Table Of ContentThe landscape of shareholder dispute resolution in Hong Kong has changed M
a
vastly since the launch of the Civil Justice Reform in 2009. Key initiatives – k Alternative
the voluntary court-connected scheme and reform of the statutory
unfair prejudice provisions – were employed to promote the greater use SA
h Dispute Resolution of
l
of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in shareholder disputes. While the at
e
rr
Hong Kong government and judiciary introduced such schemes to prove en Shareholder Disputes
h
the legitimacy of extra-judicial over court-based litigation processes, their a
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t
success is still uncertain. In this book, socio-legal theory and sociological li
dv
institutionalism are used to develop a theoretical framework for analysing ee in Hong Kong
r D
the key stages of institutionalization. The author analyses how procedural D
i
s
innovations could acquire legitimacy through different types of legal and isp Institutionalizing Its Effective Use
pu
non-legal inducement mechanisms within the institutionalization process.
ut
e
Recommendations on codifying and innovating ADR policy in Hong Kong t
e
R
s Ida Kwan Lun Mak
shareholder disputes made with comparison to similar policies in the e
i
ns
United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand. o
Hl
u
o
t
Ida Kwan Lun Mak has a multi-disciplinary academic background with ni
o
g
degrees in law and accountancy. She earned her Doctor of Legal Science n
K
(SJD) from The University of Hong Kong, where she was the recipient of o
o
f
postgraduate scholarship. Bilingual in English and Chinese, her research n
g
interests are primarily in the fields of company law, dispute resolution,
arbitration, mediation and socio-legal studies with a strong emphasis
on empirical work in Hong Kong. Dr Mak is now working as a research
assistant in the Department of Law, The University of Hong Kong.
Cover illustration: Skyline of Victoria waterfront
at night. Allan Baxter / Getty Images.
i
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
OF SHAREHOLDER DISPUTES IN
HONG KONG
The landscape of shareholder dispute resolution in Hong Kong has
changed vastly since the launch of the Civil Justice Reform in 2009.
Key initiatives – the voluntary court- connected scheme and reform of
the statutory unfair prejudice provisions – were employed to promote
the greater use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in shareholder
disputes. While the Hong Kong government and judiciary introduced
such schemes to prove the legitimacy of extrajudicial over court- based
litigation processes, their success is still uncertain. In this book, sociolegal
theory and sociological institutionalism are used to develop a theoretical
framework for analyzing the key stages of institutionalization. The author
analyzes how procedural innovations could acquire legitimacy through
different types of legal and non- legal inducement mechanisms within
the institutionalization process. Recommendations on codifying and
innovating ADR policy in Hong Kong shareholder disputes are made,
with comparisons to similar policies in the United Kingdom, South
Africa and New Zealand.
Ida Kwan Lun Mak has a multidisciplinary academic background,
with degrees in law and accountancy. Bilingual in English and Chinese,
her research interests are primarily in the fields of company law, dispute
resolution, arbitration, mediation and sociolegal studies, with a strong
emphasis on empirical work in Hong Kong. Dr Mak is now working
as a research assistant in the Department of Law at The University of
Hong Kong.
ii
iii
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE
RESOLUTION OF
SHAREHOLDER DISPUTES IN
HONG KONG
Institutionalizing Its Effective Use
IDA KWAN LUN MAK
The University of Hong Kong
iv
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It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of
education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107194199
DOI: 10.1017/9781108151849
© Cambridge University Press 2017
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2017
Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978- 1- 107- 19419- 9 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs
for external or third- party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
v
This book is dedicated to my parents,
William Mak Kin- wah and Mary Chan Yuen- han
vi
vii
CONTENTS
List of Figures page ix
List of Tables x
Foreword xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Part I Introduction, Overview and Methodology
1 Introduction 3
2 Development and Growth of ADR for Shareholder
Disputes in Hong Kong: An Overview 30
3 Key Methodology and Methods for Evaluation
of Policy Development on ADR in Shareholder
Disputes 45
Part II Institutionalizing and Legitimizing ADR
Policy in Shareholder Disputes: The Role of the Court,
the Reforms and Legal Professions
4 The Role of the Court: Securing the Legitimacy of
Court- Connected ADR Initiatives for Shareholder
Disputes 71
5 Reforms of Company Law: Legitimizing the Use of
Informal Processes in Conjunction with Court- Based
Shareholder Proceedings 103
6 Diffusion of Procedural Innovations: An Empirical
Analysis of Hong Kong Lawyers’ Attitudes about the Use
of ADR for Shareholder Disputes 136
vii
viii
viii Contents
Part III The Future Development of ADR in Hong
Kong: Codification of ADR for Shareholder Disputes
in Hong Kong
7 Innovative Approaches to the Future Codification of
ADR for Shareholder Disputes in Hong Kong: Borrowing
Models from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and
South Africa 181
Conclusion 216
Appendix 1: Measuring the Dependent and Independent
Variables 233
Bibliography 235
Index 257
