For contracting parties who wish to have future disputes referred to arbitration and/or mediation under the auspices of the SCIAHK, they shall make such an agreement. The following clauses are recommended.
Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, shall be settled by arbitration administered by South China International Arbitration Center (HK) (the “SCIAHK”) in accordance with its arbitration rules.
Note: Parties may further agree on the following:
a. The governing law of this arbitration clause shall be Hong Kong law ; 1
b. The number of arbitrators shall be one [one or three]; 2
c. The seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong [or other city and country; avoid only stating “China” as the seat because “China” includes Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan]; 3
d. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be .[Please choose any ONE language, such as “Chinese” or “English”] 4
1 The effect of choosing Hong Kong law as the governing law of this arbitration clause is that this agreement will be construed as per the laws of Hong Kong which are generally pro-arbitration.
2 Generally, as compared to having three arbitrators, having one arbitrator is cheaper, faster and more efficient.
3 The effect of having Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration is that the procedural law to be relied upon by the arbitral proceedings is the Arbitration Ordinance of Hong Kong, and that Hong Kong court enjoys judicial supervision of these arbitral proceedings.
4 Parties should avoid stating two languages at the same time, such as “Chinese and English”. Instead, they should opt for only one language. The effect of having two languages is that more interpretation costs will be incurred.
Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, shall be settled by arbitration administered by South China International Arbitration Center (HK) (the “SCIAHK”) in accordance with its arbitration rules.
SCIAHK is entitled to decide which fees and costs scheme, including the fees of SCIAHK and arbitral tribunal and any other fees and costs, to apply as provided by the arbitration rules. SCIAHK is entitled to decide the number of arbitrators shall be one or three. 1
The governing law of this arbitration clause shall be Hong Kong law and the seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. 2
1 SCIAHK Arbitration Rules provides two modes of fees scheme for arbitral tribunal, i.e. scheme based on amount in dispute and scheme based on hourly rate. The effect of having this agreement is that the SCIAHK, after calculation, can decide the cheaper one for the parties. In addition, to control the cost, SCIAHK can decide the number of arbitrators. Usually, the less the cheaper.
2 The effect of having Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration means the arbitral proceedings can utilize the support from a series of laws of Hong Kong. For example, Part 10B of Hong Kong’s Arbitration Ordinance which introduces “Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration”.
Mediation and Arbitration Model Clause (Ex ante)
Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, shall be settled by mediation by South China International Arbitration Center (HK) (the “SCIAHK”).
Where mediation fails, such dispute shall be settled by arbitration by SCIAHK in accordance with its arbitration rules.
Mediation and Arbitration Model Clause (Ex post)
The parties agree that any dispute, controversy or claim arose or arising out of or relating to the contract(s) , or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, shall be settled by mediation by South China International Arbitration Center (HK) (the “SCIAHK”).
Where mediation fails, such dispute shall be settled by arbitration by SCIAHK in accordance with its arbitration rules.
Any dispute arising from or in connection with this contract shall be submitted to South China International Arbitration Center（ HK )（ the "SCIAHK" ) for arbitration. The parties grant each other the right to appeal to the SCIAHK against the award or awards rendered by the arbitral tribunal. The appellate tribunal renders the final award. The seat of arbitration shall be . . [State the country or jurisdiction where the appellate arbitration is not prohibited]