The Beijing Arbitration Commission
Arbitration Rules
(Revised and Adopted by the Beijing Arbitration Commission on March 13, 1997)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1
For the purpose of guaranteeing that arbitration of economic disputes is carried out fairly and in a timely fashion and for the purpose of protecting the parties¡¯ legal rights and interests, these Rules are formulated by the Beijing Arbitration Commission (hereinafter the ¡°Commission¡±) pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter the ¡°Arbitration Law¡±) and the Civil Procedures Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter the ¡°Civil Procedures Law¡±).
Article 2
Contractual disputes and other disputes related to property rights and interests that arise between citizens, legal persons and other organizations who share equal standing can be submitted to the Commission to arbitrate pursuant to the laws.
The Commission does not accept applications for arbitration involving the following disputes:
1) Disputes involving marriage, adoption, guardianship, support or inheritance;
2) Administrative disputes which shall be handled by administrative organizations according to the laws; and
3) Labor disputes and internal contractual disputes within agricultural collective economic organizations.
Article 3
When the parties choose arbitration as the method for settling disputes, they must voluntarily enter into an Arbitration Agreement. If such an Arbitration Agreement is absent, then an application for arbitration submitted by any of the parties shall not be accepted by the Commission.
The circumstances under which the parties may make an agreement for an arbitration application shall be deemed met when they agree to settle their disputes by arbitration according to the Rules.
Article 4
An Arbitration Agreement shall involve arbitration clauses which are contained within contracts and/or other written or supplemental agreements, and which are for the purpose of requesting arbitration. Such agreements may be reached either before or after the dispute arises.
An Arbitration Agreement shall cover the following provisions:
(1) A declaration of will for applying arbitration;
(2) Matters for arbitration; and
(3) A declaration of will choosing the Commission as the arbitration organization.
Article 5
An arbitration agreement shall exist independently. The validity of an arbitration agreement shall not be affected by any amendment, cancellation, termination, invalidity, or non-existence of a contract.
The Arbitral Tribunal has the power to affirm the validity of a contract.
Article 6
A party objecting to the validity of an arbitration agreement shall apply to the Commission to make a decision, or submit to the People¡¯s Court to make a ruling. If one party applies to the Commission to make a decision and the other party applies to the People¡¯s court to make a ruling, the ruling made by the People¡¯s Court shall prevail.
A party¡¯s objection to the validity of an arbitration agreement shall be raised before the initial hearing is conducted by the Arbitral Tribunal. If the parties agree not to have hearings, the objection shall be raised before the initial Statement of Defense is submitted.
Article 7
If any party challenges a dispute as being or not being foreign-related, a decision on the matter shall be made by the Arbitral Tribunal.
Chapter II Application and Acceptance
Article 8
The parties applying for arbitration shall be in accordance with the following conditions:
(1) there must be an arbitration agreement;
(2) there must be a specific arbitration claim accompanied by the facts and reasons on which it is based;
(3) the dispute must fall within the jurisdiction of the Commission.
Article 9
The Claimant applying for arbitration shall submit the following documents to the Commission:
(1) the arbitration agreement;
(2) the Application for Arbitration and its copies, in which the following items shall be specified:
(a) the names, gender, ages, occupations, work units and addresses of the Claimant, Respondent or/and their designated representatives and, where a party is a legal person or other organization, the name, address of the organization and the name and position of its legal representative or the chief responsible person;
(b) the arbitration claim and the facts and reasons on which the claim is based; and
(c) the evidence and the source of the evidence, the names and addresses of witnesses.
The Application shall be signed or sealed by the Claimant or the representative designated by the Claimant.
(3) the evidence and materials supporting the claims.
Article 10
The Claimant shall pay both the case acceptance fee and the case handling fee in advance when applying for arbitration, pursuant to the Arbitration Fee Standard set up by the Commission.
The Claimant may apply for delay of payment upon the approval of the Commission, in cases where he has difficulty in paying the arbitration fee in advance. If the Claimant neither pays the fees in advance nor applies for a delay of the payment, it shall be deemed that the Claimant has withdrawn the Application for Arbitration.
Article 11
The Commission shall accept the Application and give notice of acceptance to the parties promptly or within 5 days from the date of receipt of the Application for Arbitration, so long as acceptance conditions have been satisfied. If an Application for Arbitration does not accord with the conditions of acceptance, the Commission shall notify the party of its refusal of the Application and give reasons to the party in written form.
