Lovells

Boom in Chinese economy brings sharper focus on arbitration in china to settle disputes

New arbitration rules and update report by Dr Wang Wenying of china international economic and trade arbitration commission (cietac)

What's at issue

As inward investment into China and outward trade continues to grow, companies trading and investing into China have to pay much closer attention to how disputes are handled if things start to go wrong.  Even companies which have been in China for many years have found that arbitration is the best tool to resolve disputes.  In 2005 China's gross domestic product increased by 9.9% to US$2,277 billion.  Foreign exchange reserves exceeded US$850 billion, overtaking Japan as the world's biggest holder of foreign exchange. 

Who and When?

Dr Wang Wenying of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and one of the authors of the new arbitration rules will be briefing general counsel and business leaders in London on 21 June and Paris on 22 June at the offices of international law firm Lovells. The briefing will be followed by a discussion led by Lovells' partner and international arbitration specialist Professor Phillip Capper.  The Paris event will also include presentations from Lovells' partners Marc Henry (Paris) and Mark Lin (Hong Kong) looking at practicalities for European companies doing business in China and enforcement of Chinese arbitration awards in Europe respectively.  

Importance

Arbitration in China can only be carried out by recognised institutions. There are more than 176 arbitration institutions in China and CIETAC is recognised as one of the market leaders for handling disputes involving foreign investors.Since it was founded in 1956, CIETAC has handled more than 10,000 international arbitration cases.  In 2004, the latest year data is available, CIETAC handled more than 850 arbitrations, with a total value in excess of US$1 billion.  This makes CIETAC amongst the world's busiest arbitration institutions, handling more disputes than the other major global arbitration bodies including the International Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and the Stockholm Arbitration Institute.CIETAC's arbitration rules have been revised six times since they were first created with the latest update taking place on 1 May 2005. The latest version aligns CIETAC's rules with those of other major arbitration centres, ensuring that users are able to operate in a familiar procedural and regulatory environment.   Users of CIETAC's services have access to more than 1,000 qualified arbitrators of which more than a quarter are foreign nationals, representing over 30 countries or regions.

Attendance by journalists

There are a limited number of places available for the media at the London and Paris briefings.  If you would like to attend the briefing or arrange an interview with Lovells' legal experts in dispute resolution in China please contact Kate Horsfield.

Lovells has over three thousand people operating from 26 offices in Europe, Asia and the United States, and is one of a small number of truly international law firms.

Lovells is consistently recognised as a leading firm in the arbitration field, with the resources and expertise to handle even the most complex arbitration in many different languages.  The firm has over 100 lawyers with expertise in international arbitration procedures, techniques and strategies. 

Lovells' international arbitration group, headed by Phillip Capper, represents clients in arbitrations under many different arbitral rules, including the ICSID, AAA, ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL and CIETAC rules, as well as under national arbitral and trade institutions rules and the national laws of many different countries.  It also regularly advises clients on the protections afforded by bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, including the Energy Charter Treaty.
 
Lovells has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong and has been advising clients on doing business in the People's Republic of China since its opening to the West more than 25 years ago. The Lovells' Hong Kong office has been established for more than 20 years. The firm opened a representative office in Beijing in 1985, and was one of the first five foreign law firms to be licensed to practice international law in Beijing in 1992. Lovells was again among the first international law firms approved following China's entry into the World Trade Organization ("WTO") to establish a second office in Shanghai in 2003.

Lovells is one of the supporting firms of the new UK-China Mediation Centre Service launched by CCPIT (China Council for the Promotion of International Trade) and CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) on 6 April 2006.