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Interim anti-suit relief granted in support of Hong Kong arbitration (X v ZPRC)
Arbitration analysis: The Hong Kong Court of First Instance considered an application for two permanent anti-suit injunctions seeking to restrain court proceedings in Mainland China in favour of Hong Kong arbitration. Ultimately, the permanent anti-suit injunctions were not granted; however, the court held that it was just and convenient to continue interim injunctions pending the decision of the tribunal on jurisdiction.
The judgment deals with judicial comity between HKSAR and Mainland China, jurisdictional gateways for anti-suit injunctions under section 21L of the High Court Ordinance (HCO) and Order 11 rule 1 of the Rules of the High Court (RHC), the jurisdiction of the court to grant such permanent relief, and whether it is just and convenient to grant a permanent injunction. Her Honour Judge Chan also considered some important issues for arbitration: (1) the question of the law applicable to an arbitration agreement; (2) whether the arbitration agreement in the contract between X and ZPRC could be extended to Y, a company related to X; and, (3) the question of the tribunal’s exclusive jurisdiction to rule on the validity and existence of an arbitration agreement.
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