If an Application for Arbitration does not fulfill the above conditions in Article 8, the Commission shall ask the Claimant to make rectification. It shall be deemed a non-application if rectification is not made within the given time.
Article 12
The Commission shall deliver the Rules and the arbitrators list to the Claimant within 10 days after accepting an Application for Arbitration and deliver a copy of the Application, the Rules and the arbitrators list to the Respondent.
The Respondent shall submit a Statement of Defense within 15 days after receiving the copy of the Application for Arbitration. The Commission shall deliver a copy of the Statement of Defense to the Claimant within 5 days after receiving the Statement of Defense. If the Respondent has not submitted the Statement of Defense, the arbitral proceedings shall not be affected.
Article 13
The Claimant may waive or amend the claims. The Respondent may admit or contradict the claims. The Respondent shall submit the written counterclaim to the Commission, if any, within 45 days after receiving the Notice of Arbitration. Where the Tribunal deems that there is a just reason, the time-limit may be extended.
The Commission shall deliver the copy of the application for counterclaim to the Claimant within 5 days after receiving the counterclaim.
The Claimant shall submit a Statement of Defense in written form to the Commission within 15 days after receiving the copy of counterclaimant. The arbitral proceedings shall not be affected if the Claimant fails to submit the Statement of Defense.
The other requirements for counterclaim shall follow the above regulations set up for the claims in the Rules.
Article 14
Parties shall submit any application seeking to amend their arbitration claim or counterclaim within 30 days after the first oral hearing; or else, the Tribunal shall refuse such application.
Article 15
When submitting an Application for Arbitration, Statement of Defense, Request for Counterclaim or evidentiary documents, the parties shall submit 5 copies of each of them. If the number of either party is more than two, additional copies shall be presented accordingly. If the Tribunal is composed of a sole arbitrator, the number of copies can be reduced by two.
Article 16
A party may apply for preservation of property if it becomes impossible or difficult to enforce an award due to actions of the other party or for other reasons.
If a party applies for preservation of property, the Commission shall submit the application to the People's Court pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedures Law.
If the application for preservation of property is made in error, the applicant for the preservation of property shall compensate the other party for any losses incurred due to the preservation of property.
Article 17
The parties and the legal agents of the parties may designate no more than 2 representatives to carry out activities during the arbitral proceedings. In designating representatives to carry out activities in arbitral proceedings, the parties shall submit to the Commission an authorization.
The entrusted matters and the powers shall be given explicitly in the authorization.
Chapter III the Formation of the Arbitral Tribunal
Article 18
The parties shall respectively choose, or entrust the Chairman to appoint, an arbitrator from the Commission¡¯s arbitrators list and they may mutually choose, or entrust the Chairman to appoint, the third arbitrator. The third arbitrator is the chief arbitrator.
Article 19
If, within 15 days from the date of the Respondent receiving the Notice of Arbitration, the parties fail to appoint arbitrators from the Commission¡¯s arbitrators list or to entrust the Chairman of the Commission to designate the arbitrators, and fail to mutually appoint the third arbitrator or to mutually entrust the Chairman of the Commission to designate the third arbitrator, the Chairman of the Commission shall designate the arbitrators.
Article 20
The parties shall agree to mutually appoint a sole arbitrator or mutually entrust the Chairman of the Commission to designate a sole arbitrator from the arbitrators list who will form the Tribunal and hear the dispute pursuant to the regulations for Simplified Procedures in these Rules.
The Chairman of the Commission shall designate a sole arbitrator to form the Tribunal to hear the dispute, if the parties fail to mutually choose a sole arbitrator within 15 days after receiving the Notice of Arbitration.
Article 21
The Commission shall give a written notice to the parties of the formation of Tribunal within 5 days after the Arbitral Tribunal is composed.
In any of the following circumstances, the parties shall re-appoint an arbitrator within 5 days after receiving the Notice of Arbitration, according to the stipulations in Article 18, 19, and 20 in this chapter:
(1) The arbitrator is not available to handle the dispute due to being away on business or going abroad;
(2) he/she cannot conduct arbitration activities due to illness;
(3) he/she must withdraw according to laws; and; or
(4) other situations in which the arbitrator cannot perform his/her duties.
