The Department of Justice is seeking public views on its Consultation Paper on Reform of the Law of Arbitration in Hong Kong & Draft Arbitration Bill until April 30.

The paper proposes to abolish the distinction between domestic and international arbitrations in the Arbitration Ordinance and to adopt the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law as the basis for the unified arbitration regime.

The draft Arbitration Bill seeks to implement the proposal to reform the arbitration law.

The department said today the reform will make the arbitration law more user-friendly and promote Hong Kong as a regional centre for legal services and dispute resolution.

Formed to implement the 2003 Report of the Committee on Hong Kong Arbitration Law, a departmental working group chaired by the Solicitor-General and comprised of private-practice arbitration experts has helped to publish the paper.

Click here for consultation details.