Menu Close

HKADJC Service

Content

  1. Adjudication
  2. HKAJDC and Service provision
  3. Adjudication Clause
  4. Adjudication Rules
  5. Application method
  6. Requirements for Applicants
  7. Tables of fees for Adjudication
  8. Procedure

About HKADJC

Hong Kong Adjudication Centre (HKADJC) provides professional Adjudication services in accordance with the respective domestic and international legal rules applicable. It is committed to providing high-quality Adjudication for any form of commercial disputes in Hong Kong and the international contexts.

For more about our centre, please enter here

Scope of Services

  • Construction Adjudication (for building and construction projects)
  • Copyright and Intellectual Property Disputes
  • Commercial Contract Adjudication
  • Special request from all parties for IDRRMI’s tailor-made Adjudication Services
  • Finance and Banking (to be launched at a later stage)
  • HKSAR Government supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong.

[Note 1: It includes the Statutory Adjudication as proposed by the Development Bureau for Security of Payment Legislation for Hong Kong to be launched or implemented in future.]

[Note 2: It includes the Contractual Adjudication as proposed by the Development Bureau for the “Spirit of Security of Payment for Hong Kong” to be launched later in 2021 tentatively.]


Model Adjudication Clause

The following IDRRMI suggested Adjudication clause may be adopted in the contract by its parties who wish to arrange for any future dispute(s) with Adjudication under the HKADJC Adjudication Rules.

 

"Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract, including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, before the conclusion of the contract, shall be referred to Adjudication administered by the International Dispute Resolution and Risk Management Institute (IDRRMI).”

“The Hong Kong Adjudication Centre (“HKADJC”) as the executive division of the IDRRMI responsible to monitor the delivery of adjudication services by the appointed adjudicator(s). Any Adjudication administered by the IDRRMI shall be in accordance with the Adjudication Rules of the Hong Kong Adjudication Centre ("HKADJC Rules") for the time being in force."

 

* The following are the additional terms for consideration:

  • The language of the Adjudication shall be [English]/{Chinese}. **
  • The Adjudication Decision shall be [final/subject to revision by a Final Arbitral Tribunal], ** as refer to Article 28, Paragraph 3 of HKADJC Adjudication Rules.

**Adjusted according to clients’ requests.


Application Method

Anyone, both or multiple-party/parties in any contractual disputes within the scope and ambit as defined in Section 2 above involving Hong Kong, the Mainland or elsewhere may submit an application to HKADJC under the IDRRMI for Contractual Adjudication. The complete Application Form [Word / PDF] and the following documents are required when applying for Contractual Adjudication service at HKADJC:

  • The names of all parties
  • The facts of the dispute and request for Adjudication
  • Related evidence and documents
  • Proof of identity
  • If any party entrusts an attorney to participate in Adjudication, a letter of attorney and authorisation shall be submitted.
  • Adjudication agreement signed by the parties or adjudication clause of the contract.

[Note 4: The IDRRMI and its executive division HKADJC may provide additional services for the parties to prepare a contractually binding adjudication agreement among the parties upon written request. The services for preparing adjudication agreement or adjudication clause for the parties are included in the administrative fee stated below.]

 

Applicants may also be required to:

  • Sign documents of Adjudication or judicial confirmation application;
  • Appoint or authorise HKADJC to appoint one Adjudicator (or one Lead Adjudicator supported by a Co-Adjudicator according to the nature, the complexity of the disputes, and the expert views of the appointed HKADRJC Adjudicator) in the IDRRMI Panel of Adjudicators; and
  • Prepay Adjudication fee as requested by the Adjudication institution.

Fee

Tables of fees for Contractual Adjudication

The fee for HKADJC's Adjudication service is payable to the "International Dispute Resolution and Risk Management Institute Limited".

 

Table of HKADJC Contractual Adjudication Registration and Administrative Fee for Hong Kong and International Contracts (Schedule 1)

(Note 5: Except for HKADJC Adjudication Rules for HKSAR Government supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong. For all HKSAR Government supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong, the HKSAR Government suggested fees and administration charges shall be strictly followed.)

schedule 1 en

Table of HKADJC Registration and Administration Fee for the Security of Payment disputes for the Construction Industry   (Schedule 2)

It will be announced in due course

 

HKADJC's Adjudicator Fee (for List 1 and List 2 Adjudicators)

Two types of charging methods (Schedule 3 and Schedule 4):

  1. Based on Hourly Rates (Schedule 3)

The maximum hourly rate of an Adjudicator is HKD $ 6,000 per hour.

  1. Based on the Scheduled amount (Schedule 4)

When the Adjudicator fees are determined by the IDRRMI, they are in accordance with the table below for HKADJC Contractual Adjudication

(Note 6: Except for HKADJC Adjudication Rules for HKSAR Government supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong. For all HKSAR Government supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong, the HKSAR Government suggested fees and administration charges shall be strictly followed.)

schedule 2 en
  1. Based on Hourly Rates for the Security of Payment disputes for the Construction Industry

(Schedule 5)

It Will be announced in due course

  1. Based on the Scheduled amount (Schedule 6)

It Will be announced in due course


Adjudication rules

The latest version of HKADJC Adjudication Rules (“the Rules”) has been adopted by Hong Kong Adjudication Centre (“HKADJC”) and is effective from 1 August 2021.

Parties may choose the following two sets of HKADJC Adjudication Rules that would be effective from 17 August 2021. Parties may also seek the advice of the HKADJC regarding details of these Adjudication Rules.

  1. HKADJC Adjudication Rules for Hong Kong and International Contracts
  2. HKADJC Adjudication Rules for HKSAR Government supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong

Note 3:  The Development Bureau (DevB) of the Hong Kong SAR Government had been consulting the construction industry stakeholders since 2015 and is planning for the Statutory Adjudication in Security of Payment Legislation (SOPL) for the Construction Industry in Hong Kong. HKADJC Adjudication Rules would be updated to suit the requirements for HKSAR Government-supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong. Detail of the proposed SOP Legislation and Statutory Adjudication shall refer to DevB website:

https://www.devb.gov.hk/en/publications_and_press_releases/Consultation_Papers_Reports/sop/index.html


Application and Case Administration

  1. The Claimant shall complete the registration form for HKADJC Adjudication service and pay the non-refundable registration fee (HK$6,000) to "International Dispute Resolution and Risk Management Institute Limited", regardless of the participation of all the parties in the Adjudication Mechanism.
  2. The Secretariat of HKADJC would, upon receipt of the application for Adjudication service, end the invitation to contact all the other parties (if required) and encourage other parties to settle the dispute by the Adjudication Mechanism. Other parties should reply in writing about their acceptance to engage in Adjudication within 30 days from the day of notification.
  3. 2 Stages Voluntary “Opt-in Features” for use of IDRRMI’s additional service for conversion of Adjudication Decision into a final and binding Arbitration Consent Award for enforcement in Hong Kong, Mainland PRC or worldwide.

All parties using the HKADJC Contractual Adjudication services for Hong Kong and International Contracts shall be advised that they may opt-in for agreement to use IDRRMI’s professional services of conversion of the Adjudication Decision into a final and binding Arbitration Consent Award through IDRRMI’s overall dispute resolution services to support the HKADJC Contractual Adjudication model.

Parties may consider opt-in at the initial stage prior to commencement of Contractual Adjudication.

Or, they may opt-in at a later stage when the Adjudicator’s Decision is rendered and published to the parties.

  1. If the parties mutually agree in writing to opt-in for agreement to use IDRRMI’s professional services of conversion of the Adjudication Decision into a final and binding Arbitration Consent Award, the result of the Hong Kong Centre of International Commercial Arbitration (HKCICA) administered Arbitration Consent Award shall be final, binding and legally enforceable in Hong Kong, Mainland PRC and worldwide through the New York Convention.

Note 7: IDRRMI and HKADJC’s “All-in-One” fee scales for use of IDRRMI’s additional services for conversion of Adjudication Decision to a final and binding Arbitration Consent Award for enforcement in Hong Kong, Mainland PRC or worldwide

The all-in-one charges cover the case registration fee, administration fee, case management fee and arbitrator’s fee.  We believe this innovative arrangement will much benefit the parties to achieve a final and binding arbitral award which is enforceable worldwide.

The details of the 4-level charges are as follows:

  • Level 1 standard fees for small-scale HK and international adjudication decisions. (Reference: Total Amount of claims and Amount of counter-claims is less than HK$2 million)  Total charges (per party):  HK$3,000 + HK$17,500
  • Level 2 standard fees for medium-scale HK and international adjudication decisions. (Reference: Total Amount of claims and Amount of counter-claims is less than HK$20 million) Total charges (per party):  HK$3,000 + HK$75,000 (per party)
  • Level 3 standard fees for large-scale or complex HK and international adjudication decisions. (Reference: Total Amount of claims and Amount of counter-claims is less than HK$100 million): Total charges (per party):  HK$3,000 + HK$200,000 (per party)
  • Level 4 standard fees for super large scale or very complex HK and international adjudication decisions.  (Reference: Total Amount of claims and Amount of counter-claims is equal or over HK$100 million):Total charges (per party):  HK$3,000 + HK$400,000 (per party)

The above 4-level charges will be decided to take into account:

  1. Amount of claims
  2. Amount of counter-claims
  3. Amount as decided in the Adjudicator's Decision
  4. Enforcement required in HK, Mainland PRC, or overseas
  5. The number of parties involved.
  6. Nature of disputes.
  7. Involvement of expert witness(es) in the Adjudication.
  1. The Secretariat of HKADJC will remind other parties that if no response is received within the time limit for HKADJC Contractual Adjudication for Hong Kong and International Contracts, the parties will be regarded as rejecting Adjudication.

(Note 8: Except for HKADJC Adjudication Rules for HKSAR Government supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong. For all HKSAR Government supported or supervised Institutional Contractual Adjudication for building and construction projects in Hong Kong, the HKSAR Government suggested time-frames, time-limits for submission, response, adjudication decision etc shall be strictly followed.)

process 1 en

6. Appointment of Adjudicator

1. After all parties have agreed to engage in Adjudication and have paid the respective Adjudication fee, the Secretariat of HKADJC will officially commence the Adjudication appointment procedures and arrange verification of relevant evidence submitted by the parties.

2. All parties should jointly appoint an Adjudicator within 30 days from the day of receiving the notification of Adjudicator appointment.

3. In any case the appointed Adjudicator is not available to perform his/her duties, another Adjudicator would be nominated by HKADJC, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

4. If there is no consensus as at the deadline, HKADJC would specify an Adjudicator to handle the case.

process 2 en