Article 22
Under any of the following circumstances, an arbitrator shall, on his/her own initiative, make disclosure to the Commission and request a withdrawal. The parties also have the right to challenge the arbitrator, where:
(1) the arbitrator is a close relative of one of the parties or of a party's representative;
(2) the arbitrator has an interest in the case;
(3) the arbitrator has any other relationship with one of the parties or a party¡¯s representative such that the fairness of the arbitration may be affected; or
(4) the arbitrator has met in private with a party involved or its representative or has accepted entertainment or gifts from a party involved or its representative.
The above phrase "other relationship" in paragraph (3) of this Article shall include any of the following situations:
(a) the arbitrator has previously advised on the case;
(b) the arbitrator serves in the same work unit with any of the parties or their representatives;
(c) the arbitrator has served or is serving as a legal consultant or representative for any of the present parties;
(d) the arbitrator has furthered his/her own interests by introducing a representative to a party involved in the arbitration;
(e) there are other matters that may affect the impartiality of the arbitration.
Article 23
If a party has just reason to doubt the impartiality and independence of the appointed or designated arbitrator, he/she may request the withdrawal of such arbitrator by submitting a written request to the Commission, provided that the party shall present the facts and reasons, as supported by evidence, for the withdrawal request.
The challenging of an arbitrator and the request for his/her withdrawal shall be submitted in written form before the first hearing. If the party gets the information for the challenge after the first hearing, the challenge may be submitted before the closing of the most recent hearing.
Article 24
The Chairman of the Commission shall decide whether an arbitrator shall withdraw from the Tribunal. Where the Chairman serves as an arbitrator, his/her withdrawal shall be decided by a session of the Committee of the Commission.
Article 25
After appointing a new arbitrator, the parties may request that the arbitral procedures previously carried out be repeated. The Tribunal shall decide whether such a request is admissible. The Tribunal may also decide on its own consideration whether the previous arbitral procedures shall be repeated.
Article 26
If an arbitrator has met privately with any of the parties or their representative, or has accepted entertainment or gifts from any of the parties or their representative with serious consequences, or while arbitrating a case has sought or accepted a bribe, engaged in malpractice for his/her own benefit or made an award in disregard of the law, he/she shall assume legal liabilities. In such cases, the Commission shall have the power to terminate the arbitrator's duty.
Chapter IV Hearings and Drafting Arbitral Awards
Article 27
Arbitration shall be conducted by hearings. If the parties have agreed to or applied for no hearings, and the Tribunal deems it unnecessary to conduct such hearings and gets the consent of both parties, the Tribunal may render an award based on the written Application for Arbitration, the Statement of Defense and other materials.
Article 28
Arbitration shall be conducted in private. The arbitration may be conducted in public if the parties agree to do so, except for cases that concern state secrets.
Article 29
Hearings shall be conducted at the location of the Commission, or at other locations upon the approval of the Secretary General of the Commission.
Article 30
When a case is heard in private, the parties and their representatives, witnesses, arbitrators, experts consulted by the Tribunal and appraisers appointed by the Tribunal, and the relevant personnel of the Commission shall not disclose to outsiders information relevant to the substance or proceedings of the case.
Article 31
The Commission shall notify the parties of the date of the hearing at least 10 days in advance. If agreed to by the parties and approved by the Tribunal, the hearing date may be set ahead of schedule. A party may request a postponement of the hearing date for just reason at least 7 days prior to the scheduled date of the hearing. The Tribunal shall decide whether to postpone the hearing.
After the first hearing, notifications for the date of any subsequent hearings are not subject to the 10-day time limit.
Article 32
If the Claimant fails to appear before the Tribunal and is without a just reason for doing so after receiving the written notice or leaves the hearing prior to its conclusion without the permission of the Tribunal, the Claimant shall be deemed to have withdrawn his/her Application for Arbitration. If the Respondent fails to appear before the Tribunal and is without a just reason after receiving the written notice or leaves the hearing prior to its conclusion without the permission of the Tribunal, the Tribunal may proceed with the hearing of the case and render the award in the Respondent's absence.
Article 33
The parties shall provide evidence in support of their claims. Where the Tribunal deems it necessary, it may collect evidence on its own initiative.
Article 34
Documentary evidence shall be submitted in the form of the original documents; physical evidence shall be submitted in the form of the original articles. If it is proven to be difficult to submit an original document or original article, a reproduced article, photograph, copy or abridged version of the document may be submitted.
