XN000022-1984-06-22 — Page 4

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 1984

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PUBLIC HELP SOUGHT FOR SETTING UP ARBITRATION CENTRE

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HONG KONG PEOPLE WERE URGED TODAY TO OFFER SUPPORT OF ABOUT $2,8 MILLION FOR THE SETTING UP OF AN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION CENTRE HERE.

THIS WOULD MEET A KNOWN DEMAND IN THE ASIAN REGION FOR SUCH A SERVICE, AND ALSO SHOW CONFIDENCE IN HONG KONG'S LEGAL SYSTEM AND IN THE FUTURE, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION CENTRE STEERING COMMITTEE, MR JUSTICE HUNTER, SAID TODAY.

SPEAKING TO THE ROTARY CLUB AT LUNCH, MR JUSTICE HUNTER SAID THAT INQUIRIES SHOWED THAT HONG KONG NEEDED AND SHOULD HAVE SUCH A CENTRE. AND HE WAS SEEKING AT THIS STAGE ONLY A COMMITMENT, NOT MONEY, FROM THE PEOPLE.

THE $2.8 MILLION BEING SOUGHT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SEE THE CENTRE THROUGH THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF SERVICE - TO FINANCE SETTING UP COSTS AND TO COVER +A VERY MODEST LEVEL OF RUNNING EXPENSES.+

HE SAID HE HAD WRITTEN TO SOME FIRMS AND INDIVIDUALS ABOUT THIS, AND HAD ALREADY RECEIVED SOME PLEDGES FROM THEM.

GIVING THE BACKGROUND TO HIS APPEAL, MR JUSTICE HUNTER SAID THAT HE HAD BEEN ENTRUSTED, IN JANUARY LAST YEAR, WITH THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF A STEERING COMMITTEE OF MEMBERS FROM DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE TO CONSIDER THE ESTABLISHMENT IN HONG KONG OF AN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION CENTRE.

THE COMMITTEE HAD FOUND OVERWHELMING ARGUMENTS FAVOURING SUCH A CENTRE, AND, IN LOOKING INTO HOW IT SHOULD BE SET UP, RUN AND FINANCED, CONCLUDED THAT THE ONLY SOLUTION WOULD BE TO APPEAL DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

THOUGH HIS APPEAL HAD GONE EXPRESSLY TO FIRMS AND INDIVIDUALS IN COMMERCE, INDUSTRY, FINANCE AND THE PROFESSIONS, IT WAS IN TRUTH DIRECTED TO HONG KONG ITSELF, HE SAID.

ARBITRATION, HE SAID, WAS ROOTED IN AGREEMENT BETWEEN PEOPLE. IT WAS CHOSEN FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, INCLUDING THE NEED FOR BUSINESS SECRECY (IN NOT BEING MADE PÚBLIC THROUGH A COURT HEARING), AS WELL AS THE AVAILABILITY OF TECHNICAL EXPERTISE IN CERTAIN FIELDS, THEREBY SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS AND SAVING COSTS.

+I LIKE TO THINK THAT JUDGES AND LAWYERS ARE SUITABLE TO DECIDE MOST DISPUTES. BUT I ALSO RECOGNISE THAT IN SOME CASES, OTHERS ARE BETTER QUALIFIED, HE SAID.

OTHER FACTORS FAVOURING AN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION CENTRE IN HONG KONG WERE THAT THIS CITY HAD THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING THE HUB OF THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN WHEEL, AND HAD THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE, THE TRANSPORT, ACCOMMODATION, AND COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT FACILITIES.

/AND AN