The temptation of Occam's Razor: jurisdiction, admissibility and party autonomy.

The article focuses on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal's 2023 decision in C v D, which revisited the distinction between jurisdiction and admissibility under the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (the "Model Law"). The Court was divided on whether this distinction is a useful tool for determining when domestic courts may set aside arbitral awards, with one majority view supporting the distinction as a practical aid grounded in party autonomy, and a dissenting view arguing it is unnecessary and potentially distorts the Model Law's exhaustive grounds for court intervention under article 34(2)(a)(iii). The case highlights a tension between strict adherence to the Model Law's framework and the role of domestic legislation and party autonomy in shaping arbitration jurisprudence, offering important considerations for Model Law jurisdictions in future arbitration disputes.