SPC, MOJ issue arbitration guideline to support development of Greater Bay Area

The Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Justice have jointly issued a guideline on fully leveraging the function of arbitration to serve the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The guideline aims to utilize the arbitration system to foster a world-class, market-oriented business environment governed by a sound legal framework in the GBA.

The guideline specifies that Hong Kong- or Macao-funded enterprises established in the nine mainland cities within the GBA can choose either a mainland city or Hong Kong and Macao as the seat of arbitration to resolve commercial disputes.

The guideline provides detailed implementation plans for the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Commercial Arbitration Center. These plans include accelerating the development of world-class arbitration institutions in the GBA by integrating the construction of pilot international commercial arbitration centers in Guangzhou and Shenzhen with the establishment of Hong Kong and Macao international legal and dispute resolution service centers.

Unified arbitration rules and an online dispute resolution platform will be established in the GBA to enhance the credibility and international competitiveness of China's arbitration system, according to the guideline.

The guideline also specifies requirements for the expansion of service areas of arbitration institutions in the nine mainland cities of the GBA, improving the coordination mechanism between arbitration and litigation, and strengthening judicial support and supervision mechanisms.

Furthermore, the guideline calls for resource sharing among arbitrators and arbitration secretaries in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as for establishing an information-sharing mechanism for the people's courts, judicial administrative departments and arbitration institutions.

It also proposes the establishment of a mechanism for joint training and development of foreign-related arbitration professionals.