On September 10, 2023, the 11th China Arbitration Week Wuhan Special Event and Forum on "Latest Development of Commercial Arbitration in the Context of the Revision of Arbitration Law " was successfully held in WuHan. Co-organized by China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Hubei Sub-Commission (”CIETAC Hubei Sub-Commission”) and Wuhan Arbitration Commission (“WAC”), the Forum aimed to build a platform for industry communication, and to discuss the hot issues of arbitration and the road to development in the new era. Nearly 200 people from judicial departments and arbitration institutions, arbitrators, enterprises, corporate counsels, lawyers, university teachers and students attended the Forum on site, and more than 330,000 people watched the Forum online.

(Venue of the Forum）

Gu Yan, Vice President of CIETAC Arbitration Court, Luo Ping, Executive Deputy Director of WAC, and Mu Shuqin, Director of Justice Bureau of Wuhan, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. Li Denghua, Deputy Director of WAC, moderated the opening ceremony.

(Vice President Gu Yan addressing the opening ceremony）

In his opening speech, Vice President Gu Yan pointed out that with the optimization of China's overall business environment, the legislative and judicial support for arbitration, and the steady progress of the reform of arbitration institutions, the attractiveness, credibility and competitiveness of Chinese arbitration has continued to increase. The revision of the Chinese Arbitration Law is also on the legislative agenda. Against this background, adhering to the principle of integrity and innovation will help realize the high-quality development of arbitration in China. On one hand, it is necessary to understand the current characteristics and development trend of arbitration in China based on national conditions. On the other hand, it is necessary to respond positively to the new requirements for arbitration services in the new era, continue to follow the development trend of international arbitration, and endeavor to meet the new needs of the development of arbitration practice. As the first foreign-related arbitration institution established in China and one of the top five most popular international arbitration institutions in the world, CIETAC, based on the national conditions and in line with the global trend, continued to innovate and improved its rules and practices, especially the latest 10th edition of arbitration rules, which is a major initiative of adhering to the principles of integrity and innovation, and hopes to make contribution to the high-quality development of Chinese arbitration together with the arbitration community.

(Deputy Director Luo Ping addressing the opening ceremony）

Deputy Director Luo Ping noted that arbitration is an important part of public legal services and plays a significant role in improving the market-oriented, rule-of-law and internationalized business environment. The prosperous development of arbitration legal services can promote the effective enhancement of regional competitiveness. WAC will continue to adhere to the concept of high-quality development, adhere to "going out, bringing in, and deepening cooperation", and improve the level of arbitration and international competitiveness.

(Director Mu Shuqin addressing the opening ceremony）

Director Mu Shuqin said that high-quality economic development cannot be separated from guarantee of the rule-of-law environment. A sound arbitration system is an essential element of modern public legal services. Justice Bureau of Wuhan will, as always, attach importance to and support the development of the arbitration business, and promote to create an internationalized, market-oriented, rule-of-law business environment in the central region of China.

(Deputy Director Li Denghua moderating the opening ceremony and keynote speech session.）

The keynote speech session was moderated by Li Denghua, Deputy Director of WAC. With the theme of "Construction and Arbitration Options of Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution Mechanisms", Prof. Wu Handong, Director of WAC and Honorary President of China Intellectual Property Law Society, analyzed the important role of intellectual property dispute resolution in the construction of a strong nation from a strategic perspective. He proposed to promote the internationalization of China's intellectual property arbitration through the synergistic cooperation of multiple mechanisms, and argued the feasibility and superiority of settling intellectual property disputes by arbitration from the perspectives of legal basis and practice orientation.

(Professor Wu Handong delivering the keynote speech）

Zhou Jianian, Vice President of the High People’s Court of Hubei Province, briefed on the basic situation of judicial review of commercial arbitration in the Hubei in 2022, under the topic of "Judicial Practice of Hubei People’s Courts in Supporting and Supervising Commercial Arbitration". He stated that the High People’s Court of Hubei Province always upholds the position of supporting the development of arbitration, performs the function of judicial supervision according to law, and will continue to improve the judicial review system of arbitration to safeguard and promote the development of arbitration in Hubei.

