Mariel Dimsey是CMS律师事务所香港办公室合伙人，以及CMS国际仲裁业务组的联合负责人。近日，她被推选担任香港国际仲裁中心（港仲）秘书长一职。在与ALB的采访中，她分享了对于这一角色的期待，以及重塑人们对于香港仲裁看法的计划。  作者：黄婉君

ALB：能和我们分享一下您迄今为止的职业道路吗？以往经历如何助益您担任港仲秘书长一职？

MARIEL DIMSEY：首先，我会从私人律师执业的角度审视这一角色。我自己向来就是港仲的用户，对于仲裁规则在实际案件中的适用深有体会，这个视角非常重要——它能帮助我在真实情境中理解规则。此外，我还拥有仲裁员的视角，我和不少仲裁机构的秘书长有过合作，因此能够从略有不同的视角审视仲裁规则。上述经验和专长都能帮助我重塑属于我的“港仲秘书长”角色。

ALB：您将如何借用自身在国际商事及投资仲裁领域的专长，带领港仲继续向前？

DIMSEY：我曾执业于多个司法管辖区，包括澳大利亚、瑞士和德国。这些年通过私人执业、在上述司法管辖区积累下的社交网对于港仲秘书长一

职将大有裨益。我很欢迎老朋友们随时来询问关于港仲的问题，我也期待与他们展开深度、开诚布公的对话，向他们介绍港仲的发展情况，希望可以借此为港仲的仲裁业务吸引更多新用户。尤其是在欧洲司法管辖区——未来希望越来越多人在合同条款中考虑将港仲约定为仲裁机构。

ALB：您将如何在前任秘书长Sarah Grimmer的基础上发展港仲业务？您又计划开启哪些新企划？

DIMSEY：过去六年，Sarah为港仲的发展打下了十分坚实的基础，这为我日后的工作提供了很大便利。就任秘书长一职后我发现，在技术应用层面，港仲的各项事宜都井井有条且极为现代，这在仲裁机构中可谓少见。因此，我的首要工作是保持这一领先势头、维持用户体验。

此外，我还希望重塑香港传达给外界的信息。过去几年，出于各种内外原因，大家对于香港的看法有了不小变化。我希望从司法管辖区的角度，香港不会成为“线上连接”的代名词，而继续成为大家都愿意飞来、愿意面对面展开工作的地方。

未来一年，我们将修订仲裁规则，尝试建立和2018年版规则类似的结构。我们将设立专门的修订委员会，监督修订过程，也聆听社区建议。

此外，过去几年港仲的用户群发生了演变，未来也将不断变化。倾听是最重要的。我们得时刻了解自己的用户是谁，了解他们的需求究竟是什么。

ALB：港仲将如何强化香港作为国际仲裁中心的优势和吸引力？

DIMSEY：香港是绝佳的仲裁场所。作为仲裁地，它拥有不容忽视的优势。香港是座仲裁友好型城市，还拥有先进的成文法，支持联合国国际贸易法委员会（UNCITRAL）模式仲裁，以及全球最佳实践。我们拥有香港-内地之间的仲裁程序协助保全安排，能够为以香港为仲裁地的案件，以及包括港仲在内被认可仲裁机构的案件，在内地提供真正的在岸支持。

此外，我们还拥有真正了解涉中国内地纠纷的专家——这是其他机构不一定具备的优势。我们还有十分健全，且支持仲裁的司法制度。最后我要说，香港拥有绝对的优势，不仅联通内地，也联通亚太，伴随大家的生活逐渐恢复正常，我们会愈发强调并利用这样的优势。

‘HONG KONG HAS A GREAT POSITION, NOT ONLY WITH RESPECT TO CHINA BUT ALSO TO APAC’

Mariel Dimsey, most recently a partner and co-head of the international arbitration group at CMS,was recently named as the new secretary general of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. In this interview with ALB, she talks about what she brings to the role, as well as her plans to change the perception of arbitration in Hong Kong. 

ALB: Can you tell us a bit about your career so far, and how your experiences will shape your approach to the role?

MARIEL DIMSEY: Primarily, I’m coming into this from a private-practice perspective. I was a user of HKIAC arbitration until very recently. I’ve seen how the rules operate in practice, and I think that’s a very important aspect that I bring, because you’ve got the context to the rules. Also, my perspective as an arbitrator, having worked with many people at the Secretariat in that role and seeing the rules in operation from a slightly different perspective, as well as being counsel in private practice, I think these will help me use that experience and expertise to shape my role.

ALB: How do you plan to leverage your international commercial and investment arbitration expertise to take HKIAC forward?

DIMSEY：My experience itself has spanned several jurisdictions, including Australia, Switzerland, and Germany. The network that I have gained through years of private practice in those jurisdictions can be very beneficial for this role. My old contacts can ask me questions about HKIAC; we can have an in-depth, frank, discussion about what’s going on here. I hope, with that, to attract new users to HKIAC arbitration, which – particularly in the European jurisdictions – could be better utilised and used in more contracts.

ALB: In what way do you expect to build on the work of your predecessor, Sarah Grimmer, and what are some of the new ideas or initiatives you will look to spearhead?

DIMSEY：Sarah has set a very solid foundation over the last six years for me to build on. When I came into the Secretariat, I found that everything was so well-organised and modern, which is not the case for most arbitral institutions in terms of tech. My first aim in terms of keeping our users happy is to ensure that that continues. I would also like to reaffirm the messaging about Hong Kong. In the last few years, for obvious reasons both here and in the rest of the world, everyone kind of had to take a moment. It is very important that Hong Kong is not perceived as the jurisdiction where everyone is dialling in from rather than being there in person.

Next year, we are going to revise our rules. We will be setting up a similar structure to the 2018 rules revision, where we will have a committee that will supervise that and seek input from the community. Moreover, the user base of HKIAC has evolved in the last few years and will continue to evolve. It’s important to listen and make sure that we’re up to date with who our users are, and that we’re addressing their needs.

ALB: What can HKIAC do to highlight Hong Kong’s strengths and attractiveness as an international arbitration hub?

DIMSEY：Hong Kong is a fabulous place to do arbitration. The seat itself has an incredible number of advantages. Not only is it arbitration-friendly, but we also have an advanced statutory law that supports arbitration based on the UNCITRAL model or international best practice. We have the Hong Kong– Mainland China Interim Measures Arrangement, which offers true onshore support in the PRC for arbitrations seated in Hong Kong and administered by approved arbitration institutions, including HKIAC. We have true expertise in China-related disputes that I think even other regional institutions probably do not have. And we have a very robust, pro-arbitration judiciary. Apart from that, Hong Kong has a great position, not only with respect to China but also to APAC. That can be capitalised on now that everyone’s kind of getting back to normal.