Publish time: Fri Jul 14 16:13:39 CST 2017
On June 23rd, 2017, Beijing Arbitration Commission /Beijing International Arbitration Center (BAC/BIAC, hereafter BAC) and Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) successfully co-organized “2017 Zurich Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China” (hereinafter Zurich Summit).
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Madam Hongsong Wang (BAC) delivered an opening remark |
Dr.Fuyong Chen (BAC) hosted the opening remark |
Mr. Elliott Geisinge delivered an opening remark
As the last stop of the Europe road show of 2017 Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China, the Zurich summit attracted professionals from Switzerland, France, Belgium, and the U.S., etc. Although this is BAC’s first summit in Zurich, yet BAC has held serial events in the past five years to demonstrate the latest development and practice of Chinese commercial dispute resolution, and to facilitate collaborations between the Chinese arbitration communities and international arbitration communities.
In the past five years, BAC successfully co-organized many rewarding summits with the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, The International Court of Arbitration of International Chamber of Commerce, Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit, Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague and other renowned institutions. Furthermore, “Commercial Dispute Resolution in China: An Annual Review and Preview” has gradually become a crucial reference for international community to understand the most recent development of Chinese dispute resolution practice. Through the Zurich summit, BAC further promoted the Chinese commercial dispute resolution platform to the world, and also deepened collaborations with arbitration professionals in Switzerland. As vice chairperson Hongsong Wang said in the opening remark of the Summit: “It is fair to say that as for BAC’s five-year plan, we have achieved those ambitious goals we set five years ago.”
Elliot Gesinger, President of ASA, said in the opening ceremony, that BAC as ASA’s reliable partner in China, has an irreplaceable role in promoting collaborations between China and Switzerland in the realm of commercial dispute resolution. As Chinese economy develops, many countries give weight to bilateral cooperation between the two, and Switzerland is no exception. ASA wishes to maintain a long-term collaboration with BAC.
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Dr. Helena Chen delivered her report |
Mr.Jingzhou Tao hosted |
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Mr. Ning Fei commented |
Dr. Clarisse von Wunschheim commented |
Discussions in the Arbitration & Mediation session |
Ensued the opening remark was the Overview of the PRC's Arbitration and Mediation Practice: Trends and Challenges (Arbitration & Mediation) session. This session was hosted by Mr. Jingzhou Tao (Managing Partner in Charge of Business Development in Asia, Dechert LLP); Dr. Helena H.C. Chen (Chief Rep. of Beijing Office and Partner, Pinsent Masons LLP) was the reporter, and the commentators were Dr. Clarisse von Wunschheim (Partner, Hartmann Dreyer) and Mr. Ning Fei (Managing Partner, Hui Zhong Law Firm).The panelists commented on the latest developments of Chinese commercial dispute resolution, judicial opinions issued by The Supreme People's Court of The People's Republic of China on the “Three Specific Arbitrations” of the free trade zones, and also discussed the recognition and enforcement of commercial arbitral awards in China. Mr. Ning Fei and Dr. Clarisse von Wunschheim both mentioned the rapid development of BAC and praised BAC’s strenuous efforts in bridging the Chinese arbitration rules and practices with the international standards. Besides, they also highly complimented the Chinese judiciaries’ liberal attitude towards the application of foreign applicable law in judicial review and their effort in creating an arbitration-friendly judicial environment.
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Dr. Libin Zhang delivered her report |
Mr. David Roney hosted |
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Dr. Jonatan Baier commented |
Discussions in the Energy session |
Aside from the positive impact of Chinese judicial progression on the arbitration development, the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Chinese commercial dispute resolution is another focused topic in this summit. In “Risk Management and Dispute Resolution of Mining Rights Transaction in the PRC (Energy)” session, the moderator Mr. David Roney (Partner, Sidley Austin LLP), the reporter Dr. Libin Zhang (Partner, Broad & Bright Law Firm) and the commentator Dr. Jonatan Baier (Partner, MME Legal AG) had exciting discussions on how the energy laws and regulations may incorporate into the the Belt and Road Initiative. Dr. Libin Zhang stated that with the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more Chinese corporations will invest in energy industries across borders, and thus a more intense competition will lead to a higher energy price. Therefore, aside from legal approaches, corporations may also use negotiation skills to lower energy price and to increase the import quantity.
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Dr. Xuehua Wang delivered her report |
Mr. Christopher Koch hosted |
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Dr. Marc Veit commented |
Discussions in the International Trade session |
In the “Invigorating Trade and Developing Dispute Resolution in the PRC (International Trade)” session, the moderator Mr. Christopher Koch (Partner, Landolt & Koch), the reporter Dr. Xuehua Wang (Partner, Beijing Huanzhong & Partners), and the commentator Dr. Marc Veit (Partner, LALIVE) discussed that as the Belt and Road Initiative deepens and progresses, international trade within regions will surely increase, and thus choosing between dispute resolution mechanism and rules is exceptionally crucial. United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) as the internationally recognized and adopted rule will gain a wider application in the Belt and Road related international commercial disputes.