Foreign language documentary evidence which is submitted shall be attached to Chinese translations.
Article 35
If the Tribunal deems it necessary to conduct an appraisal, it may refer the appraisal to an appraisal agency or individual expert agreed upon by the parties or designated by the Tribunal.
The Tribunal shall have the power to request that the parties provide or present to the experts or appraisers any documents, materials, properties or other articles if necessary, and the parties shall have the obligation to obey such a request
Copies of the reports made by the expert and appraiser shall be sent to both parties. The parties may make comments on the reports.
If the Tribunal deems it necessary, or if the parties so request, the Tribunal shall request that the appraiser attend the hearing. With the permission of the Tribunal, the parties may question the appraiser.
Article 36
Evidence shall be presented at the hearings, cross-examined by the parties, and determined by the Tribunal. The Tribunal shall determine whether to accept an expert report or appraiser report.
Article 37
Where evidence may come to be lost or difficult to obtain at a later point in time, the relevant party may apply for preservation of evidence. Where a party applies for preservation of evidence, the Commission shall submit the application for a ruling to the Grassroots People¡¯s Court of the location of the evidence.
Article 38
The parties shall have the right to present arguments during the course of arbitration. At the closing of the arguments, the chief arbitrator or sole arbitrator shall request the final opinions from the parties.
Article 39
The Tribunal has the power to allow the parties to submit additional evidence within a reasonable period, if the parties request permission to add evidence and other materials or the Tribunal deems it necessary. The Tribunal may determine the facts of the disputes and render an arbitral award based on the presented evidences, if additional evidence is not submitted within such period.
Article 40
The Tribunal shall make a written record of the hearing. The parties and other participants in arbitration have the right to apply to correct the written record, if the parties deem that there exist omissions or errors in the record of his/her statements. The application for dealing with omissions or errors shall be recorded, if the Tribunal does not allow for the correcting of the record.
The written record shall be signed or sealed by arbitrators, recorder, parties, and other arbitral participants.
Article 41
If, after an Application for Arbitration has been submitted, the parties reach a settlement of the dispute on their own outside the Tribunal, they may request the Tribunal to render an award based on their settlement or the Application for Arbitration may be withdrawn. If the request for withdrawing the Application is made before the formation of the Tribunal, the Secretary General of the Commission shall decide whether to dismiss the case. If the request for withdrawing the Application is made after the formation of the Tribunal, the decision to dismiss the case shall be made by the Tribunal.
If, during the course of mediation by the Tribunal, the parties reach a settlement outside the Tribunal, the parties shall be deemed to have reached a settlement through conciliation by the Tribunal.
Where the parties reach a settlement through mediation by the Tribunal, the parties shall sign a written settlement agreement. Unless the parties have other agreements, the Tribunal shall render an award based on the written settlement agreement.
Article 42
If, after a settlement agreement is reached and the Application for Arbitration has been withdrawn, the party/parties pull back from the settlement, it/they may file an Application for Arbitration according to the Arbitration Agreement. The Chairman of the Commission shall have the power to decide whether to accept the Application for Arbitration.
Article 43
If a party knows or should reasonably have known of non-compliance with any terms or conditions of the Rules or the Arbitration Agreement and nonetheless participates in or continues to participate in the arbitration process without raising an explicit written objection to such non-compliance in a timely manner, the party shall be deemed to have waived its right to object.
Article 44
The Tribunal may, at the parties' request or with the parties' consent, conduct mediation of the dispute before the arbitral award is rendered. If the dispute cannot be settled through mediation, the Tribunal shall promptly render an award. However, no statement, comment, opinion or proposal which was raised by either party or the Tribunal during the process of mediation shall be cited as grounds for any claim, defense and/or counterclaim in a subsequent arbitration, judicial procedure or other proceedings.
If the parties reach a conciliation settlement through mediation, the Tribunal shall make the mediation statement or an arbitral award according to the conciliation settlement,. The mediation statement has the same legal binding effect as the arbitral award.
Article 45
The written mediation statement shall specify the claim statement(s) and the results of the conciliation agreement reached by the parties. The written mediation statement shall be signed by the arbitrator(s), affixed with the Commission¡¯s seal and delivered to both parties.
The written mediation statement shall become legally effective after both parties have signed upon receipt.
If any party pulls back from the written mediation statement before such party signs for receiving it, the Tribunal shall promptly render an award.
