line merchants to handle consumer disputes on-line. It is jointly promulgated by the HKIAC and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accounts in January 2002. The HKIAC is the administrative organisation of that programme, responsible for administering the Programme and appointing of arbitrator. The HKIAC Electronic Transaction Arbitration Rules was adopted as the rules for the arbitration process of that programme.

In order to facilitate the efficient and speedy disposition of domain name disputes, the HKIAC, with technology powered and supported by the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd., has developed a proprietary on-line dispute resolution system for gTLD and hkTLD, which permits parties to conduct their domain name dispute cases by means of a sophisticated fully on-line web-based system.

More information: Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC.