Publish time: Tue Dec 10 20:16:43 CST 2024
On the morning of December 10, 2024, the Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Court (hereinafter referred to as "BAC/BIAC") held a press conference on "Establishing BAC/BIAC as a World-Class Arbitration Institution and Advancing Beijing as an International Commercial Arbitration Hub". Zhang Guoqiang, a member of the Party Committee, Deputy Director-General, and Level I Bureau Rank Official of the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau, Li Yingxin, Vice-President of the Beijing Fourth Intermediate People's Court (hereinafter referred to as "BFIPC"), and Guo Wei, Chairperson of BAC/BIAC, were present at the press conference as speakers. Multiple media, including Legal Daily, Legal Daily Online, People's Court Daily, Beijing Daily, Beijing Radio and Television Station, Beijing Youth Daily, People's Daily Online, 21st Century Business Herald, and Caijing, attended the press conference, as well as representatives from bar associations, chambers of commerce in China, enterprises, and arbitrators. The press conference was moderated by Jiang Lili, the Committee Member and Secretary-General of BAC/BIAC.
Since its establishment in 1995, BAC/BIAC has accepted more than 92,000 arbitration cases, with total amounts in dispute exceeding RMB 900 billion. Of these, more than 2,100 were international cases with total amounts in dispute of RMB 78 billion and parties from 72 countries and regions around the world. Over the past decade, the growth of international cases at BAC/BIAC is particularly notable, with an average annual growth rate of 24% in the number of cases and 68% in the amounts in dispute. Over the year since the commencement of the 8th Committee on September 1, 2023, as of August 31, 2024, BAC/BIAC has accepted 293 new international cases with total amounts in dispute of RMB 14.56 billion.
In response to the call of building Beijing into an "international commercial arbitration center to facilitate the capital's construction of an international center of scientific and technological innovation as well as an international communication center", and support the construction of the International Commercial Arbitration Hub, BAC/BIAC officially changed its name from "Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Center" to "Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Court" on December 4, 2024, further enhancing the international brand for Beijing arbitration.
Beijing Arbitration，Global Solutions
Establishing BAC/BIAC as a World-Class Arbitration Institution
Guo Wei introduced BAC/BIAC's measures to establish a world-class arbitration institution, including actively carrying out institutional reform of arbitration institutions following the requirements of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, forming a corporate governance mechanism in which the decision-making, executive, and supervisory powers of the arbitration institution are separated, effectively balanced, and with equal power and responsibility; improving case handling quality and efficiency and satisfying the dispute resolution needs of international parties to the greatest extent; closely following the advanced international arbitration practices and revising its "Arbitration Rules" ten times; innovating arbitration service to promote the integration and complementary functions of litigation, arbitration, and mediation; and providing parties with diversified dispute resolution services, including dispute prevention and resolution, independent commercial mediation, construction dispute board review, and international investment arbitration. Finally, he elaborated on BAC/BIAC's efforts in advancing Beijing as an International Commercial Arbitration Hub. First, leveraging the advantages of the capital city, BAC/BIAC has continuously strengthened communication and collaboration with professionals in international arbitration, law, economic, trade, and other fields. Second, BAC/BIAC has actively participated in the formulation of international economic and trade rules, and actively played its role as an observer of the UNCITRAL. Third, to advance the development of foreign-related arbitration talents, BAC/BIAC has innovated the arbitrators' interview procedures, selecting a total of 1,146 arbitrators. Fourth, based on the positioning of the capital city, BAC/BIAC has contributed to build Beijing into an "international commercial arbitration center to facilitate the capital's construction of an international center of scientific and technological innovation as well as an international communication center" and provided world-class dispute resolution services for parties all over the world.
Promoting Coordination and Integration Between Litigation and Arbitration
Supporting the Construction of the International Commercial Arbitration Hub
Li Yingxin introduced the BFIPC's achievements in supporting and ensuring the construction of the International Commercial Arbitration Hub. BFIPC and BAC/BIAC have actively contributed to the construction of the "Two Zones", fully utilizing the advantages of the cooperation mechanism, forming positive interaction and synergy, and developing a dispute resolution mechanism that aligns with international standards and China's national conditions. In terms of arbitration, BFIPC has promoted centralized jurisdiction over judicial reviews of foreign-related arbitration, established a mechanism for separating complex and simple cases, optimized the coordination between mediation, arbitration and litigation, and focused on innovations in the institutional reform of arbitration institutions. Notably, BFIPC reviewed the interim measures decision made by BAC/BIAC's arbitral tribunal, marking the first case in China to review, confirm, and enforce the arbitral tribunal's interim measures decision. This highlights the collaborative efforts of BFIPC and BAC/BIAC in building an International Commercial Arbitration Hub. In terms of internationalization of arbitration, BFIPC respects international arbitration rules, continuously strengthens international and regional judicial assistance, and enhances intelligent collaborative applications to intelligently and efficiently advance Beijing as an International Commercial Arbitration Hub. Regarding the creation of an arbitration-friendly environment, BFIPC respects the principles of party autonomy and favoring the validity of arbitration agreements, exercises its supervisory duties strictly in accordance with the law, and strengthens research on new arbitration reviews, thus providing strong judicial support for the development of China's arbitration. She emphasized that BFIPC will continue to focus on the goal of advancing Beijing as an International Commercial Arbitration Hub and promoting the high-quality development of arbitration, improving the level of arbitration judicial review and advancing the diversified dispute resolution mechanism that coordinates and integrates arbitration, mediation, and litigation, so as to promote the continuous enhance the credibility and international competitiveness of arbitration in Beijing.
Deepening Institutional Reform of Arbitration Institutions
Accelerating the Cultivation of a World-Class Arbitration Institution
Zhang Guoqiang introduced the updates on the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau's support for the reform and development of BAC/BIAC. He pointed out that under the strong leadership of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, and with the specific guidance of the Ministry of Justice, the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau has actively promoted institutional reform of arbitration institutions, aiming to cultivate world-class arbitration institutions. First, strengthen top-level design, and drive BAC/BIAC's leap-forward development by reform and innovation. The General Office of Municipal Party Committee and the General Office of Municipal Government have successively issued the "Implementing Opinions on Improving Arbitration System, Raising Arbitration's Credibility, and Building International Arbitration Hub" and the "Overall Reform Plan for the Beijing Arbitration Commission". The Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau also issued a series of supporting policies, opening a new chapter for BAC/BIAC's development and reform. Second, create an arbitration-friendly environment, guarantee BAC/BIAC's high-quality development by using policy support. In cooperation with relevant departments, the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau has fully and effectively used the advantages of the "Two Zones" policy, introducing a series of policy measures to reform and optimize the development environment of the legal services industry, and providing comprehensive support for the development of arbitration. Third, optimize the arbitration ecosystem, support BAC/BIAC's sustainable development through open cooperation. The Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau has worked with the three arbitration institutions in Beijing, CIETAC, CMAC, and BAC/BIAC, to pool the collective wisdom and efforts. In August of this year, the Beijing International Dispute Resolution Center (BIDRC), was officially unveiled. BIDRC will serve as the operation body for the construction of the International Commercial Arbitration Hub. The three arbitration institutions in Beijing, as vice-chairs of BIDRC, will jointly advance Beijing as an International Commercial Arbitration Hub. In the future, the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau will continue to support BAC/BIAC's internationalization, professionalism, and intelligent development, accelerate the pace of building an International Commercial Arbitration Hub and cultivating the world-class arbitration institution, and support BAC/BIAC to play a greater role in advancing Beijing as an International Commercial Arbitration Hub.
On December 4, 2014, in line with its goal of internationalization, BAC/BIAC officially adopted the name "Beijing International Arbitration Center" for the first time. After ten years of hard work and steady progress, the "Beijing International Arbitration Center" was renamed "Beijing International Arbitration Court", demonstrating a new milestone in BAC/BIAC's international development. As BAC/BIAC approaches its 30th anniversary, it will continue to consolidate the achievements of the reform. Rooted in Beijing while serving the global community, the BAC/BIAC will remain committed to its goal of establishing itself as a world-class arbitration institution and advancing Beijing as an International Commercial Arbitration Hub. To achieve this goal, the BAC/BIAC will lead the innovation of rules and standards, align with international practices, strive to make Beijing the preferred seat for international commercial dispute resolution, and provide world-class dispute resolution services for parties all over the world.