(Adopted at the fourth meeting of the second Session of Beijing Arbitration Commission on December 30, 1999)
In accordance with the Arbitration Law of the Peoples Republic of China and based on practical experience, these Measures are specifically formulated to facilitate the establishment of a pool of arbitrators and to improve the quality and efficiency of arbitration.
An arbitrator employed or having his/her term of employment renewed by Beijing Arbitration Commission ("BAC") shall meet the following criteria:
I. meet the conditions specified in the Arbitration Law, possess outstanding political and professional qualifications, rigorously implement laws and regulations. They shall protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, and safeguard the common interests of the country and the society;
II. be of upright character, and exhibit the qualities of fairness and honesty. He/she should also be hardworking, restrained and careful;
III. have the relevant academic degrees, as well as the necessary legal and professional knowledge to engage in arbitration work;
IV. willingly abide by the Beijing Arbitration Commission Arbitration Rules (the "Rules") and the Code of Conduct for Arbitrators of Beijing Arbitration Commission (the "Code of Conduct"), and can participate in the trainings organized by BAC;
V. have a keen intellect, with good analytical skills and powers of judgment. He/she should also have strong oral and written language skills, and should be able to evaluate evidence, conduct investigations, render judgments, and handle cases effectively;
VI. be healthy and energetic, and should have sufficient time to participate in hearings and the handling of cases;
VII. be not more than 66 years of age. Exceptions to this age limit may be made for those arbitrators who have served as a chief/sole arbitrator or have served as an arbitrator numerous times, or for those highly experienced arbitrators who have previously demonstrated outstanding performance and whose continued employment is considered advantageous by BAC. However, in no case may an arbitrator's age exceed 75;
VIII. Qualifications for arbitrators from different occupations and different professional areas:
1. An arbitrator engaged in law education and research shall:
(1). have obtained a high-level professional rank or title;
(2). be directly engaged in legal education or research work; and
(3). be familiar with the Arbitration Law and the procedures for arbitration and litigation.
2. An arbitrator serving as a lawyer shall:
(1). have obtained a masters degree or higher in law, or shall have served numerous times as an arbitrator with excellent results, exhibiting superior ability in the handling of cases;
(2). have worked as a lawyer for no less than eight years with an outstanding record of achievement;
(3). be acknowledged by his/her peers as possessing a high level of professional expertise and abundant experience in the handling of cases; and
(4). have received no negative evaluations during the course of serving as a lawyer.
3. An arbitrator engaged in commerce and trade areas shall:
(1). have obtained a college degree, or a lawyer's qualification certificate, or shall be regarded as an authority in the technical areas in which he/she works;
(2). have obtained high-level professional rank or title;
(3) have worked in his/her field for no less than eight years, and shall be familiar with its laws and regulations, as well as having a solid understanding of industry standards and technical knowledge; and
(4). be familiar with the Arbitration Law and the arbitral procedures.
4. An arbitrator serving in a governmental organ or administrative department shall:
(1). have obtained a bachelors degree or higher in law, or shall have served numerous times as an arbitrator with excellent results, exhibiting outstanding competence in handling cases;
(2). be directly engaged in legislative work, law enforcement or legal affairs;
(3). have earned a title equal to deputy division chief or higher, or have obtained high-level professional rank or title; and
(4). be familiar with the Arbitration Law and the arbitral procedures.
5. An arbitrator who is a retired judge shall:
(1). have obtained a bachelor's degree or higher in law, or shall have been a senior judge with extensive case experience;
(2). have served as a judge for no less than eight years;
(3). have served in economic, civil, intellectual property, traffic or executive tribunals for an extended period of time;
(4). hold a title equal to presiding judge or higher, or shall be a highly qualified judge with superior professional expertise and an outstanding record in handling cases; and
(5). have been retired for less than two years, or shall have been a lawyer or engaged in legal affairs since retirement.
6. Be in other circumstances that are in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Arbitration Law and rules of BAC.
IX If any one of the following circumstances applies to an arbitrator, BAC shall not renew that arbitrator's term of employment; in the case of serious infractions, BAC shall dismiss the arbitrator:
1. The arbitrator slacks off in work and does not conscientiously perform duties.
This mainly refers to:
(1). the arbitrator fails to bring relevant documents or files to the hearings; or fails to review such documents or files prior to the hearings;
(2). the arbitrator arrives late to or leaves early from hearings on two occasions without any justifiable reason;
(3). the arbitrator undermines the image of an arbitrator by being absent minded or doing anything irrelevant in hearings;
(4). the arbitrator does anything irrelevant to the consideration of the arbitral tribunal which seriously affects the normal proceeding of the consideration;
(5). the arbitrator goes out during case hearing without explaining in advance or contacting with the arbitral tribunal or the secretary in time, causing the case handling to exceed the time limit for hearing;
(6). the arbitrator fails to cooperate with other members of the arbitral tribunal, leading to the failure of the arbitral tribunal to normally hear cases, make considerations, make decisions or meet the time limit of case hearing.
(7). fail to make proper person arrangements, thus causing changes to the time of hearing which has been confirmed and informed to the parties and affect the normal proceeding of arbitration;
(8). during his/her term of office, the arbitrator causes two or more arbitration cases to exceed the stipulated time limits or causes an arbitration case to exceed the stipulated time limit by 3 months without any justifiable reason.
In such circumstance, in case of summary procedure, the sole arbitrator shall be held liable; in case of general procedure, the presiding arbitrator shall be held liable, unless another arbitrator has any of the circumstances specified in items (4), (5) or (6) above, where such arbitrator shall be held liable.
(9) during the time period of the hearings, the arbitrator manifests a lack of concern or indifference towards the case, expressing no opinions, failing to carefully review the arbitral award, or exhibiting other egregious and irresponsible behavior;
(10) upon his/her acceptance of the nomination by the parties or appointment by the Chairman of BAC, the arbitrator refuses to provide available time for BAC or to sign on the arbitrator's statement and the records of hearing and consideration of the arbitral tribunal after accepting the appointment; or
(11). the arbitrator exhibits other irresponsible behaviors.
2. The arbitrator lacks skills and competence in case handling.
This mainly refers to:
(1). the arbitrator lacks familiarity with arbitral rules and procedures;
(2). the arbitrator lacks ability to conduct hearings and has poor reasoning;
(3). the arbitrator lacks analytical skills and powers of judgment; or
(4). the arbitrator is unable to formulate the arbitral award letter as required by BAC.
3. The arbitrator fails to participate in case investigation, consideration and other works related to case hearing without any justifiable reason.
4. The arbitrator deviates from the position of impartiality and show favoritism tendencies.
5. The arbitrator has any of the circumstances specified in Article 16 of the Ethnic Standards.
6. The arbitrator fails to participate in the trainings and examinations of BAC without any justifiable reason during his/her term of employment.
7. The arbitrator is unable to normally perform his/her duties due to disease or absence during his/her term of employment.
8. Other violations against the Ethical Standards.