The Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution Allied to Active Judicial Case Management – A New Forum to Deal with Shareholder Disputes in Hong Kong?

Abstract

In Hong Kong, high litigation costs and long trial delays have fuelled the search for more expeditious and cost-effective alternatives to litigation. Certain pragmatic steps have been taken in recent years to encourage the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes. A central theme of the proposed new High Court Rules, which is radically innovative, embraces fully the objectives of Lord Woolf’s reforms of civil litigation in the UK, by recommending the use of ADR allied to effective judicial case management as an instrument for reform. This article explores the potential use of the ADR procedures of commercial arbitration and mediation in the resolution of shareholder disputes. It begins with a brief overview of current ADR practice in Hong Kong. Next, it deals with the arguments for and against the use of arbitration and mediation. Against such background, it turns to look at the experience of ADR in the US and UK It is concluded that effective case management allied to a well-administered ADR scheme, if thoughtfully designed and robustly implemented, would be the prime way forward in dealing with the problems posed by lengthy and costly shareholder litigation.