Hong Kong to Establish International Commercial Court

On May 28, 2026, the Hong Kong Judiciary announced plans to establish a Hong Kong International Commercial Court (“HKICC”). The HKICC will be a specialist division of the High Court intended to hear complex, high value cross-border commercial disputes. The HKICC is expected to commence operations within the coming year, and forms part of Hong Kong’s broader efforts to reinforce its position as a regional and international dispute resolution center.

The High Court Ordinance and the Rules of the High Court will provide the necessary legal framework, and a dedicated Practice Direction will be issued to prescribe the categories of cases falling within the HKICC’s jurisdiction and set out detailed procedures for the conduct of HKICC proceedings. Drawing on best practices from other international commercial courts, these procedures are expected to streamline litigation, introduce greater flexibility in the handling of appeals, and support the timely disposal of cases, while preserving the core safeguards of Hong Kong’s judicial process, including transparent proceedings, authoritative judicial determinations, and a structured appellate process.

The HKICC is expected to be staffed by local judges with substantial commercial law expertise, and the Hong Kong Judiciary announced that it may invite distinguished senior judges and practitioners from other common law jurisdictions to sit on the HKICC on an ad hoc basis. The Hong Kong Judiciary has also indicated that the HKICC will leverage technology extensively through remote hearings, electronic filing systems, and voice-to-text transcription services.

The HKICC joins a growing group of specialist international commercial courts established by jurisdictions around the world to attract cross-border dispute resolution work. Singapore, Dubai, the Netherlands, and other jurisdictions have created similar courts as part of a broader trend toward dedicated judicial forums for international business disputes.

The Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”), established in 2015 as a division of the Singapore High Court, provides a natural comparator. Both courts are designed to provide a specialist court forum for high-value international commercial disputes in Asia. Each, however, is likely to have distinct features and advantages. The right forum will depend on the transaction and dispute profile, including where the parties and assets are located, what procedural features are desired, and where any judgment may need to be enforced. The SICC benefits from Singapore’s network of judgment enforcement arrangements, draws on international judges from both common law and civil law jurisdictions, and permits registered foreign lawyers to appear in certain proceedings. The HKICC, on the other hand, may have particular relevance for disputes with a Mainland China enforcement nexus, given Hong Kong’s reciprocal arrangements with Mainland China for the recognition and enforcement of court judgments. For now, the Hong Kong Judiciary appears to envisage ad hoc appointments of judges from common law jurisdictions only. Beyond that, assessing the HKICC’s international attractiveness may ultimately turn on procedural choices still to come, for example in relation to foreign-lawyer participation, bespoke evidentiary rules, opt-in jurisdiction, and other procedural flexibility. Taken together, the HKICC and SICC are likely to expand the range of dispute resolution options available to international businesses and further strengthen Asia’s position as a leading center for cross-border dispute resolution.

The HKICC marks an important addition to Hong Kong’s dispute resolution framework, complementing its established arbitration and mediation offerings. In particular, the HKICC may be particularly attractive to parties who prefer the transparency, precedential value, and appellate safeguards of court proceedings to arbitration. As the Hong Kong Judiciary develops the HKICC’s procedural framework, businesses should monitor the forthcoming Practice Direction and consider whether HKICC jurisdiction clauses may be appropriate for particular categories of transactions.

Laetitia Yuen, Hong Kong Trainee Solicitor, contributed to the drafting of this alert.