+852 2573 5000
News & Media
Notice-ably Wrong: The Importance of Proper Notice in Arbitration Proceedings
What difference can a “t” make? Apparently, a lot. In a Hong Kong Arbitration Society arbitration, the Claimant served its Notice of Arbitration (NoA) on the Respondent using [email protected] instead of [email protected] (the Respondent’s email for service under the relevant contract). That difference was sufficient…Read More
Court of Final Appeal: Government must provide alternative means of recognising same-sex partnership
On 5 September 2023, the Court of Final Appeal in Sham Tsz Kit v Secretary for Justice [2023] HKCFA 28 ruled that the absence of alternative means of legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Hong Kong amounts to a violation of the constitutional right to…Read More
Tanner De Witt expands IP Practice
Tanner De Witt announces the appointment of Douglas Clark as Partner to join its Intellectual Property practice. The appointment is effective today, Friday 1st September 2023. This marks a significant advancement in the firm’s strategic initiative to enhance its IP practice along with its litigation…Read More
The importance of proof of the genuine reasons for dismissal in defending discrimination claims
The District Court has recently handed down a judgment against a logistics company (“Respondent”), for refusing to pay a former pregnant employee (“Claimant”) her year-end bonus and for not renewing her employment contract after she had informed the Respondent about her pregnancy. Background The Claimant…Read More
Stay of Play: Winding-Up v. Arbitration (Again)
The recent Hong Kong Court of First Instance decision of Re Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings Limited marks another intersection between the public domain of insolvency and the private realm of arbitration. In this and previous decisions, the Hong Kong courts have grappled with the issue…Read More
Should a professional administrator be appointed?
In Re the Estate of Yeung Kam (HCAP 19/2022), the Hong Kong High Court refused to appoint 2 beneficiaries of the Estate to be the administrator ad colligenda bona (for the purpose of collecting assets) and administrator pendente lite (pending litigation) and decided to appoint…Read More
Consultation on proposed acceptance of commitments from Foodpanda and Deliveroo
On 1 June 2023, the Competition Commission commenced a consultation on its proposal to accept legally binding commitments (“Proposed Commitments”) from two leading online food delivery platforms in Hong Kong, Foodpanda and Deliveroo (“Platforms”). The Competition Commission conducted an investigation into the respective agreements between…Read More
Recent Changes to Hong Kong Bankruptcy Laws; a win for creditors and the environment
The Government of Hong Kong continues its push towards favouring digitisation over using hardcopy documents. The new changes to local bankruptcy laws allows: (1) electronic service of statutory demands; (2) using electronic bundles and skeletons for winding-up and bankruptcy applications; and (3) allowing electronic submission…Read More
Legal update: “The arbitration agreement is spent” – Hong Kong Court lifts stay of proceedings notwithstanding pending application to set aside arbitral awards in foreign court
Hong Kong is widely recognised as an efficient and reliable jurisdiction for international arbitration. It is a popular dispute resolution venue due to its modern arbitration legal framework and an independent judiciary. The Hong Kong Courts’ intervention to arbitration proceedings is typically kept to a…Read More
ChatGPT for lawyers – are we out of a job?
It is almost impossible to open a newspaper these days without being confronted by a dozen or so articles about Artificial Intelligence. OK , so I guess the reference to a ‘newspaper’ was the first clue to the fact that I may not be in the…Read More
Legal Update: PCPD investigation report on credit reference agency data subject complaint
In this snapshot legal update, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (“PCPD”) published an investigation report on 1 June 2023 concerning the TE Credit Reference System, developed by Softmedia Technology Company Limited (“Softmedia”) in January 2016. Softmedia was not a credit reference…Read More
Five Tanner De Witt partners once again ranked in the 2023 edition of Who’s Who Legal (WWL)
We are pleased to say that the firm is well represented in rankings published in the 2023 edition of Who’s Who Legal (WWL). in the fields of Restructuring and Insolvency; Asset Recovery; Labour and Employment; and Pensions and Benefits. Partners Ian De Witt, Robin Darton,…Read More
