Domestic:

1. The second exchange & summing-up meeting of Capital Internet law practitioners was held in Beijing on the afternoon of January 18, 2013.
http://www.bjac.org.cn/news/view.asp?id=2179

2. On January 14, 2013, Langfang Arbitration Commission was officially founded. That terminates the history of the city where there was no arbitration organs for civil and commercial dispute resolution.
http://www.lfnews.cn/viewnews-1709381.html

3. The 2012 annual conference on legal affairs of Chinese companies was held in Beijing. Nine out of ten overseas arbitration cases ended with a loss.
http://www.china-arbitration.com/news.php?id=2738

International:

1. The Mediation Ordinance in Hong Kong became operative on 1 January 2013
7 January 2013
The Mediation Ordinance (“the MO”), which was officially enacted on 22 June 2012, has come into effect on 1 January 2013. Yet, it applies retroactively to pre-existing agreements to mediate and past mediations. In addition to our previous alert on 30 November 2011, this is an update on the essentials of this new Ordinance.
http://www.mallesons.com/publications/marketAlerts/2012/Pages/This-at-least-is-not-confidential-the-Mediation-Ordinance-in-Hong-Kong-became-operative-on-1-January-2013.aspx?PageView=Shared&InitialTabId=Ribbon.WebPartPage&VisibilityContext=WSSWebPartPage&

2. Stockholm Scholarships for China 2013/2014
4 February 2013
Chinese law students and graduates interested in pursuing an advanced international law degree in arbitration are invited to attend the presentation of the Stockholm Scholarships for China.

The scholarships consist of three full-tuition scholarships for outstanding Chinese law graduates to study in the one-year Master of International Commercial Arbitration Law program at Stockholm University.
http://www.sccinstitute.com/?id=23696&newsid=44981

3. ICC unveils new online training in international arbitration
29 January 2013
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has unveiled its new “ICC Arbitration online training”, the first official e-learning course to explain the inside workings of international arbitration and the 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration.
http://www.iccwbo.org/News/Articles/2013/ICC-unveils-new-online-training-in-international-arbitration/

4. American Arbitration Association establishes new regional commercial and construction team
7 January 2013
The American Arbitration Association (AAA) has promoted Dwight James to head western operations for its Commercial and Construction Divisions and Robert Matlin, Esq. to lead eastern operations of the units. Both will be AAA Senior Vice Presidents and serve on the organization’s national executive leadership team, reporting directly to President and CEO, India Johnson.
http://www.adr.org/aaa/ShowPDF?doc=ADRSTG_025639

5. Polish team wins ICC mediation competition
15 February 2013
A team from Jagiellonian University in Kraków, one of the oldest universities in the world, took home the first prize in the ICC international commercial mediation competition in Paris this week.
http://www.globalarbitrationreview.com/news/article/31344/polish-team-wins-icc-mediation-competition/