On 19 July 2025, Mr. Dennis Cai, the Deputy Director of AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre, joined the Dialogue on Intellectual Property Mediation and Construction Project Mediation hosted by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
As an affiliated event of the world’s first exhibition with the theme of supply chain, the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), the dialogue was held at the China International Exhibition Center, with the theme of “Commercial Mediation: A Better Choice for Resolving Intellectual Property and Construction Project Disputes”.
In his keynote, Mr. Cai traced more than 10 years of Hong Kong’s leadership in international commercial mediation, highlighting:
• Mediation’s evolution in finance (e.g., Lehman-Brothers-Related Products Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Scheme) and sports (AALCO-HKRAC Sports Mediation Training);
• Hong Kong’s civil justice reforms & the rise of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed);
• Mediation’s growing role in international dispute resolution.
Moreover, Mr. Cai analyzed the multiple solutions for payment disputes in construction industry, such as “adjudication + litigation”, “adjudication + arbitration”, and “mediation + adjudication + arbitration or litigation”, and provided an introduction to the content and scope of application of Construction Industry Security of Payment Ordinance (Cap.652). Lastly, Mr. Cai also emphasized that AALCO-HKRAC is committed to becoming a one-stop alternative dispute resolution platform, in order to serve as a strategic hub under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Other dialogue attendees also engaged in in-depth exchanges on intellectual property mediation and construction project mediation. For instance, Mr. Zhu Shuying, the Director of the Jianwei Research Institute in Shanghai, delivered a speech on “The Dispute Review Mechanism of Construction Project with Chinese Characteristics”.
The dialogue has come to a successful conclusion, promoting the exchanges among professionals in the fields of intellectual property mediation and construction project mediation, and facilitating the development of alternative dispute resolution.
The Suggested Model Mediation Clause of AALCO-HKRAC is as followed:
“Any disputes or differences arising out of or in connection with this contract (including any subsequent amendments to this contract) shall first be referred to mediation in accordance with the Mediation Rules of the AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre.”
Note: If the subject matter is arbitrable, Parties may consider adding:
“If the mediation is abandoned by the mediator or otherwise concluded without resolving the dispute or difference, then such disputes or differences shall be referred to and resolved by arbitration in accordance with the AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre Platform Arbitration Rules in force at the time of filing the Request for arbitration. Any disputes about whether the mediation was duly attempted to fulfil the pre-arbitration requirement shall be treated as a matter of admissibility and shall be finally decided by the arbitral tribunal.”
