The Main Features of International Commercial Dispute Resolution Development

A workshop on the settlement of international commercial disputes was held on May 4, 2018 in Beijing, aimed to let Chinese enterprises engaged in global market know more about the mechanism of international commercial dispute resolution and rules of giving evidences, which will be of great help to safeguard their overseas interests.

Nearly 100 experts and scholars from both China and abroad had rounds of heated discussion on top concerns in international arbitration, rules of evidence used in international commercial arbitration, and WTO dispute settlement mechanism. Professor George Bermann, director of Columbia Law School Center for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration, gave his analyses on some points of international arbitration, Wang Xuehua, lawyer and director of Beijing Huanzhong & Partners, shared his views about cross-examination in international commercial arbitration, while Li Fayin, lawyer and partner of JunZeJun Law Offices, introduced the WTO mechanism for dispute settlement.

There was a full supply of ideas and arguments in the workshop. They all believed that a full understanding of the mechanism for commercial dispute resolution and rules of presenting evidences should be the only way out for Chinese firms to safeguard their rights and interests in the global markets, which was also good for the market expansion around the world.

A great progress has been made in international commercial arbitration since the beginning of this century in the following aspects. First, as the international contacts multiply, the scope of international commercial disputes submitted for arbitration has been made to a broader sense. Second, local arbitration institutions have sprung up worldwide, and in particular there have been a growing number of them dedicated to transnational arbitration. Third, a good number of countries have formulated their own arbitration laws to standardize international commercial arbitration, requiring its compliance with legal provisions in international commercial arbitration. The laws are even in support of the local courts by endowing the latter with a power of supervision, which helps enhance the legal effectiveness of arbitration. All these show that the legality of international commercial arbitration has been reinforced.

States parties to international commercial treaties also make the latter a part of domestic laws through incorporation or transformation, which helps make the rules of the treaties applicable in domestic tribunal. These conventions have certain binding force on states parties, and the courts of states parties shall give priority to these provisions in settling relevant commercial disputes.