Editor's Note: The Third Seminar of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court and Reappointment Ceremony of the First Group of Expert Members was held successfully on Augest 25, 2022. Over 40 experts from more than 20 countries and regions focused on the theme of the Development, Challenges and Countermeasures of Cross-Border Commercial Disputes during the seminar. Extensive and in-depth discussions were held within the framework of four specific issues. The texts of speeches delivered by the participants would be posted on the CICC's website. 

THE "ONE-STOP" DIVERSIFIED DISPUTES RESOLUTION MECHANISM OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL FACILITATING THE INTERNATIONALIZATION AND RULE OF LAW OF DOING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN THE GUANGDONG-HONG KONG-MACAU GREATER BAY AREA

Liu Xiaochun

President of Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA)

Respected President Zhou Qiang, international commercial experts, leaders, friends,

Good morning/afternoon/evening! It's my great pleasure to be invited to this seminar.  General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, "The rule of law enables the best business environment". The "One-Stop" Diversified International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism of the Supreme People's Court (hereafter referred to as "'One-Stop' Mechanism") presents to the world a first-class business environment under the rule of law in China. As one of the first group of international arbitration institutions of the "One-Stop" Mechanism, South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (hereafter referred to as the "SCIA") has been deeply engaged in and fully committed to the development of the mechanism since its preparation of establishment.. In the past four years, we are pleased to see the "One-Stop" Mechanism has been developed, improved and has made great achievements, mainly in the following three aspects:

I. Using cases to deliver multiple values from institutional innovation to practical application

Early in October 2016 when the heads of the Supreme People's Court came to Shenzhen for an on-site survey, they affirmed and encouraged the globalization construction work of the SCIA and required the SCIA to cooperate with the Supreme People's Court in the research and exploration on building the "One-Stop" Mechanism with Chinese characteristics. In 2018, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinion Concerning the Establishment of the Belt and Road International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism and Institutions. Later, the Supreme People's Court issued the Provisions on Several Issues Regarding the Establishment of International Commercial Court, the Notice of the Supreme People's Court on Inclusion of the First Group of International Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Institutions in the "One-stop" Diversified International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism, the Working Rules of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court, the Procedure Rules for the China International Commercial Court of the Supreme People's Court (For Trial Implementation) and a series of other institutional rules and documents to form a complete systematic framework for the operation of the "One-Stop" Mechanism. The CPC Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee has also required the SCIA to earnestly implement the Opinion Concerning the Establishment of the Belt and Road International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism and Institutions and to actively cooperate with the Supreme People's Court in facilitating the construction of the "One-Stop" Mechanism.

From institutional innovation to practical application, the "One-Stop" Mechanism has made an important step in the Shenzhen Pilot Demonstration Area of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Since 9th April 2019, the First International Commercial Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court has heard three cases in Shenzhen that applied for confirmation of the validity of arbitration agreements. All these three cases are accepted by the SCIA related to the international commercial disputes. These three cases are also the first three cases accepted in accordance with the relevant rules since the founding of the China International Commercial Court (hereafter referred to as CICC) and the establishment of the "One-Stop" Mechanism of the Supreme People's Court.

On 18th September 2019, the First International Commercial Court of the Supreme People's Court issued three rulings, including (2019) Zui Gao Fa Min Te 1, (2019) Zui Gao Fa Min Te 2, and (2019) Zui Gao Fa Min Te 3, confirming the validity of arbitration agreements that the Chinese and foreign parties chose to be governed by the SCIA. The above three rulings are of great significance for the following aspects: firstly, they've identified different understandings of the independence of arbitration clauses in practice, clarifying the doctrine of separability of arbitration agreements; secondly, they've provided a new solution through cases in the situation where China's legislation on "whether an arbitration agreement exists" is not yet clear; thirdly, they've stabilized the predictability of Chinese and foreign parties towards international arbitration, and have attracted wide attention as well as deep recognition from domestic and foreign legal circles.

