Jones Day Visiting Professorship on Comparative Commercial Law: Arbitration, Arbitrators and the Administration of Justice: Time to Make the Connection

On 4 April 2024, the Honourable Geoffrey Ma, former Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, presented a lecture on Arbitration, Arbitrators and the Administration of Justice: Time to Make the Connection as part of the Jones Day Visiting Professorship on Comparative Commercial Law. The lecture began with welcome remarks by Mr. Zachary Sharpe, partner at Jones Day Singapore, and an opening address by Justice Kannan Ramesh, the Guest of Honour.

The Honourable Geoffrey Ma began his lecture by referring to the link between arbitration and the administration of justice. He pointed out that there were views which regarded arbitration as a parallel universe to the court system on the basis of the history of arbitration, party autonomy, and the unique procedures governing the practice of arbitration. Others held that arbitration was connected to the administration of justice as a result of a different analysis of the same 3 factors.

He then discussed a case study on the position of lawyers in the administration of justice and the concept of the rule of law. Within the framework of the administration of justice, courts needed to ensure that disputes would be resolved justly i.e. in the interests of the courts, the legal profession, clients, and the public. The practice of law involves the public interest and theoretically, the duties of lawyers to the court override other interests, although this was less clear cut in practice. In addition, the historical development of the common law adversarial system resulted in lawyers becoming an integral part of the administration of justice through their role of evidence gathering, among others. Consequently, detailed descriptions of the duties of lawyers emerged. These included the duty not to mislead the court and the duty to assist the tribunal in its effective resolution of duties.

His Honour posed the question of: practicalities aside, why should the same standards for courts and lawyers not apply in arbitration? He elaborated on the practical difficulties in seeking to adopt the same standards applicable to courts and lawyers in arbitration proceedings. Among these challenges were the international nature of arbitration, the lack of a uniform conception of administration of justice which was subject to various levels of ethical values and duties. To conclude, this was a difficult question but a necessary one to spark further thought about how arbitration and arbitrators could be a part of the administration of justice.

The lecture was followed by an engaging and lively question and answer session moderated by Professor Tan Cheng Han.

(From left) Associate Professor Wee Meng Seng (NUS Law), The Honourable Justice Kannan Ramesh (Supreme Court), Mr Zachary Sharpe (Jones Day Singapore), The Honourable Geoffrey Ma (Former Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal), Dr Michael Hwang S.C. (Michael Hwang Chambers LLC), Professor Tan Cheng Han, S.C. (NUS Law) and Professor Tjio Hans (NUS Law)

Mr Zachary Sharpe (Partner – Jones Day Singapore) delivering the welcome speech

The Honourable Justice Kannan Ramesh (Supreme Court) presenting his speech

Professor Tan Cheng Han, S.C. (NUS Law) facilitating an engaging interactive Q&A session

Dr Michael Hwang S.C. (Michael Hwang Chambers LLC) posing a question

ABOUT THE HONOURABLE GEOFFREY MA

Geoffrey Ma is the former Chief Justice in Hong Kong, having retired in January 2021.  He joined the Hong Kong Judiciary in 2001 as a judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, becoming a Justice of Appeal in 2002 and was appointed as the Chief Judge of the High Court in 2003 until his appointment in 2010 as Chief Justice. Prior to the Judiciary, he was in private practice as a barrister in Temple Chambers in Hong Kong (QC 1993, SC 1997). He also practiced in Singapore as an Advocate and Solicitor in David Chong & Co. Subsequent to his retirement from the Hong Kong Judiciary, he now practices as an arbitrator and mediator in Hong Kong (Temple Chambers), Singapore (David Chong Law Corporation) and London (Brick Court Chambers). He is on the SIAC Panel of Arbitrators, HKIAC Panel of Arbitrators and the HKIAC Panel of Mediators. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Arbitration in Hong Kong: A Practical Guide (1st to 5th editions). He is an Honorary Bencher of Gray’s Inn and of the Middle Temple. He is an Honorary Professor in the University of Hong Kong, Honorary Chair and Professor of the Law School (University of Birmingham) and Honorary Professor in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Commercial Law Centre of the University of Oxford. He is also a Patron of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law.