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Dispute Resolution

Our dedicated international arbitration team supports clients in arbitration proceedings in international commercial and construction disputes and in investment arbitration. Besides acting as counsel, our senior  team members also act as arbitrators, giving them invaluable experience in handling arbitral proceedings as well as inside knowledge of the key arbitral institutions in the region and further afield.

Our maritime disputes team advises across the full spectrum of disputes including charter party, bill of lading, marine casualty, brokerage and brokers liability, ship management, insurance and reinsurance, trade credit, political risk and specialist insurance arbitration.

Through our locally qualified lawyers, we also advise and act on a broad range of commercial disputes in the Hong Kong Courts for both listed and privately held companies, trading houses and banks, including shareholder and joint venture disputes, insolvency proceedings, regulatory enquiries, disputes under contracts relating to sale of goods and services, documentary credits, financing issues, bills of exchange, cyber security breaches, distribution and agency agreements, management agreements and product liability issues, both domestic and international. We have particular experience of obtaining and resisting injunctive relief, as well as expertise in enforcement proceedings.

Using our global experience and local knowledge, we can safeguard your interests before arbitral tribunals, state courts and in alternative dispute resolution. With over 400 disputes lawyers in nearly 40 countries, we can resolve both local and complex multi-jurisdictional disputes.

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International Arbitration
Arbitration is your dispute resolution mechanism of choice when you need flexibility, enforceability and an award which reflects the realities and com
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Litigation in Hong Kong Courts
Litigation services in Hong Kong are provided by lawyers of our Associated firm Lau, Horton & Wise LLP. They cover the full range of commercial di
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Maritime Disputes
CMS' sector-focused lawyers are dispute resolution specialists and business-minded problem solvers. If you have an issue that requires legal acti
Specialist & Commodity Disputes
We act for trading houses and banks on disputes arising under commodity sale and purchase contracts, documentary credits, financing issues, bills of e
24/10/2023
International arbitration trends - What the data says
CMS conducted a data-driven project to assess whether the number of arbitrations is decreasing and if there are trends that can be identified in this type of dispute resolution. We are publishing our findings in a series of five data-driven articles.

