Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China (Excerpts)

Promulgated by Order No. 31 of the President of the People’s Republic of China on August 31, 1994, adopted at the Ninth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress on August 31, 1994 into force on September 1, 1995; Modified by the decision of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress promulgated on and effective from August 27, 2009.

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is formulated in order to ensure the impartial and prompt arbitration of economic disputes, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties and to safeguard the sound development of the socialist market economy.
Article 2 Contractual disputes and other disputes over rights and interests in property between citizens, legal persons and other organizations that are equal subjects may be arbitrated.
Article 3 The following disputes may not be arbitrated:
(1) marital, adoption, guardianship, support and succession disputes;
(2) administrative disputes that shall be handled by administrative organs as prescribed by law.
Article 4 The parties’ submission to arbitration to resolve their dispute shall be on the basis of both parties’ free will and an arbitration agreement reached between them. If a party applies for arbitration in the absence of an arbitration agreement, the arbitration commission shall not accept the case.
Article 5 If the parties have concluded an arbitration agreement and one party institutes an action in a people’s court, the people’s court shall not accept the case, unless the arbitration agreement is null and void.
Article 6 The arbitration commission shall be selected by the parties through agreement. In arbitration, there shall be no jurisdiction by level and no territorial jurisdiction.
Article 7 In arbitration, disputes shall be resolved on the basis of facts, in compliance with the law and in an equitable and reasonable manner.
Article 8 Arbitration shall be carried out independently according to law and shall be free from interference of administrative organs, social organizations or individuals.
Article 9 A system of a single and final award shall be applied in arbitration. If a party applies for arbitration to an arbitration commission or institutes an action in a people’s court regarding the same dispute after an arbitration award has been made, the arbitration commission or the people’s court shall not accept the case.
If an arbitration award is set aside or its enforcement is disallowed by the people’s court in accordance with the law, a party may apply for arbitration on the basis of a new arbitration agreement reached between the parties, or institute an action in the people’s court, regarding the same dispute.

Chapter II Arbitration Commissions and the Arbitration Association

Article 10 Arbitration commissions may be established in municipalities directly under the Central Government and in cities that are the seats of the people’s governments of provinces or autonomous regions. They may also be established in other cities divided into districts, according to need. Arbitration commissions shall not be established at each level of the administrative divisions.
People’s governments of the cities referred to in the preceding paragraph shall arrange for the relevant departments and chambers of commerce to organize arbitration commissions in a unified manner.
The establishment of an arbitration commission shall be registered with the administrative department of justice of the relevant province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government.
Article 11 An arbitration commission shall meet the conditions set forth below:
(1) To have its own name, domicile and charter;
(2) To have the necessary property;
(3) To have the personnel that are to form the commission; and
(4) To have appointed arbitrators.
The charter of an arbitration commission shall be formulated in accordance with this Law.
Article 12 An arbitration commission shall be composed of one chairman, two to four vice chairmen and seven to eleven members.
The offices of chairman, vice chairman and members of an arbitration commission shall be held by experts in the field of law, economy and trade and persons with practical working experience. Experts in the field of law, economy and trade shall account for at least two thirds of the people forming an arbitration commission.
Article 13 An arbitration commission shall appoint its arbitrators from among righteous and upright persons.
An arbitrator shall meet one of the conditions set forth below:
(1) To have been engaged in arbitration work for at least eight years;
(2) To have worked as a lawyer for at least eight years;
(3) To have served as a judge for at least eight years;
(4) To have been engaged in legal research or legal education, possessing a senior professional title; or
(5) To have acquired the knowledge of law, engaged in the professional work in the field of economy and trade, etc., possessing a senior professional title or having an equivalent professional level.
An arbitration commission shall have a register of arbitrators in different specializations.
Article 14 Arbitration commissions shall be independent from administrative organs and there shall be no subordinate relationships between arbitration commissions and administrative organs. There shall also be no subordinate relationships between arbitration commissions.
Article 15 The China Arbitration Association is a social organization with the status of a legal person. Arbitration commissions are members of China Arbitration Association. The charter of the China Arbitration Association shall be formulated by its national congress of members.
The China Arbitration Association is a self-disciplined organization of arbitration commissions. It shall, in accordance with its charter, supervise arbitration commissions and their members and arbitrators as to whether or not they breach discipline.
The China Arbitration Association shall formulate rules of arbitration in accordance with this Law and the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law.
Chapter III Arbitration Agreement
Article 16 An arbitration agreement shall include arbitration clauses stipulated in the contract and agreements of submission to arbitration that are concluded in other written forms before or after disputes arise.
An arbitration agreement shall contain the following particulars:
(1) an expression of intention to apply for arbitration;
(2) matters for arbitration; and
(3) a designated arbitration commission.
Article 17 An arbitration agreement shall be null and void under one of the following circumstances:
(1) The agreed matters for arbitration exceed the range of arbitrable matters as specified by law;
(2) One party that concluded the arbitration agreement has no capacity for civil conducts or has limited capacity for civil conducts; or
(3) One party coerced the other party into concluding the arbitration agreement.
Article 18 If an arbitration agreement contains no or unclear provisions concerning the matters for arbitration or the arbitration commission, the parties may reach a supplementary agreement. If no such supplementary agreement can be reached, the arbitration agreement shall be null and void.
Article 19 An arbitration agreement shall exist independently. The amendment, rescission, termination or invalidity of a contract shall not affect the validity of the arbitration agreement.
The arbitral tribunal shall have the power to affirm the validity of a contract.
Article 20 If a party challenges the validity of the arbitration agreement, he may request the arbitration commission to make a decision or apply to the people’s court for a ruling. If one party requests the arbitration commission to make a decision and the other party applies to the people’s court for a ruling, the people’s court shall give a ruling.
A party’s challenge of the validity of the arbitration agreement shall be raised prior to the arbitral tribunal’s first hearing.