Article 46
The award shall be rendered according to the majority opinion of the Tribunal. Any disagreement by the minority may be recorded in writing. If the Tribunal cannot reach a majority opinion, the award shall be rendered in accordance with the decision of the chief arbitrator.
Article 47
The Tribunal may render an interim or partial award on any disputed issues before a final award is rendered, if the Tribunal deems it necessary or is so requested by the parties and approved by the Tribunal. A party's failure to perform the interim or partial award shall not affect the arbitral procedures and the Tribunal¡¯s rendering of the arbitral award.
Article 48
The Tribunal shall render an award within four months after the formation of the Tribunal (excluding the required period for carrying out appraisals). If an extension of the time limit is required due to special circumstances, the chief arbitrator shall submit an application to the Chairman of the Commission and, upon the approval thereof, the time limit may be extended appropriately.
Article 49
The award shall specify the Claim Statement, the facts of the dispute, the grounds for the award, results of the award, the sharing of arbitration fees and the date of the award.
If the parties so agree, the facts of the dispute and the grounds for the decision may be omitted from the award.
The award shall be signed by the arbitrators. An arbitrator holding dissenting opinions may choose to not sign the award.
Article 50
The Commission shall affix its seal to the award after the arbitrators have signed it.
Article 51
The award shall be legally effective as of the date it is made. The award shall be final and binding upon the parties.
Article 52
The Tribunal shall rectify any typographical or computational errors in the award, and shall make additions or corrections in respect to any items which have been decided by the Tribunal but omitted from the award. If the Tribunal omits any claim in the Application for Arbitration in rendering the award, it shall issue a supplementary award including the omitted item(s).
If the parties discover that any of the above circumstances exists, they may, within 30 days from the date of receiving the award, request in writing that the Tribunal make corrections or additions to the award or issue a supplementary award.
Any corrections, additions or supplementary awards shall be integral parts of the original award.
Article 53
A party may apply to the Intermediate People's Court in the place where the Commission is located for revoking an award within six months after receiving the award, if the party can present evidence to prove any of the following circumstances:
(1) there was no Arbitration Agreement;
(2) the matters referred to arbitration did not fall within the scope of the Arbitration Agreement, or were those which the Commission had no power to arbitrate;
(3) the formation of the Tribunal or the proceedings of arbitration violated legal procedures;
(4) the evidence on which the award was based was forged;
(5) the other party concealed evidence to the extent that the impartiality of the award was affected; or
(6) during the course of arbitrating the case, an arbitrator sought or accepted bribes, engaged in malpractice for his/her own benefit or rendered an award in disregard of the law.
Article 54
The parties are required to enforce the award within the time limit specified in the award. If no time limit is specified in the award, the parties shall enforce the award immediately.
If one party fails to enforce the award, the other party may apply to the People¡¯s Court for enforcement of the award pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedures Law.
Article 55
Pursuant to the judgment of the disputes the Commission shall charge a case handling fee, including:
(1) travel and accommodation costs and other reasonable costs for the arbitrator to hear the case;
(2) travel and accommodation costs, subsidies for the loss of working time and other reasonable costs for the witnesses, appraisers and translators to attend the hearings;
(3) advising, appraising, investigating and translating costs;
(4) the costs related to delivering and duplicating the materials and documents;
(5) other reasonable charges burdened by the parties.
The aforementioned costs shall be paid in advance by the applicant.
Article 56
The arbitration fees shall be borne by the losing party in principle. If a party wins part of the case and loses part of the case, the Tribunal shall determine the proportion of each party's share of fees based on each party's respective liabilities. If the parties reach a conciliation settlement on their own or through the Tribunal's mediation, thus bringing an end to the case, the parties may determine the proportion of their respective share of fees through consultation.
Article 57
If the Tribunal agrees to restore the procedure of a case pursuant to Article 61 of the Arbitration Law, the Commission shall not charge application fees.
Where the Tribunal makes corrections or additions or makes a supplementary award according to Article 52 of the Rules, the Commission shall not charge any additional fees.
Article 58
If the Claimant withdraws the Application for Arbitration or the parties reach a settlement agreement after the Application for Arbitration has been accepted by the Commission but before the Tribunal has been formed, the Commission shall refund the arbitration fees paid in advance. However, the Commission may assess partial costs for the handling of the case, depending on circumstances.
