East Asia Branch

2008 Annual Report by John Cock, Chairman.

The principal East Asia Branch officers for 2008 were: John Cock (Chairman), Timothy Hill, (Vice-Chairman), Nicholas Longley (Honorary Secretary), Joe Gilfeather (Honorary Treasurer) and Fung Ching Nam (Public Relations Officer).

The East Asia Branch has further extended its program of activities throughout the region and chapter development has continued throughout 2008.

The Singapore Chapter was formally established in September 2008, as officially announced by Director General, Michael Forbes Smith in Singapore on 13 October 2008.

Young Members Group (YMG) activities included several joint events with young member groups of other organizations and a variety of educational and social events. YMG Guidelines were developed and approved by the branch committee, with the objective of providing a framework for activities and governance of the YMG.

The 6th Annual Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot has at the time of writing just concluded, with 64 international teams. The winning team was Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, USA. The final round panel comprised CIArb President John Campbell QC, CIArb East Asia Branch Indonesia Chapter Founder and Co-Chair Karen Mills and HKIAC Chair Michael Moser (panel chair).

Committee members served on the Department of Justice's (DoJ) Working Group on the new Arbitration Ordinance, and the Training and Accreditation Sub-Group of the DoJ Working Group on Mediation.

East Asia Branch members holding important positions within CIArb include Teresa Cheng SC - 2008 President, Colin Wall - Trustee for the East Asia Region and Tony Houghton SC - regional representative on the Panels Management Group.

2008 saw a modest increase in courses compared with 2006 and 2007, with entry courses held in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Macau and Japan, a Fellowship Assessment course in Singapore, Peer Interviews for Fellowship and the "old syllabus" Chartered Arbitrator programme in Hong Kong and Singapore. East Asia Branch and Beijing Arbitration Commission also co-hosted an "International Commercial Arbitration Training Course Class", leading to CIArb membership.

The third annual Winnie Whittaker Memorial Lecture was delivered in May 2008 by Past President Colin Wall on "The Alabama Claims - The Origins of International Arbitration".

In October 2008, CIArb Director General Michael Forbes Smith visited and met with branch members and government representatives in Hong Kong and Singapore, and led a delegation to meet with CIETAC South China Sub-Commission in Shenzhen, and the Guangzhou Arbitration Commission.

East Asia Branch co-organised with HKIAC and the SCLHK a two-day conference on Construction Law and Dispute Resolution for Construction Contracts in November 2008. Keynote speaker for the second day of the conference was CIArb President Teresa Cheng SC. The branch also supported other conferences throughout the year, including the excellent one organised and hosted by the Malaysia Branch in Kuala Lumpur in October 2008.

Our 2008 events program included presentations by Ignacio de Castro, Andrzej Cierpicki, Colin Wall, Mélanie Meilhac, Teresa Cheng SC, Dr Nelson Wat, Daniel Lee, Bruno Yim, Peter Ho, Glenn Haley, John Cock and Tony Houghton SC. The highlight was the seminar by Lord Woolf in November 2008, which the branch was particularly honoured to host.

Social events included the Annual Dinner in April 2008, with President Teresa Cheng SC as guest speaker, cocktails for new Entry Course graduates in March, the Director General in October and the Fellow's Cocktail Party in September. Social events were also associated with the Vis East Moot. YMG social events included a junk trip, evening functions, hiking and other sporting events. Social events were also held in Manila, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo.

At the end of 2008, total branch membership was 1,751, with 1,345 in Hong Kong, and the next two largest groups in Singapore (210) and mainland China (82).

The branch continues as joint publisher of Asian Dispute Review. The website is updated regularly and the branch newsletter is published quarterly.

An Extraordinary General Meeting was held on 4 February 2008. Updated branch rules were published as a result.

I thank all members of the branch committee for their efforts over the past year and in particular our retiring committee members: Glenn Haley, Immediate Past Branch Chairman, CN Fung, Branch PR Officer for the past two years and Rendy Ng, Committee Member and YMG Chair.

Thanks also to Primrose Law, Isabelly Lai, Kate Ng and the staff of HKIAC for their dedication and support, upon which the branch depends for its day to day operation.

Last Updated: 22 May 2009