On November 25, 2017, sponsored by the National High-end Think Tank Wuhan University Institute of International Law, China University of Political Science and Law Arbitration Institute, Wuhan Arbitration Commission (Wuhan International Arbitration Center), Shanghai Bangxinyang Zhongjian Zhonghui Law Firm, the "Second East Lake International Law Forum uner the background of B&R " co-organized by the (China) Arbitration Institute was held at Wuhan East Lake Hotel. More than 200 experts and scholars from the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Hubei Provincial Department of Commerce, major universities, famous law firms and business circles attended the meeting.
On behalf of Wuhan University, Han Jin, secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan University, gave a welcome speech at the opening ceremony. Experts and scholars from all walks of life are welcomed to participate in this forum. Secretary Han Jin hopes that this forum will become a high-quality platform for experts and scholars to conduct in-depth discussions and exchanges on the hot issues in the international dispute settlement mechanism for the B&R.
In the opening speech, Huang Jin, president of the China University of Political Science and Law, shared two points on the study of the international dispute settlement mechanism for the B&R. First, we should make sure the international dispute settlement mechanism is built on the idea of "building a community with a shared future for human kind" which means to think from the perspective of the common interests of human. He also emphasizes we should resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiate differences through consultation.
Second, commercial arbitration, as one of the public legal services, is also an important part for China to build its legal science. It needs to be updated by absorbing new developments. In the B&R commercial arbitration should adhere to the connotative development path, improve the quality of arbitration cases, enhance the credibility of arbitration, and solve the problem of broken, scattered and chaotic commercial arbitration in China. The goal is to make China a preferred place for arbitration, improve the quality, reputation and arbitration credibility of Chinese arbitration institutions, and let the “B&R” disputes return to China. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the construction of arbitration disciplines, strengthen the study of the basic theory of arbitration, and use theory to support the development of arbitration in China.
National High-end Think Tank Wuhan University Institute of International Law is committed to building the “East Lake International Law Forum” into a long-term platform and legal think tank for exchange and cooperation in the legal profession. After the opening ceremony, experts from the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the School of Law of the University of International Business and Economics delivered keynote speeches.
Keynote Report of the “Belt and Road” International Dispute Settlement Mechanism
After the opening ceremony, Huang Jin, the president of China University of Political Science and Law and the national high-end think tank, the director of the Academic Committee of the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University, presided over the keynote speech. Gao Xiaoli, vice president of the Fourth People's Court, and Sun Jin, Counsellor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the CCPIT Legal Affairs Wei Qing, Director of the Department, and Shi Jingxia, Dean of the School of Law of the University of International Business and Economics, delivered a keynote speech.
Judge Gao Xiaoli, the vice president of the Fourth People's Court, delivered a keynote speech entitled "International Development of the International Commercial Court and China's Vision". The High Judge pointed out that China, as a major investment and trade country, has many core interests in the "B&R" international dispute settlement mechanism. From the perspective of the judiciary, the Supreme Court can play a litigation function to resolve international commercial disputes between equal subjects, and at the same time escort the “Belt and Road” by supporting other diversified dispute resolution methods, including support for international commercial mediation and international commercial arbitration. Finally, the judge shared the advantages and legal obstacles to the construction of the China International Commercial Court.
Counselor Sun Jin said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will strengthen consultation and co-ordination with relevant departments, promote the concept of "B&R" at the international level, deepen legal exchanges and cooperation with relevant countries, strengthen legal training, improve the level and capacity of treaty protection, and increase the construction of treaty databases. I also hope to work with the theoretical and practical circles to increase research on the major theoretical and institutional issues of the "Belt and Road" legal construction.
Wei Qing, Director of the Legal Affairs Department of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, delivered a keynote speech entitled "Do not forget the original intention, keep in mind the goal - build an international dispute prevention and resolution organization." Director Wei Qing pointed out that the fundamental purpose of international dispute prevention and resolution lies in cooperation and mutual benefit. To achieve this fundamental goal, CCPIT is leading the development of international non-governmental international organizations for conflict prevention and resolution, with a view to better promoting trade and investment promotion and economic cooperation on a global scale, and helping the “Belt and Road’’ initiative to achieve stability.
Shi Jingxia, Dean of the School of Law of the University of International Business and Economics, delivered a keynote speech on the International Experience and Lessons from the Construction of the “Belt and Road’’ Dispute Settlement Mechanism. Professor Shi Jingxia pointed out that with the development of the “Belt and Road” Initiative, how to effectively make use of arbitration and mediation to resolve civil and commercial disputes has become an important issue. In the implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative, China should enhance research on the important achievements of UNCITRAL, and promote the improvement of arbitration rules in China's arbitration legislation and international commercial arbitration institutions. At the same time, it 手should also actively promotes the participation of “B&R” countries, with the existing platform created by UNCITRAL to realize the coordination of different civil and commercial dispute resolution rules.
Unit 1: “Belt and Road” and Judicial Service and Protection
At 11 o'clock on the morning of November 25, 2017, the first unit was held as scheduled in the Yellow Crane Hall of the East Lake International Conference Center. The host of the conference - Shanghai Xu Guojian, managing partner of Bangxin Yang Zhongjian Zhonghui Law Firm, presided over the report as the moderator.
Liu Jianqin, dean of the “Belt and Road” (China) Arbitration Institute, executive deputy director of the Wuhan Arbitration Commission, and party secretary of the Arbitration Office, made a speech on “The Belt and Road” and the new development of Wuhan arbitration. The main purpose of her speech is to build a big structure, pursue a high level, and adapt to a new era. Director Liu believes that where the market is, where is arbitration, which is to serve the market economy. At the same time, where there is demand, there is arbitration, just as the Wuhan Arbitration Commission has done for many years. Finally, she pointed out the concept of arbitration should keep in pace with the reality. We need the joint efforts from all sectors of society.
Xiao Yongping, director of the Institute of International Law at Wuhan University, a national high-end think tank, gave a report titled “The Path and Strategy of Establishing the “B&R” International Dispute Prevention and Resolution Center”. Director Xiao Yongping noted that as President Xi has said at the "Belt and Road" summit forum, the unexpected development of "B&R" just proves the academic research on "Belt and Road" must be forward-looking and developmental. He also said that nearly one-fourth of the countries in the “Belt and Road” are not members of the WTO, which has led to great limitations in the application of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. It also confirms the necessity of the introduction of a special dispute resolution mechanism. At the same time, the nature of the “Belt and Road” itself has set a higher standard for the establishment of such a dispute settlement mechanism. We should both focus on establishing a prevention system of disputes and making good use of convergence mechanism such as mediation. The envisaged institution views mediation as the main means to enhance political mutual trust between countries and strengthen the connection and cooperation of the “Belt and Road” countries.
Wang Wei, Vice President of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, delivered a speech entitled “Initiative Practice of “B&R” and New Mission of Foreign-related Rule of Law Construction”. President Wang believes that the national legal system should include domestic laws and international legal norms that the state needs to abide by, which aspect must be considered in the modernization of national laws. In the process of advancing the new pattern of opening up to the outside world, the state pays more attention to and plans the innovation of institutional mechanisms for the training of foreign-related rule of law personnel, and enhances China's ability to participate fully and lead global governance. China should pay more attention to the study of the application and interpretation of international legal rules and pay more attention to its role and responsibility in the international legal system. China needs to consciously cultivate legal workers so that they can participate in the formulation of international law as legislators. Of course, this also puts higher demands on the cultivation of foreign legal talents.
At the final stage of the interactive dialogue, Professor Liu Yajun, Dean of the School of International Law of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, Zou Mingchun, Partner of Beijing Zhonglun Law Firm, Liu Li, Director of the Institute of Private International Law, China University of Political Science and Law, and Professor Liu Wei of the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University As an interactive guest, they each gave a wonderful review on this topic.
Unit 2: “Belt and Road” and International Arbitration
In the afternoon of November 25th, the forum discussion entered the second unit - "Belt and Road" and international arbitration. The unit is chaired by Chen Mai, deputy director of the International Arbitration Court of Wuhan Arbitration Commission, Zhao Jian, vice president of the Arbitration Institute of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, Cao Lixia, legal director of Sanyi Group, Guo Keqiang, director of China Brand Legal Affairs of P&G, and Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( HKIAC) Deputy Secretary-General and Chief Representative of Shanghai Representative Office Yang Ling gave a speech.
Zhao Jian, deputy dean of the Arbitration Institute of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, made a speech entitled “The Belt and Road Initiative” and the construction of China’s International Arbitration Center. He used a refined language to demonstrate the vision of the “B&R” international arbitration center. First, the necessity of building an international arbitration center. Then he analyzed the favorable conditions for China to build an international arbitration center. Finally, he shared several specific measures in the construction of China's international arbitration center.
Cao Lixia, the legal director of Sanyii Group, made a speech entitled " Sanyii Group's "B&R" Legal Practice Sharing". She first introduced the results of the Sanyii Group and its “Belt and Road” work. Then it clarified the main legal service needs in the process of going out of the “B&R” of Sanyi Group. She mentioned that the Sanyi Group hopes to have a more efficient arbitration system and system, and also hopes that the extraterritorial implementation of the arbitration results of the arbitration institutions can be promoted.
Guo Keqiang, director of P&G's China Brand Legal Affairs, spoke on the topic “‘Belt and Road” and cross-border e-commerce”. He explained the rise of cross-border e-commerce and the beginning and end of cross-border e-commerce pilots. Among them, it highlights the history and changes of rules of cross-border e-commerce B to C, and also discusses the conflict between cross-border e-commerce B to C and management system. He proposed to include consumer complaints in arbitration, and he believes that consumer associations may not be well suited to the role of a referee because of the nature of their service to consumers.
Yang Ling, Under-Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and Chief Representative of the Shanghai Representative Office, made a speech entitled "Hong Kong Arbitration under the "B&R" Initiative: Opportunities and Challenges". She first introduced Hong Kong's advantages in arbitration and then pointed out the challenges facing Hong Kong arbitration. One of the important challenges is that temporary measures in Hong Kong arbitration cannot be implemented in the Mainland courts. She proposed to consider revising existing rules or formulating new arrangements for the two places to enable interim measures by arbitration institutions in Hong Kong or Hong Kong to be implemented in the Mainland.
Finally, the participating guests expressed their views on “B&R” and international arbitration. Gao Fei, a senior consultant of Shanghai Zhongxin Yang Zhongjian Zhonghui Law Firm, believes that the establishment of a China-centered arbitration institution in the “Belt and Road” should be led by the Chinese government. Xue Tong, an associate researcher at the Institute of Arbitration of China University of Political Science and Law, introduced the research done by the China University of Political Science and Law in the construction of the “Belt and Road” arbitration mechanism. Huang Wei, director of the Foreign Affairs and Legal Department of Hunan Junjian Law Firm, shared his experiences and ideas in foreign-related business. Ai Li, Director of the Foreign Trade Department of the Hubei Provincial Department of Commerce, believes that the business sector should strengthen cooperation with countries along the “Belt and Road” to provide a fair, transparent and predictable environment for cross-border e-commerce development. Lu Jiang, deputy dean of the Institute of Regional Cooperation and Development Law of the Silk Road of the Northwest University of Political Science and Law, mentioned that the prevention of disputes is particularly important. Chen Xiaokai, general manager of the Legal Affairs Department of CCCC Second Navigation Engineering Bureau, believes that in the expansion of overseas markets, we need to form a strong Chinese voice.
Unit 3: “B&R” and Multi-Dispute Resolution Mechanism
At 15:40 on November 25, 2017, the forum entered into the last unit. The theme of the unit was “B&R and Multi-Dispute Resolution Mechanism”. Du Xinli, Executive Director of the Arbitration Research Institute of China University of Political Science and Law, was the host of this module.
Kong Qingjiang, dean of the School of International Law at China University of Political Science and Law, delivered a speech on the theme of "The Choice of System Construction Path for the "B&R" Investment Dispute Resolution". Dean Kong pointed out that due to the differences in development goals and interests of countries along the route, the “Belt and Road” faces a variety of unpredictable risks. If the “B&R” initiative is an international public product with the values of the shared human community, then universally acceptable international dispute resolution mechanism which is fair, efficient, independent, predictable is a public good from international institution, and there is an urgent need to build investment dispute resolution mechanism. At the same time, he indicated that he would play the role of the existing international dispute settlement institutions and the courts and arbitration institutions of our country, but there were limitations that were difficult to overcome. We need to create conditions to expand the role of our courts and arbitral institutions in dealing with the second type of dispute, and at the same time set up the “Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Dispute Resolution Center” to deal with the first type of dispute.
Professor Qi of the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University gave a speech on the theme of “Exploring China's Plan for Investment Arbitration Reform”. Prof. Qi Tong divided the path of the current investment arbitration mechanism reform into two categories: the gradual improvement of the US model and the subversive revolution of the EU model. As a starting point, the reform plan is in line with China's own situation. He pointed out that emerging countries represented by China should be able to link investment prevention and resolution with the domestic implementation mechanism of investment treaties from the perspective of promoting investment facilitation. The rule of law in international investment governance should be gradually realized from the principle to the procedure to the substantive rules, from bilateral to regional to multilateral cooperation.
Yang Hengmin, Executive Director of DeHeng (Wuhan) Law Firm, gave a speech on the theme of “The Status and Role of Mediation Mechanism in International Commercial Dispute Resolution”. Director Yang first demonstrated the development process of DeHeng Law Firm applying the mediation mechanism to the “B&R” commercial mediation practice process, focusing on the “B&R” International Commercial Mediation Center initiated by DeHeng Law Firm. "The operation and some achievements, then analyzed the legal status and role of the mediation center, and pointed out that the mediation center still has problems such as the need for social recognition. In the end, he believes that there is a bright future of the mediation center.
Luo Sheng, a partner of Shanghai Zhongxin Yang Zhongjian Zhonghui (Wuhan) Law Firm, gave a speech on the theme of “The development and prospects of the “B&Rd” online dispute resolution mechanism”. Lawyer Luo Sheng introduced ODR as the theme, and the perspective varies from abroad to the country, arbitration to court, online platform theory to handling cases. He also gave detailed examples of the practice of Guangzhong and Futian courts. At the same time, Lawyer Luo Sheng also looked forward to the bright future of “B&R” online dispute resolution. In his point of view China needs to enhance the enforceability of international commercial mediation, improve the international competitiveness and credibility of online dispute resolution mechanisms, and improve online dispute resolution legal rules.
Xu Weigong, a professor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Xu Jiangong, partner of Shanghai Bangxinyang Zhongjian Zhonghui (Wuhan) Law Firm, and Yan Huaping, deputy director of the Institute of Private International Law of China University of Political Science and Law, commented on the interactive guests. Among them, Professor Xu Weigong talked about the diversification of the settlement mechanism as the responsibility of college teachers and the transformation of the talent training model. Yin Filter as a lawyer mentioned that lawyers need to be more involved in the multi-disciplinary resolution mechanism, to make good use of professional knowledge and to guide the parties reasonably with the estimated value provided by big data. Deputy Director Hua Huaping pointed out that the reform direction of dispute settlement path selection should draw lessons from the construction and development of existing arbitration institutions.
The tight and exciting discussion continued for a whole day. When Xiao Yongping, the director of the Institute of International Law at Wuhan University, announced the successful conclusion of this forum, all the experts at the meeting expressed their intentions that they hoped to take part in the third “East Lake International Law Firm” next year.
