Twelve arbitration institutions have launched a collaborative platform fostering the exchange of manpower and legal technologies across the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
The GBA online collaborative platform, spearheaded by the Hong Kong-based eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre, debuted?on 11 July.
Arbitration centres and commissions participating in the platform include those in Macau, Guangzhou, Foshan, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhaoqing and Jiangmen.
Thomas So, chairman of eBRAM, said the intention behind the platform was to provide clients in any location with the best arbitration resources accumulated from across the GBA.
He gave an example, “If a Zhuhai arbitration institution’s aviation case requires an arbitrator who is familiar with Portuguese law and language, and also wants to use eBRAM’s technology, it can appoint an arbitrator from Macau and use Hong Kong’s legal technology via the memorandum of understanding (MoU) [signed by the 12 organisations].”
The most notable feature of the collaborative platform is the sharing of arbitrators.
So said if arbitration centres could not find suitable candidates from their panel to handle a case, they could search from other institutions via the platform.
eBRAM is negotiating with participating arbitration organisations on the conditions for sharing arbitrators, including a consensus on qualifications and arrangements for work permits. So hopes the 12 arbitration organisations can establish a mutually recognised list of arbitrators in the future.
A dedicated website about the collaborative platform has been set up, offering a one-stop information portal to showcase dispute resolution services in the GBA. It features each participating organisation’s background, advantages, as well as arbitration and mediation rules.
So said, “Moving forward, the collaboration platform should form a unified rule. [I] will leverage the platform to propel arbitration centres in 9+2 cities to explore regulations that are mutually accepted. Together we will walk towards the end goal of having connected arbitration rules and systems.”
The institutions participating in the collaborative platform include eBRAM, Centro de Arbitragem da Associa??o dos Advogados de Macau, the World Trade Centre Macau Arbitration Centre, the Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, Foshan Arbitration Commission, Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration and Jiangmen Arbitration Commission.
The Zhuhai Court of International Arbitration, Hengqin International Commercial Mediation Centre, Dongguan Arbitration Commission, Huizhou Arbitration Commission and Zhaoqing Arbitration Commission have also signed the MoU.
eBRAM was founded by the Asian Academy of International Law, the Hong Kong Bar Association, and the Law Society of Hong Kong in 2018, but it only began providing online dispute resolution and mediation services last year.
The centre primarily handles cases involving amounts ranging from HKD75,000 to HKD4 million for small and medium-sized enterprises, with online service fees ranging from HKD1000 to HKD18,000.
eBRAM also offers other digital services, including AI machine translation, electronic contract templates and video conferencing systems.