From institutional innovation to practical application, the above first three cases illustrate the great significance of the "One-Stop" Mechanism. The innovative mechanism that the CICC directly reviews the validity of arbitration agreements in major international commercial cases accepted by representative international arbitration institutions plays an important role in  reducing the potential delays that may be caused by gradual reporting, improving the efficiency of international commercial dispute resolution, reducing the time cost and fee burden of relevant parties to resolve disputes, increasing the transparency and predictability of judicial review, satisfying the needs of the industrial and commercial and legal circles, reflecting the strong support to international arbitration from the Supreme People's Court and CICC, and presenting important political, social, economic and legal values to the public.

II. Shifting to online services to continuously improve the convenience of the "One-Stop" Mechanism

As an active participant and supporter of the "One-Stop" Mechanism, the SCIA innovatively sets up the Supreme People's Court "One-Stop" Diversified International Commercial Dispute Resolution Area in the case filing hall on the 35th floor of the SCIA Tower, our new headquarter building in Qianhai, Shenzhen. This measure has been well recognized by parties from home and abroad through introducing how does the "One-Stop" Mechanism work and providing more convenient and efficient dispute resolution services to them. 

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Internet technology has been growingly incorporated into dispute resolution. In 2021, 7,888 cases of SCIA were registered online, and nearly 1,000 cases of SCIA were heard online. Besides, online service exceeded 40,000 times. Regarding to online dispute resolution, the "One-Stop" Mechanism has given timely and strong support to us. On 21st July 2021, the Supreme People's Court "One-Stop" Diversified International Commercial Dispute Resolution Platform was launched on the website of CICC, and I was invited to the launching ceremony.

Based on our experience nearly a year, we believe that the platform has shown the latest technological achievements in building "Smart Courts". It has succeeded in supporting high-speed data sharing, linking relevant institutional websites, and providing online dispute resolution service, including case filing, mediation, evidence exchange, hearing, etc. This platform, which has integrated online international commercial litigation, mediation and arbitration procedures and data, will further promote the implementation of the "One-Stop" Mechanism.

III. Shifting propaganda from domestic to abroad for the republic to gain deeper understanding of "One-Stop" Mechanism

Since the launch of the "One-Stop" Mechanism, the SCIA has taken a series of measures to introduce it to business and legal circles at home and abroad under the guidance of the Supreme People's Court.

On 27th June 2018, the SCIA hosted the China-US Economic & Trade Arbitration Dialogue in New York, presenting the latest progress made by CICC to foreign colleagues in theoretical and practical area of international arbitration. On 26th August, the SCIA assisted the Supreme People's Court in holding the first seminar of the International Commercial Expert Committee in Beijing. On 5th December, the Supreme People's Court convened the Symposium on Diversified Resolution Mechanism for International Commercial Disputes, at which several of SCIA's representatives delivered presentations. On 19th December, the SCIA held the first chairman meeting of the third session of the Guangdong, Hong Kong & Macao Arbitration & Mediation Alliance, where the head of the First International Commercial Court of the Supreme People's Court made a speech on "One-Stop" Mechanism. On 23rd December, the SCIA invited the leaders of the Supreme People's Court and head of the 4th Civil Adjudication Tribunal to introduce the spirit and rules of the "One-Stop" Mechanism to SCIA's arbitrators.

