Domestic:

1. China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Court of Arbitration Founded
    On October 22, 2013, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Court of Arbitration was founded. Aiming to provide easily accessible consultations, case filing, court hearing and other arbitration-related legal services, the Court was founded by the Shanghai International Arbitration Center (SHIAC) as an important institutional arrangement to provide dispute resolution mechanisms and legal protection for the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. In the end of the 1980s, the 鈥淐hina International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Shanghai Sub-Commission鈥�was founded in an initiative of the Shanghai government to establish an arbitration institution to handle foreign-related cases which would fit with Shanghai鈥檚 status of opening and development. In April of this year, the Shanghai municipal government approved the change of the Sub-Commission鈥檚 name to 鈥淪hanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission鈥� along with the adoption of the name 鈥淪hanghai International Arbitration Center鈥� All these marked Shanghai鈥檚 development on the way to an international commercial arbitration center and its effort to develop diverse dispute resolution mechanisms coordinated with the 鈥淔our Centers鈥�
http://www.cnarb.com/news/arbnews/201310/78329.html

2. The 5th Greater China Arbitration Forum Conference held in Beijing
    On October 14-16, 2013, the 5th Greater China Arbitration Forum Conference, co-organized by the Greater China Arbitration Forum and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, was held in Beijing.
http://www.china-arbitration.com/news.php?id=2980

3. The 2013 Annual Meeting of the China Academy of Arbitration Law and the 6th 鈥淐hina Arbitration and Justice Forum鈥�was held in Wuhan. The event sparkled lively discussions on its four topics including 鈥淏asic Theories of Arbitration鈥� 鈥淛udicial Supervision of Arbitration鈥� 鈥淗ot Issues and New Development in Arbitration Practice鈥�and 鈥淎rbitration and Mediation鈥�
http://cn.cietac.org/NewsFiles/NewsDetail.asp?NewsID=1248

4. The 13th Cross-Strait Economic and Trade Arbitration Seminar was successfully held in Chengdu, The seminar discussed key topics such as the mechanisms for investment dispute and commercial dispute resolution under the Cross-Strait Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement.    On October 14-16, 2013, the 5th Greater China Arbitration Forum Conference, co-organized by the Greater China Arbitration Forum and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, was held in Beijing.
http://www.china-arbitration.com/news.php?id=2954

5. On August 29, 2013, the Nanping Arbitration Commission was officially opened, making Nanping the fourth city in Fujian province, after Xiamen, Fuzhou and Quanzhou, to establish an arbitration commission.
http://www.gzac.org/info_view.asp?VID=3612

6. The 2013 Northwest and South China Regional Arbitration Workshop was held in Shenzhen.
http://www.ccarb.org/news_detail.php?VID=22335

International:

1.Costs in Arbitration receives a positive response
04 October 2013
http://www.ciarb.org/news/arbitration-news/costs-in-arbitration-receives-a-positive-response.php
CIArb in Conjunction with Weightmans LLP ran a Cost in Arbitration workshop on the 2 October 2013.Attendees came from various legal and Arbitration backgrounds and included current CIArb Trustee Wendy Miles. Topics covered were the Jackson reforms and the impact on litigation, arbitration and other forms of ADR. This led to some interesting discussions and exchanging of ideas. There was greater clarity gained regarding the reforms.Feedback received was extremely positive:A benefit was learning about the Jackson Reforms''Costs education was very useful''Condensed information on the Jackson reforms was a benefit'The workshop will be run again in early 2014

2.American Arbitration Association Online Clause-Building Tool Adds Construction Clause Capability
20 August 2013
http://www.adr.org/aaa/ShowPDF?doc=ADRSTAGE2014210
The American Arbitration Association庐 (AAA庐) now has extended the usability of its ClauseBuilder庐 tool to include the capability to create custom construction clauses in contracts, as well as the commercial ones it currently offers. The AAA launched ClauseBuilder on December 4, 2012 as an online arbitration and mediation tool that assists individuals and organizations in drafting clear and effective arbitration and mediation agreements. ClauseBuilder, which can be found at www.ClauseBuilder.org, is the first tool of its kind to be offered by an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services provider.

3.The SAA announces scholarship for ICAL program in Stockholm
23 September 2013
http://www.sccinstitute.com/?id=&newsid=46295
Students from non-EU countries will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of the new scholarship from the Swedish Arbitration Association (SAA ), which will allow a non-EU national to study in the LL.M program in International Commercial Arbitration Law at Stockholm University (ICAL program).

4.Belgium has a new law on arbitration
01 September 2013
http://www.cepani.be/en/
The law was prepared in a working group of CEPANI, and benefited from the active political support of the Minister of Justice, Ms. Annemie Turtelboom. Thanks to her careful preparation, the bill was unanimously approved by the Chamber of Representatives in less than two months. Subsequently, the Senate did not exercise its power to amend the bill. The objective of the new law is certainly ambitious. The point is not only to facilitate arbitration, but also to attract a number of international arbitrations to Belgium, and particularly to Brussels given the city鈥檚 central position as the capital of Europe.

5.International legal minds put skills through paces at ICC advanced-level arbitration training
04 October 2013
http://www.iccwbo.org/News/Articles/2013/International-legal-minds-put-skills-through-paces-at-ICC-advanced-level-arbitration-training/
The four-day international commercial arbitration training - known as PIDA - was held at the ICC Hearing centre and set out to reinforce participant's understanding and first-hand experience of the ICC Arbitration procedure under the 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration.