Mediation clauses will be included in all future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government contracts to promote the “mediate-first” culture, the city’s justice chief told participants of a flagship legal event on Wednesday.
The 2024 Hong Kong Legal Week -- an annual exchanging platform for top-notch legal professionals and scholars from all over the world -- is being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and will run until Friday.
Addressing a sub-event featuring dispute resolution, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said the HKSAR government will incorporate meditation clauses in all its contracts in the future, ensuring that public-private sector disputes would be settled with minimal time and costs.
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He said the government, by setting an example of promoting the “mediate-first” culture, hopes to encourage private companies to follow suit and help foster such a culture in Hong Kong.
In a policy statement issued after Lam’s remarks, the Department of Justice said the SAR government is always a staunch supporter of “mediate-first" culture, recognizing that mediation can help parties resolve conflicts voluntarily through mutually agreeable solutions in a flexible and cost-saving manner before resorting to arbitration or litigation.
The move is also parts of the SAR government’s efforts to make the city a regional dispute resolution hub.
With the central government’s support, the signing ceremony for the Convention on the Establishment of The International Organization for Mediation will be held in Hong Kong next year.
As the world’s first intergovernmental legal organization dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation, the convention will be the first global intergovernmental body to be based in the HKSAR.
Lam said the organization will provide flexible and efficient mediation services and further fuel Hong Kong’s mediation services.
