Jurisdiction and admissibility: tiered dispute resolution clauses

The Hong Kong Court of Appeal in C v D [2022] HKCA 729 has confirmed the correctness of first instance decisions applying the distinction now recognised in England and Singapore between jurisdiction and admissibility. The position in Hong Kong is now that the question whether the preconditions to arbitration in a tiered dispute resolution clause have been satisfied is a matter for the tribunal and not the court, so that a ruling by the tribunal that the terms have been satisfied is not appealable.

C v D : the contractual background