Answer ... (a) Procedure, including evidence?
Section 56 of the AO provides that unless otherwise agreed by the parties, when conducting arbitral proceedings, an arbitral tribunal may make an order:
- requiring a claimant to provide security for the costs of the arbitration;
- directing the discovery of documents or the delivery of interrogatories;
- directing evidence to be given by affidavit; or
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in relation to any relevant property:
- directing the inspection, photographing, preservation, custody, detention or sale of the relevant property by the arbitral tribunal, a party to the arbitral proceedings or an expert; or
- directing that samples be taken from, observations be made of, or experiments be conducted on the relevant property.
In addition, the tribunal has the power to:
- appoint expert(s) to report on specific issues (Section 54 of the AO);
- require the parties to provide the expert(s) with relevant materials for their inspection (Section 54 of the AO);
- require the expert(s) to participate in the hearing (Section 54 of the AO); and
- request the court to assist with taking evidence (Section 55 of the AO).
(b) Interim relief?
Section 35 of the AO (adopting Article 17 of the Model Law) provides that unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may, at the request of a party, grant interim measures. Such interim measures may include the following:
- maintain or restore the status quo pending determination of the dispute;
- take action that would prevent, or refrain from taking action that is likely to cause, current or imminent harm or prejudice to the arbitral process itself;
- provide a means of preserving assets out of which a subsequent award may be satisfied; or
- preserve evidence that may be relevant and material to the resolution of the dispute.
(c) Parties which do not comply with its orders?
Pursuant to Section 61 of the AO, the court has the power to enforce an order or direction made by an arbitral tribunal (whether inside or outside Hong Kong) in the same manner as an order or direction of the court, but only with the leave of the court. Such order or direction includes an interim measure. For instance, in GE Transportation (Shenyang) Co Ltd v Lu Jinxiang unrep, HCMP 1792/2013, [2014] HKEC 253, the court imposed contempt sanctions on the defendant (three months’ imprisonment) for breach of an earlier order of the court enforcing an arbitration tribunal’s order of interim measures of protection.
(d) Issuing partial final awards?
Section 71 of the AO provides that unless otherwise agreed by the parties, an arbitral tribunal may make more than one award at different times on different aspects of the matters to be determined.
(e) The remedies it can grant in a final award?
Section 70 of the AO provides that unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the tribunal may award any remedy or relief that could have been ordered by the court if the dispute had been the subject of civil proceedings in court, including the ability to order specific performance of any contract. However, the tribunal cannot order specific performance of a contract relating to land or any interest in land (Section 70(2) of the AO).
(f) Interest?
Section 79 of the AO provides that unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the tribunal may award simple or compound interest from the dates and at the rates it considers appropriate.
Section 80(1) of the AO provides that interest is payable on money awarded by an arbitral tribunal from the date of the award at the judgment rate, except when the award provides otherwise.
Section 80(2) of the AO specifies that interest is payable on money awarded by the tribunal from the date of the award, unless otherwise provided by the tribunal. Interest is payable on costs from the date of the costs award, unless otherwise provided by the tribunal.