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Dr. Xiuming Tao delivered his report |
Mr. Zhi Bao delivered his report |
Dr. Franz X. Stirnimann hosted |
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Ms.Dalia Hussein commented |
Mr.Emmanuel Jacomy commented |
Ms. Laurence Burger commented |
Discussions in the Investment & Finance session
During “The Impact of Regulatory Changes on Private Investment & Finance Disputes in the PRC (Investment & Finance)” session of the summit, Dr. Xiuming Tao (Partner, JunZeJun Law Offices) and Mr. Zhi Bao (Partner, FenXun Partners) commented on the impact of regulatory changes on 2016 financial and investment dispute resolutions. Last year, Chinese financial supervisory institutions strengthened regulations on assets management industry and imposed stricter supervisions. With respect to investment area, the financial supervisory institutions lowered the threshold of entering the market and thus empowered the investors with more autonomies, thus further boosted the activeness of investments. During the discussion session, the moderator Dr. Franz X. Stirnimann (Partner, FRORIEP Legal SA), the co-reporters Dr. Xiuming Tao (Partner, JunZeJun Law Offices), Mr. Zhi Bao (Partner, FenXun Partners), the commentators Mr. Emmanuel Jacomy (Partner, Shearman & Sterling LLP), Ms. Laurence Burger (Partner, Landolt & Koch), and Dr. Dalia Hussein (Legal Advisor, CRCICA) commented on the potential financial and investment disputes resulted from the supervision changes, and they also discussed the legal applicability of bilateral investment agreements and dispute resolutions.
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Ms. Jinghui Tan delivered her report |
Dr. Thomas Rohner hosted |
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Dr. Paul Thaler commented |
Discussions in the Construction session |
Ms. Jinghui Tan (Director, City Development Law Firm (Beijing)) made a presentation on “The Trends in Construction Market in the PRC: PPP Practice on Infrastructure Development (Construction)” session. Ms. Tan pointed out that in recent years, supervisory institutions of construction industry insisted on “de-administration”; the traditional construction contracting model has gradually evolved into “investing construction management” business model, and PPP method further facilitated a new round of infrastructure investments. During the discussion session, the moderator Dr. Thomas Rohner (Partner, Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law Ltd) and the commentator Dr. Paul Thaler (Managing Partner, Wenfei Attorneys-at-law Ltd) each made arguments on the nature of PPP contracts and dispute resolutions.
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Mr. Dennis Deng delivered his report |
Mr. Nusrat Hassan hosted |
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Mr. Josef Caleff commented |
Discussions in the Real Estate session |
In the “Real Estate (Value Orientations in Real Estate Dispute Resolution in the PRC: Approaches to Good Faith & Fairness)” session, Mr. Dennis Deng, (Partner, Dentons in China LLP) used three examples to elaborate and introduce the applicability and understanding of the fairness principle and the good faith principle in Chinese courts and arbitrations. The moderator, Mr. Nusrat Hassan (Co-Managing Partner, Link Legal India Law Services) and the commentator Mr. Josef Caleff (Partner, Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd) exchanged their opinions on the fairness principle and good faith principle in India and Switzerland.
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Mr. Haidong Yu delivered his report |
Mr. Philippe Leboulanger hosted |
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Mr. Martin Wiebecke commented |
Discussions in the Intellectual Property session |
Finally, Mr. Haidong Yu (Partner, Lifang & Partners) introduced the latest developments of intellectual property dispute resolution in the last session of this summit, Intellectual Property (Enforcement of Intellectual Property in the PRC: Options and Solutions). Looking back in the past five years, there had been several revisions of the related laws and the specialized intellectual property courts were established. All these measures demonstrate the determination and resolution of the government on perfecting the legal system of intellectual property. In the trials, the Chinese judicial system also put more emphases on balancing each party’s interests and protecting individual’s utmost legal rights within the boundary of remedies. Regarding this, the moderator, Mr. Philippe Leboulanger (Partner, Leboulanger & Associés) stated that all these perfecting measures will most likely attract more and more foreign high-tech investments in China. At the same time, the commentator, Mr. Martin Wiebecke (Principal, Anwaltsbüro Wiebecke), also complimented the “three-in-one” trial procedure in intellectual property litigations. Participants on the session also discussed the arbitrability of antitrust civil disputes.
Alexander McLin made remarks in the closing ceremony
Finally, Zurich 2017 Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China approached its end. Mr. Alexander McLin, Executive Director, ASA made closing remarks. He said that this summit is a tremendous help to the Swiss arbitration community to gain a better understanding of the Chinese arbitration status quo, and he also expressed his admiration towards BAC for its efforts in publishing the “Commercial Dispute Resolution in China: An Annual Review and Preview” in the past five years. Mr. McLin looks forward to co-organizing more similar events with BAC in the future, and to facilitate collaborations and exchanges between the Chinese and the Swiss arbitration communities.
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| Participants asking questions and exchanging opinions | ||
In the past five years, since BAC first held the Chinese commercial dispute resolution summit in London in 2013, BAC and other Chinese arbitration institutions have been leading the trend in revisions of arbitration rules; these efforts not only introduce the latest international practices into China, but also bring Chinese arbitration institutions to the world stage of arbitration. Meanwhile, the Chinese judicial branch is holding a positive and open attitude towards the internationalization of dispute resolution, thus an arbitration-friendly judicial environment is maturing. BAC is an active participant in this internationalization trend, but also a beneficiary. Due to this, BAC insists on the spirit of “independence, justice, profession, efficiency” to provide the best dispute resolution service to the parties, and aims for becoming the facilitator in diversifying alternative dispute resolution mechanism in China.
Clyde & Co International Law Firm, AnJie Law Firm, DaHui Lawyers, Jingtian & Gongcheng sponsored this summit. Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA), Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA), The Cairo Regional Center For International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), Câmara de Comércio Brasil Canadá (CAM•CCBC), international arbitration institute, the Premier Forum for International Arbitration (IAI), Mayer Brown JSM, HOGAN LOVELLS INTERNATIONAL LLP, Linklaters LLP, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Kromann Reumert, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, Solton & Partners, Fieldfisher, Lexpr contributed efforts to the preparation of this summit. Besides, Deutch Wolters Kluwer and Sina Law Channel also participated in this summit as media partners.
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