If the Claimant withdraws the Application for Arbitration or the parties reach a settlement agreement after the Tribunal has been formed, the Commission may refund part of the acceptance and case handling fees that were paid in advance depending on circumstances.
Chapter V Simplified Procedures
Article 59
Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the simplified procedures shall apply to any case in dispute where the total sum of the dispute does not exceed RMB 300,000. If the sum of dispute exceeds RMB 300,000 and both parties agree to adopt the simplified procedures, the simplified procedures can also be applied.
Article 60
If, after the Claimant submits an Application for Arbitration to the Commission, the Application for Arbitration is examined by the Commission and accepted under the simplified procedures, the Commission shall promptly send to the parties the Notice of Arbitration.
Both parties shall, within 10 days from the date of receiving the Notice of Arbitration, mutually appoint a sole arbitrator or mutually entrust the Chairman of the Commission to designate a sole arbitrator from the Commission¡¯s arbitrators list (if the case involves foreign matters, the arbitrator shall be chosen from the arbitrators list for dealing with foreign-related cases). If the parties have failed to mutually choose or entrust the Chairman of the Commission to designate an arbitrator within the given period of time, the Chairman of the Commission shall promptly designate a sole arbitrator to form the Tribunal to hear the case.
Article 61
The Respondent shall submit Statements of Defense and relevant evidential documents within 10 days (or within 30 days for foreign-related cases) from the date of receipt of the Notice of Arbitration. If the Respondent raises a counterclaim, the Application for Counterclaims and relevant evidential documents shall be submitted within such a period of time.
Article 62
The parties shall submit the written materials and evidence which are necessary in the arbitration according to the requirements and the time limit set by the Tribunal.
Article 63
For a case requiring oral hearings, after the Tribunal has fixed a date for the hearing, the Commission shall notify both parties of the date at least 10 days (or within 15 days for foreign-related cases) before the hearing.
Article 64
If the Tribunal decides to hold a hearing, the hearing shall be conducted in a single session. The Tribunal may decide to hold a second session if proven necessary.
Article 65
During the course of the simplified procedures, the failure of any party to observe the proceedings shall not affect the execution of the procedures or the rendering of an award by the Tribunal.
Article 66
Requests for the amending of claims or requests raising counterclaims shall not affect the arbitration proceedings or the rendering of an award by the Tribunal.
Article 67
The Tribunal shall render an award within 75 days from the date of the formation of the Tribunal. For foreign-related cases, if hearings are held, the award shall be rendered within 30 days from the date of the hearing or from the date of the second session if there are two hearings. If the dispute is handled in writing, the Tribunal shall make an award within 90 days from the date of the formation of the Tribunal.
If an extension of the time limit is required due to special circumstances, the sole arbitrator shall submit an application to the Chairman of the Commission and, upon the approval thereof, the time limits may be extended appropriately.
Article 68
For matters not covered within this chapter, the relevant provisions of other chapters of the Rules shall be applied.
Chapter VI Special Provisions for Foreign-Related Arbitral Procedures
Article 69
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the arbitration of disputes involving economy and trade, transportation and maritime matters which are foreign-related. Where such matters are not covered within this chapter, the other relevant provisions of the Rules shall be applied.
Article 70
After accepting an Application for Arbitration, the Commission shall promptly send to the Claimant the Notice of Arbitration, the Rules, the arbitrators list for handling foreign-related cases and the list of arbitration fees, and shall also send to the Respondent a copy of the Application for Arbitration and its attachments, the Notice of Arbitration, the Rules and the arbitrators list for handling foreign-related cases.
The Respondent shall submit its Statement of Defense and relevant evidentiary documents to the Commission in written form within 45 days from the date of receiving the Notice of Arbitration. After receiving the Statement of Defense, the Commission shall promptly deliver a copy of the Statement of Defense to the Claimant. If the Respondent fails to submit the Statement of Defense, the arbitration procedures shall not be affected.
Article 71
If the Respondent raises a counterclaim, the Application for Counterclaim shall be submitted to the Commission in written form within 60 days from the date of receiving the Notice of Arbitration.
After receiving the Application for Counterclaim from the Respondent, the Commission shall promptly deliver a copy of the Application to the Claimant. The Claimant shall submit its Statement of Defense to the Commission in written form within 45 days from the date of receiving the Application for Counterclaim. If the Claimant fails to submit the Statement of Defense, the arbitration procedures shall not be affected.
