Mr Yuen was making an address at the opening ceremony of an international forum entitled "Arbitration Reform in the Asia Pacific Region: Opportunities and Challenges" held in Seoul this morning.
In the course of his speech, Mr Yuen explained the importance of positioning oneself when promoting international arbitration. Using Hong Kong as an illustration of the importance of positioning in international arbitration, Mr Yuen said that Hong Kong is an ideal neutral venue best placed to handle arbitration involving disputes with Mainland China parties.
"Notwithstanding the resumption of sovereignty by the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong remains a common law jurisdiction under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle and is the only common law jurisdiction in the Greater China region.
"With our strong English law tradition, independent but pro-arbitration judiciary, legislative framework based on the 2006 version of the UNICTRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Model Law as well as our extensive enforcement network based on the New York Convention, Hong Kong is an ideal neutral venue for conducting international arbitration in respect of disputes involving parties from Mainland China," he said.
Jointly organised by the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, the conference provided a valuable opportunity for members of the international arbitration community to discuss and share experiences on the latest trends of international arbitration in the Asia Pacific region.
Before attending the conference, Mr Yuen met with the Minister of Justice of Korea, Mr Hwang Kyo-ahn, together with other officiating guests and speakers of the conference. Mr Yuen told the Minister that he looked forward to having more exchanges and co-operation between the arbitration community of Hong Kong and that of Korea.
Mr Yuen today also visited the Seoul International Dispute Resolution Centre and had constructive discussion with its Chairman, Dr Shin Young-moo, on the latest developments of international arbitration in Hong Kong and Seoul.
Before returning to Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon, Mr Yuen will meet with the President of the Korean Bar Association, Mr We Chul-whan, to further enhance ties with Korea's legal sector.
Ends/Monday, Nov 11, 2013