On 5th and 13th January 2019, the SCIA respectively held training seminars for mainland arbitrators in Beijing and in Hangzhou. We have again invited the leaders of the Supreme People's Court and the head of the 4th Civil Adjudication Tribunal. On 21st February, according to the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and with the support of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee and Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, the SCIA issued the Ten Measures for Strengthening Core Engine Functions to Promote the Construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. One of these measures has been stipulated as an important measure in implementing the "One-Stop" Mechanism. On 4th April, the SCIA Arbitrator Training Seminar was held in Hong Kong. Foreign arbitrators from more than 20 countries and territories had an overview of the "One-Stop" Mechanism. On 7th May, the SCIA held the Guangdong & Macao Advance International Arbitration Cooperation Seminar in Macao, helping legal and business circles gain deeper understanding of the "One-Stop" Mechanism. At the Sino-French Symposium on International Commercial Trial held on 22nd May, the SCIA introduced the first three disputes settled based on the "One-Stop" Mechanism from the perspective of arbitral institutions. On 14th June, 27 judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and corporate legal personnel from 12 African countries including Egypt, South Africa, Mauritius and Tanzania visited the SCIA and acquired the latest development of the "One-Stop" Mechanism. From 17th to 20th June, a delegation led by Peter Malanczuk, Director of the SCIA and member of the Supreme People's Court International Commercial Expert Committee, visited Spain and introduced the "One-Stop" Mechanism at the Latin American Arbitration Day Seminar and other activities. On 5th August, the SCIA and Singapore International Arbitration Centre co-hosted the Seminar themed on Efficient Dispute Resolution for Greater Bay Area Enterprises Investing in ASEAN Countries in Singapore, where the "One-Stop" Mechanism was recommended as a key measure. On 9th August, the SCIA paid a return visit to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka, during which the "One-Stop" Mechanism was introduced. On 21st October, the "One-Stop" Mechanism was discussed at the "Spanish Arbitration Day" Round Table Seminar co-convened by the SCIA and Spanish Arbitration Association in Shenzhen. On 20th October, the SCIA recommended the "One-Stop" Mechanism to a delegation of arbitration and judicial experts from German during their visit to the SCIA. On 9th November, with the support of the Supreme People's Court, the SCIA held the 9th South China In-house Counsel Forum themed on "Chinese Enterprises and International Commercial Dispute Resolutions". The leaders of the Supreme People's Court delivered speeches at the forum. Besides, heads of the 4th Civil Adjudication Tribunal and Research Office, as well as CICC judges introduced the international commercial trials of the Supreme People's Court, CICC, "One-Stop" Mechanism and relevant cases for more than 500 business and legal experts from home and abroad with the theme of "Exploration and Innovation of the Supreme People's Court's 'One-Stop' Diversified International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism". On 8th December, Singapore's Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Law paid a visit to Shenzhen, and the "One-Stop" Mechanism was a topic of the conversation.

On 28th September2020, the SCIA held the 10th South China In-house Counsel Forum themed on "Dispute Resolution for Chinese Enterprises: New Situation, New Challenges, and New Measures". The leaders of the Supreme People's Court and heads of the 4th Civil Adjudication Tribunal and Research Office delivered presentations on the "One-Stop" Mechanism. On 1st December, the Understanding and Application of SCIA Arbitration Rules were published by Peking University Press, explaining the mechanism that connects international arbitration disputes with CICC in detail. 

On 7th December 2021, the SCIA held the 11th South China In-house Counsel Forum in Shenzhen and Hong Kong SAR with the theme of "Cross-border Dispute Resolution for Chinese Enterprises and International Arbitration in the Greater Bay Area". The leaders of the Supreme People's Court and the heads of the 4th Civil Adjudication Tribunal analyzed rules and cases regarding to the "One-Stop" Mechanism.

Over the past few years, under the leadership of the Supreme People's Court and with the joint effort with fellow international arbitration institutions, the "One-Stop" Mechanism has been successfully known to the legal circle at home and abroad, especially in the Greater Bay Area. In the report of the 17th Plenary Session of the 6th CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee released in December 2020, the First International Commercial Court and SCIA are hailed as two "pillars" underpinning the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Legal-Services District so that Shenzhen can make greater contribution to promoting the influence of the "One-Stop" Mechanism, standing from Qianhai, linking with Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR, servicing for Chinese Mainland, and finally to the world. 

In order to fully implement the first list of 40 authorized measures of the Comprehensive Pilot Reform in Shenzhen to Build the City into a Pilot Demonstration Zone for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (2020-2025), the SCIA also acts as Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Arbitration Center in order to deepen the cooperation with Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR. Thanks to the guidance and support of the Supreme People's Court and competent ministries and commissions, the SCIA has made solid progress towards its goals. We believe that under the guidance of the Supreme People's Court and with the effective reform measures, the "One-Stop" Mechanism will play a more important role in deepening reforms, enhancing opening up, stimulating a law-based international business environment, and servicing the development of the Greater Bay Area.

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*The original text is Chinese and has been translated into English for reference only. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.