Hong Kong Ordinances

ARBITRATION ORDINANCE - SECT 2GB

General powers exercisable by arbitral tribunal

(1) When conducting arbitration proceedings, an arbitral tribunal may make
orders or give directions dealing with any of the following matters-

   (a)  requiring a claimant to give security for the costs of the
        arbitration;

   (b)  requiring money in dispute to be secured;

   (c)  directing the discovery of documents or the delivery of
        interrogatories;

   (d)  directing evidence to be given by affidavit;

   (e)  in relation to relevant property-

        (i)    directing the inspection, photographing, preservation, custody,
               detention or sale of the property by the tribunal, a party to
               the proceedings or an expert; or

        (ii)   directing samples to be taken from, observations to be made of,
               or experiments to be conducted on the property;

   (f)  granting interim injunctions or directing other interim measures to be
        taken.

(2) Property is relevant property for the purposes of subsection

(1)(e) if-

   (a)  the property is owned by or is in the possession of a party to the
        proceedings; and

   (b)  the property is subject to the proceedings, or any question relating
        to the property arises in the proceedings.

(3) An arbitral tribunal must not make an order requiring a claimant to
provide security for costs only on the ground that the claimant-

   (a)  is a natural person who is ordinarily resident outside Hong Kong; or

   (b)  is a body corporate that is incorporated, or an association that is
        formed, under a law of a place outside Hong Kong, or whose central
        management and control is exercised outside Hong Kong.

(4) An arbitral tribunal-

   (a)  must, when making an order to provide security for costs, specify a
        period within which the order is to be complied with; and

   (b)  may extend that period or an extended period.

(5) An arbitral tribunal may dismiss or stay a claim if it has made an order
requiring the claimant to provide security for costs and the order has not
been complied with within the period allowed under subsection (4).

(6) In conducting arbitration proceedings, an arbitral tribunal may decide
whether and to what extent it should itself take the initiative in
ascertaining the facts and the law relevant to those proceedings.

(7) An arbitral tribunal may-

   (a)  administer oaths to, or take the affirmations of, witnesses and
        parties; and

   (b)  examine witnesses and parties on oath or affirmation; and

   (c)  direct the attendance before the tribunal of witnesses in order to
        give evidence or to produce documents or other material evidence.

(8) A person cannot be required to produce in arbitration proceedings any
document or other material evidence that the person could not be required to
produce in civil proceedings before a court.

(9) Subsections (6) and (7) are subject to any agreement to the contrary of
the parties to the relevant arbitration proceedings. (Added 75 of 1996 s. 7)