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13/09/2024
International arbitration law and rules in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is probably the only city in the world with three leading international arbitral institutions. These are HKIAC, CIETAC (with its CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Centre (CIETAC HKAC)), and ICC (with...
22/07/2024
The role of arbitrators in the settlement process
In any dispute, parties are free to settle at any time. In order to avoid the time, cost and risk associated with pursuing or defending arbitration proceedings to their conclusion, it is generally in...
29/05/2024
The SIAC Annual Report 2023 – key takeaways in year of growth and record...
In April 2024, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) published its Annual Report 2023, recording another year of high caseload and usage of the institution’s services across a...
07/05/2024
Energy and climate change: The most significant climate change litigation...
In Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland (application no. 53600/20), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued arguably the most impactful and far-reaching ruling on climate...
09/02/2024
Oil & Gas: English court restrains foreign JOA proceedings in breach of...
In The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited v Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited [2023] EWHC 3135 (Comm), the English Commercial Court demonstrated its willingness to ensure that...
08/01/2024
Justice in the Digital Age: Exploring AI’s Role in International Arbitration
IntroductionThe use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in international arbitration has been a topic of debate and discussion long before the launch of chatbot ChatGPT in late November 2022.  Indisputably...
15/12/2023
Oil & Gas Disputes Survey 2023
Our Oil and Gas Disputes Survey 2023 has highlighted that regulator activity, environmental issues and global economic and political challenges are seen by those in the oil & gas industry to be driving...
04/12/2023
Hague 2019 and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments – a welcome...
UK Government confirms entry into Hague 2019On 23 November 2023 it was confirmed that the UK government will sign the Hague Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments...
08/11/2022
Technology Transformation – Media
The media sector is known to be highly competitive, with that competition driving innovation. Older media businesses have had to grapple with disruptive new entrants. And those new entrants are constantly working to deliver better and more engaging content and user experiences to maintain their advantage. Digitisation has changed how media companies interact with their audience in ways we could not have imagined just a few years ago, but this comes with risk. This report is a deep dive into the data first produced for the report Technology Transformation: Managing Risks in a Changing Landscape. This saw over 500 corporate counsel and risk managers surveyed from multiple industries across the world. Here we look in detail at the 75 respondents from the media sector, and their perspectives on the risks associated with busi­ness-crit­ic­al technologies, including emerging technologies. What did we find? Media is a dynamic sector and can be an early adopter of many novel technologies as companies push for competitive advantages to create and satisfy customer demand. As we look to the future, the sector does seem underprepared in some areas, which is a potential cause for concern. Download the Technology Transformation media sector report now to read aboutThe principal drivers in the adoption of busi­ness-crit­ic­al technology in the media sectorConfidence in managing tech-related risks among senior media executivesFuture threats from new technologies like AI and blockchainWhich plans and processes media companies are putting in place to protect tech in­fra­struc­ture­Cul­tur­al barriers to managing tech risks in the media sectorPreferred approaches to dispute resolution in the media sector
18/10/2022
Technology Transformation – Financial Services
The Financial Services (FS) sector is a leader in protecting its tech infrastructure, reflecting the high degree of scrutiny from regulators. FS firms are at a tipping point, with large incumbents eying smaller firms and fintechs for their IP and skills to remain competitive while considering upgrades to legacy systems. Simultaneously, regulation is changing to reflect new and emerging technologies and threats. This report is a deep dive into data first produced for the re­port Tech­no­logy Transformation: Managing Risks in a Changing Landscape. This saw over 500 people surveyed from multiple industries across the world. Here we look in detail at the 85 respondents from the FS sector, and their perspectives on the risks associated with busi­ness-crit­ic­al technologies, including emerging technologies. This sector is more highly regulated than most of the other sectors surveyed, with many historical tech disputes relating to regulation. But the focus of regulation is shifting, and so are the risks affecting this sector. Download the Technology Transformation Financial Services report now to read about:Drivers of technology adoption in the financial services sectorNew risks emerging and traditional barriers to risk man­age­ment­Cur­rent technology risks in the financial services sectorFuture risks, including AI and crypto­cur­ren­cies, and measures to deal with themPreferred approaches to technology dispute resolution for the financial services sector
08/09/2022
Technology Transformation - Consumer Products & Retail
Digitalisation has transformed how consumer products are manufactured, distributed and sold. The push to maintain a competitive advantage, drives increased investment in new technologies. This investment may reduce operational cost and ease the retention of legacy systems, but what challenges arise and how do businesses approach the changing risk profile?This report is a deep dive into data first produced for the re­port Tech­no­logy Transformation: Managing Risks in a Changing Landscape. In the original report we surveyed over 500 corporate counsel and risk managers from multiple industries across the world. Here, we look in detail at the 75 respondents surveyed in the consumer and retail sector, and their perspectives on the risks associated with busi­ness-crit­ic­al technologies, including emerging technologies. Our survey shows that businesses across the sector, whether retailers or manufacturers, have the same concerns but the influences on the adoption of technology, the resulting risks, and the approaches taken to mitigate or resolve those risks vary depending on whether or not the business involves a direct sales relationship with the consumer. Download the consumer and retail sector report now to read about: Drivers of technology adoption in the consumer and retail sectorNew risks emerging and traditional barriers to risk man­age­ment­Cur­rent technology risks in the consumer and retail sectorFuture risks and measures to deal with themPreferred approaches to technology dispute resolution for the consumer and retail sector
07/06/2022
Adverse effects of drugs and vaccines in Hong Kong
1. Drug adverse effects: kinds of responsibility 1.1 Which are the main kinds of responsibility (contractual, in tort, criminal) of the following subjects with respect to adverse drugs reactions? There...
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