[HK] AO Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance
[HK] AO
Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance
(1) If all parties consent in writing, and for so long as no party withdraws the party’s consent in writing, an arbitrator may act as a mediator after the arbitral proceedings have commenced.
(2) If an arbitrator acts as a mediator, the arbitral proceedings must be stayed to facilitate the conduct of the mediation proceedings.
(3) An arbitrator who is acting as a mediator—
(a) may communicate with the parties collectively or separately; and
(b) must treat the information obtained by the arbitrator from a party as confidential, unless otherwise agreed by that party or unless subsection (4) applies.
(4) If—
(a) confidential information is obtained by an arbitrator from a party during the mediation proceedings conducted by the arbitrator as a mediator; and
(b) those mediation proceedings terminate without reaching a settlement acceptable to the parties,
the arbitrator must, before resuming the arbitral proceedings, disclose to all other parties as much of that information as the arbitrator considers is material to the arbitral proceedings.
(5) No objection may be made against the conduct of the arbitral proceedings by an arbitrator solely on the ground that the arbitrator had acted previously as a mediator in accordance with this section.
Imported: