In-house E-Congress Japan

With the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo), the In-House Community organised a series of webinars in October for the legal and business sectors in Japan.

During the first session of the webinar on 6 October 2020, Dr James Ding, Commissioner of Inclusive Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Office of Department of Justice, introduced the Hong Kong Government’s policy initiatives to promote Hong Kong as the leading centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. Dr Ding focused particularly on initiatives which encourage the development and use of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and LawTech, and further elaborated on the initiatives taken forward by international and regional bodies (such as UNCITRAL and APEC) in promoting the use of ODR, while highlighting the benefits of ODR, especially for micro, small and medium sized enterprises when resolving cross-border commercial disputes.

In addition, speakers from InvestHK and eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre introduced Hong Kong’s strengths in dispute resolution services at webinar. eBRAM Centre’s representative further elaborated on the COVID-19 ODR Scheme (Scheme) during the webinar on ODR. The Scheme is a recent initiative introduced by DoJ in April this year under the Anti-epidemic Fund with the aim to provide the general public and businesses with a speedy and cost-effective means, by deploying ODR, to resolve global and local COVID-19 related disputes. As the service provider of the Scheme, eBRAM Centre would provide ODR and related services under the Scheme, which was launched in June this year.

In-House Community comprises over 21 000 in-house lawyers and those responsible for legal and compliance issues within organisations in the Asia-Pacific region and the United Arab Emirates.

(from left) Dr James Ding from Department of Justice and Mr Daniel Lam, CEO of eBRAM Centre presented at the webinar on 6 October.