The Great Britain-China Centre and the China Arbitration Institute, based at the China University of Political Science and Law, convened a working group on the pilot admission of foreign arbitration institutions into China’s Shanghai Free Trade Zone Lin-gang New Area.
China’s State Council issued regulations guiding the admission of foreign arbitration institutions into the Lin-gang New Area in 2019 through the “Framework Plan for the New Lingang Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone”. Through this new regulatory framework, Chinese authorities aim to encourage the establishment of reputed overseas arbitration and dispute resolution institutions in the FTZ. The international arbitration community understood this development as indicative of a gradual increase in market access, but challenges have stymied uptake by international institutions.
GBCC served as secretariat and together with the China Arbitration Institute selected leading Chinese academics and legal practitioners as working group participants, chosen from a range of private law firms and academic institutions including the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and Fudan University.
The working group formally met three times between December 2020 and March 2021. Members were tasked with developing policy and regulatory recommendations for Chinese authorities, to support greater access to China’s legal services sector and diversify dispute resolution options through the success of the pilot admission scheme.
GBCC commissioned research by two leading international experts, Susan Finder of Peking University School of Translational Law, and Professor Yarik Kryvoi of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, to contribute towards the working group’s deliberations. Susan Finder’s research included a survey of alternative dispute resolution institutions and their views and suggestions in relation to the pilot. Professor Yarik Kryvoi’s research evaluated best practice frameworks for establishment of arbitration institutions, identifying mainland China as one of the few significant jurisdictions to formally regulate the practice.
The working group’s final recommendations report was submitted to Chinese legal-judicial authorities. Several working group members are contributing towards the development of the next generation regulatory framework for foreign arbitration institutions in an advisory capacity, meaning that lessons learned from Shanghai can be disseminated to other pilot areas.
This project was funded through the UK-China Business Environment Programme, a UK Government prosperity programming initiative.