general · 2026年10月14日T00:00:00Z
A Hong Kong dispute settlement agreement: questions to check before signing
If you are about to sign a Hong Kong settlement agreement that came out of mediation, the checks are concrete. Confirm every party signs the agreement drawn up in the mediation session. Read whether it records each disputed matter and how the parties agreed to resolve it. Understand that once signed it is binding as a contract, but it is not itself enforceable as a court judgment, court order or arbitration award. Confirm what was agreed about the mediator’s fees and room hire before the mediation began. Decide whether you want legal advice before committing.
The Hong Kong Judiciary’s public guide What is Mediation (March 2023) supports every point below, and it also sets the limits of the official statement.
Is a signed mediated settlement agreement a judgment or a contract?
The guide states that an agreement drawn up in a mediation session and signed by all parties is legally binding as a matter of contract. That single sentence drives most of the pre-signature check.
The guide immediately adds the limit. The agreement itself is not enforceable as a judgment, an order of the court, or an arbitration award. If the other party breaches its terms, the innocent party may sue upon it.
So the question before you is not whether a court will enforce the document directly. The question is whether you are willing to rely on a contract claim if the other side later fails to perform.
Check the signature condition too. The binding effect described in the guide applies to an agreement drawn up in a mediation session and signed by all parties. If you are one of several parties, make sure the same final document will carry all signatures.
Does the written agreement cover every disputed matter?
The guide says the mediator will help the parties discuss and decide what matters are in dispute, explore each party’s real needs and interests, expand settlement options and assess the most suitable solution, and draw up the settlement agreement in detail, setting out how the parties have agreed to resolve each matter in dispute.
Use that list as your reading test. Does the draft name the matters you actually discussed? Does it state how each one is to be resolved? If a matter is missing, or if the recorded outcome differs from what you believe you agreed, raise it before signature. Once the agreement is signed, the guide describes it as a binding contract, so those written terms are what you may later have to sue on.
Can you still take legal advice or stop before signing?
Yes, and the guide puts no stage limit on either right. Parties may seek legal advice at any stage of the mediation. All parties have the right to terminate the mediation process at any time.
Suitability is part of the same picture. Mediation is suitable in many cases, although the guide says it may not be suitable for every case. Parties may be invited to a preliminary meeting in which the mediator assesses whether mediation is suitable for their particular circumstances, or their legal advisers may help them decide.
The practical point is sequence. Advice and termination are available to you before signature. After all parties sign, the agreement takes effect as a contract under the guide’s description.
Who pays the mediator, the room and your own advisers?
Charges in mediation mainly include the mediator’s fees for his time and any room hire costs. It is usual for the parties to agree before the start of the mediation that they will be responsible to pay in equal shares.
Check what was actually agreed before your mediation started, because that prior agreement governs the shared costs. Equal sharing is usual rather than automatic; it depends on the agreement made before the start.
There is one clear exception the guide sets out. If a party decides to instruct lawyers, or other professional persons, to assist during the mediation, this party will be responsible for all of their particular charges. Sharing the mediator’s time and the room does not transfer your own adviser’s bill to the other side.
What this guide does not cover
The guide describes an agreement drawn up in a mediation session and signed by all parties. Its statements therefore evidence the mediated settlement position only.
It does not state conclusions about private settlement agreements negotiated outside mediation. It does not set out the rules on rescinding or setting aside an individual settlement agreement. Because the official material does not resolve those questions, this article does not either.
Nothing here is legal advice. It restates the Judiciary’s public explanation so you can ask sharper questions before you sign.
A short order for checking before you sign
Read the draft once for missing disputed matters. Check that it records how each matter is to be resolved. Confirm every party will sign the same final document. Ask whether you want legal advice before you commit. Confirm the costs agreement made before the mediation began. Remember that your own lawyers’ or advisers’ charges stay yours. Sign only if you accept the agreement as a contract, not as a judgment.