HKIAC establishes Nominations Committee

NEWS ALERT
HKIAC establishes Nominations Committee to recommend new members to its Council

HKIAC is pleased to announce that it has established a Nominations Committee (“NC”) to identify, vet and recommend new members to its Council.  On 8 June 2018, HKIAC’s Council decided that the NC would be comprised of five individuals with the following profiles:

• A prominent member of Hong Kong’s legal and/or arbitration community;
• A prominent member of the international arbitration community;
• An ex-Council Member or retired Chairperson of HKIAC;
• An individual of high standing within the local or international legal, arbitration or business communities; and,
• The current Chairperson of HKIAC.

The current Chairperson of HKIAC is Matthew Gearing QC. HKIAC is proud to report that on 18 July 2018, it appointed the following four individuals as members of the NC, in corresponding order to the profiles above:

• Ms. Winnie Tam, SC of Des Voeux Chambers, Hong Kong;
• Professor Albert Jan van den Berg of Hanotiau & van den Berg, Brussels, Belgium;
• Dr. Michael Moser of 20 Essex Street Chambers, London, resident in Hong Kong; and,
• Dr. Thomas So, Partner at Mayer Brown JSM Hong Kong and Immediate Past President of the Law Society of Hong Kong.

The establishment of the NC is part of a wider initiative by HKIAC to enhance transparency, diversity and inclusion in respect of its corporate governance. In December 2017, HKIAC established an independent Task Force to review the manner in which it appoints members to its governing bodies and executive positions. The Task Force was chaired by Dr. Michael Moser and included Ms. Winnie Tam SC, Dr. Thomas So, and Mr. Danny Mok.
 
Having completed its investigations, in June 2018, the Task Force presented its recommendations to HKIAC’s Council. With few amendments, HKIAC accepted the Task Force’s recommendations, including that (i) Council Members shall have term limits of six years; and (ii) those Council Members who have already served for six years or more shall not stand for re-election at HKIAC’s next Annual General Meeting on 21 September 2018. For the sake of continuity and good operations, however, Council Members currently serving on one of HKIAC’s Standing Committees may remain on Council for a limited time. 
 
The members of the Nominations Committee shall serve two-year terms. HKIAC is delighted that some members of the original Task Force have agreed to serve on the inaugural Nominations Committee.
 
Matthew Gearing QC states that “HKIAC is grateful to the members of the Task Force for their work over the past six months. We are also extremely proud to have such eminent individuals constitute the inaugural Nominations Committee. This, we hope, will go a long way towards ensuring greater transparency in the process of appointments to Council and diversity on many levels in its composition.”
 
There are 25 positions on HKIAC’s Council, approximately one-third of which will become vacant as of 21 September 2018. The Nominations Committee will now begin its work identifying suitable candidates with a view to recommending individuals for appointment from that date.
 

Media Contact
Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre
Karen Tan
Tel: (852) 2525 2381
Fax: (852) 2524 2171
Email: karen@hkiac.org