Article 72
If a party applies for the preservation of property or evidence, the Commission shall promptly submit an application for a ruling to the Intermediate People's Court where the property or evidence is located.
Article 73
If both parties cannot agree on the formation of the Tribunal or fail to appoint arbitrators within 20 days from the date of the Respondent receiving the Notice of Arbitration, the Tribunal shall be designated by the Chairman of the Commission.
Article 74
After the formation of the Tribunal, the Commission shall promptly notify the parties of the composition of the Tribunal in written form.
If arbitrators fail to perform their duties because of withdrawal or any other reasons, the parties shall re-appoint new arbitrators within 20 days from the date of receiving the notice of the Commission according to the Article 18, 19, and 20 of the Rules.
Article 75
The Commission shall notify the parties of the date of hearing at least 30 days ahead of the session. If both parties so agree and, upon the approval of the Tribunal thereof, the hearing can be held ahead of the schedule. The parties may request for just reason a postponement of the hearing at least 12 days ahead of the session. However, the Tribunal shall decide whether the hearing is postponed.
After the initial hearing, notifications of the date of any subsequent hearings are not subject to the 30-day time limit.
Article 76
The Tribunal shall render an award within 8 months after the formation of the Tribunal. If an extension of the time limit is required due to special circumstances, the chief arbitrator or sole arbitrator shall submit an application to the Chairman of the Commission and, upon the approval thereof, the time limit may be extended appropriately.
Article 77
The Tribunal shall, independently and impartially, render an award based on the facts, pursuant to the provisions of law and contract, referring to international customs and in accordance with the principles of fairness and reasonableness.
Article 78
If one party fails to perform an award which has come into legal effect, the other party may, according to the provisions of Chinese law, apply to the Chinese court with the appropriate jurisdiction for enforcement of the award or, according to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards or other international treaties in which China has concluded or participated, apply to a foreign court with appropriate jurisdiction for enforcement of the award.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 79
The official language of the Commission is Chinese. If the parties have an agreement in another language, the agreement shall prevail.
Article 80
If the law stipulates time periods for arbitration, such stipulations shall be applied. If the law has no such stipulations, the provisions used for time periods for litigation procedures shall be applied.
Article 81
The documents, notifications and materials which are relevant to arbitration procedures may be delivered to the parties or their representatives in person, or by mail, telegraph, fax, and retention.
Article 82
If the arbitration documents, notifications or materials are handed over to the receiving party in person or are delivered by post to its place of business, usual place of residence or mailing address, the said documents shall be deemed as having been properly delivered.
If delivery cannot be carried out by the aforementioned means, the delivering party may invite a notary to be present and leave the written materials to be delivered at the last known place of business, usual place of residence or mailing address of the receiving party after such materials are jointly signed by or affixed with the seals of the delivering party and the notary. After recording the circumstances and date of delivery on the acknowledgement receipt, such materials shall be deemed as having been properly delivered.
Article 83
If delivery is conducted in person, the arbitration documents, notices and materials shall be accompanied by an acknowledgement receipt on which the receiving party shall write the date of delivery and provide its signature or affix its seal. The date written on the receipt by the receiving party shall be deemed as the delivery date.
If such materials are delivered by mail, the date of receipt indicated on the acknowledgement receipt shall be deemed as the delivery date.
If such materials are delivered by being left at the last known place of business, usual place of residence or mailing address, the date of the signing and execution by the notary on the acknowledgement receipt shall be deemed as the delivery date.
Article 84
The time period shall be counted in units of days, months and years. The hour and the day when the time period commences shall not be counted as being within the time period.
If the last day of a time period falls on a holiday, the expiry date of such a period shall be the first day following the holiday.
The time during which materials are in transit shall not be counted as being within the time period itself. The arbitration documents, materials and notices shall be deemed as properly delivered if they have been delivered for mailing or dispatched before the expiration of the time period.
Article 85
If any party must extend the time period due to events beyond its control or due to any other just reason, it may apply for extension of the time period accordingly within 10 days of the resolution of such events or causes. The Commission or the Tribunal shall decide whether or not to approve such an extension.
Article 86
The Rules shall come into effect beginning April 1, 1997. For cases accepted by the Commission before the date on which the Rules come into effect, the Rules of Arbitration effective at the time of the case acceptance shall be applied. However, the Rules shall be applied if the parties so agree.
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