"Competition Bill" and "Mediation Bill" Passed

COMPETITION BILL PASSED

The Competition Bill was debated amongst members of the public and in the Legislative Council for a long period of time. The government stressed it would be conducive to meeting the policy objectives of enhancing economic efficiency and the free flow of trade through promoting sustainable competition, thereby bringing benefits to both the business sector and consumers.

The bill aims to prohibit and deter undertakings in all sectors from adopting anti-competitive conduct which has the object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition in Hong Kong.

The ordinance was passed on 14 June 2012, and can be downloaded at this link:
http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr11-12/english/ord/ord014-12-e.pdf

MEDIATION BILL PASSED

The introduction of the Mediation Bill is aimed at promoting, encouraging and facilitating the resolution of civil disputes by mediation.

Mediation is a structured process in which one or more impartial individuals, without adjudicating a dispute or any aspect of it, assist the parties in identifying the issues in dispute, exploring and generating options, communicating with one another, and reaching an agreement on the resolution of the whole, or part of the dispute.

The ordinance was passed on 15 June 2012, and can be downloaded at this link:
http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr11-12/english/ord/ord015-12-e.pdf