(Vice President Zhou Jianian delivering the keynote speech）

With the theme of "High-quality Development of Arbitration in China", Prof. Shen Sibao, President of the China International Economic and Trade Law Research Association, indicated the current situation and mission of the development of arbitration in China. He pointed out that the high-quality development of China’s arbitration in the future needs to understand the situation, hold the degree, and recognize the characteristics and development laws of the trend of the times.

(Professor Shen Sibao delivering the keynote speech）

Teresa Cheung, Former Secretary for Department of Justice of Hong Kong SAR and International Arbitrator, delivered a speech on the topic of "the Legal Framework for China to Become an International Arbitration Center", and proposed that to build an international arbitration center, the value orientation should be based on national conditions and international perspective. She suggested taking the revision of Arbitration Law as an opportunity to improve the arbitration legal system, adhere to the dual system of domestic arbitration and foreign-related arbitration, and take the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration formulated by UNCITRAL as the legal framework for foreign-related arbitration, which will play an important role in promoting China as an international arbitration center.

(Teresa Cheung delivering the keynote speech）

The panel discussion in the afternoon first discussed the topic of "the Practice of Third-Party Funding in China", chaired by Chen Mai, President of WAC. Fei Ning, Founding Partner of Hui Zhong Law Firm, introduced the origin and development prospect of the third-party funding (TPF) system. The panelists, Wang Yongqiang, Executive Dean of the School of Lawyer and Notary of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Liu Tao, General Manager of Dingsong Legal Capital Co. Ltd., Ma Zhihua, Partner of Dahui Lawyers, and Zhang Beibei, Assistant Researcher of Shandong University Law School, discussed and shared their views on the TPF regarding Chinese arbitration practice, market power boundary, enterprise risk control, etc.

(Panel discussion I: the Practice of Third-Party Funding in China）

Panel discussion II, "the Disclosure Obligation of Arbitrator", was chaired by Yang Fan, Secretary General of CIETAC Hubei Sub-Commission. Zhang Zhi, Founder of Dingsong Commercial Dispute Resolution Support Platform, as a keynote speaker, introduced the expansion of disclosure obligations in the context of TPF. Panelists, Li Qian, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Wuhan Urban Construction Group, Zheng Jie, Director of the Legal Department of WISDRI Engineering & Research Incorporation Limited, Zhang Fakun, Professor of Jianghan University Law School, and Hu Xian, Lawyer at Tahota (Shanghai) Law Firm, shared their observations and thoughts on the practical dilemma, standard analysis, and policy guidance of the disclosure obligation.

(Panel discussion II: the Disclosure Obligation of Arbitrator）

Panel discussion III, "Digital Economy and Online Dispute Resolution" was also chaired by Yang Fan, Secretary-General of CIETAC Hubei Sub-Commission. Liao Li, Associate Professor of Wuhan University Law School, as the keynote speaker, introduced the characteristics, development and importance of the digital economy and its demand for online dispute resolution, as well as the problems of the latter and the construction of governance framework. The panelists, Ai Li, Second-level Inspector of the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province, An Na, General Manager of the Legal Department of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., Shi Zhijun, General Counsel of China First Metallurgical Group Co., Ltd., and Qiao Xiongbing, Professor of Wuhan University Law School, exchanged views on the international economic and trade rules and domestic legal framework of the digital economy, the application of digitalization in corporate management, the problems encountered by online dispute resolution, and the digitalization and intelligence of arbitration.

(Panel discussion III: Digital Economy and Online Dispute Resolution）

The Forum achieved great success with a lively atmosphere. The success of the Forum will help strengthen the communication among the arbitration community to encourage the innovation and development. It is of great significance to promote the arbitration legal system, facilitating the development of arbitration and building a talent team for arbitration services.