Publish time: Tue Aug 02 16:19:59 CST 2016
In 2014, BAC reached a new high in case handling and dispute amount, and the quality of its case handling won social recognition; in the aspects of publicity and research, BAC improved its relevant platforms, achieved a group of research results and enhanced its social influence; with regard to its internal construction, BAC made improvements in terms of organizational structure, personnel assignment, work system and performance assessment, and strived to create a highly capable tea.
I. Case Handling
(I) Arbitration cases
1. A big rise in BAC’s accepted cases and dispute amount in 2014
In 2014, BAC accepted 2,041 cases in total, with an increase of 414 cases (25.4%) over 2013; the dispute amount reached 15,940 million Yuan, with an increase of 3,900 million Yuan (32.5%) over 2013.
There were 1,234 cases with a dispute amount less than 1 million Yuan whose total dispute amount reached 400 million Yuan, increased by 258 cases and 110 million Yuan than 2013 respectively; there were 593 cases with a dispute amount more than 1 million Yuan but less than 10 million Yuan whose total dispute amount reached 1,920 million Yuan, increased by 56 cases and 190 million Yuan than 2013 respectively; there were 183 cases with a dispute amount more than 10 million Yuan but less than 100 million Yuan whose total dispute amount reached 5,390 million Yuan, decreased by 20 cases but increased by 1,120 million Yuan than 2013 respectively; there were 31 cases with a dispute amount more than 100 million Yuan whose total dispute amount reached 7,620 million Yuan, increased by 2 cases and 1,880 million Yuan than 2013 respectively. (The balance of 610 million Yuan in the total dispute amount is the increase of claimed amount of non-2014 cases)
2. With regard to case types, the number of international commercial arbitration cases remained stable, and the number of domestic cases involving the parties in other places increased continuously
As to the types of dispute, there were 612 disputes concerning sales contracts, accounting for 29.99% of all cases; there were 264 disputes concerning commission contracts, accounting for 12.93% of all cases; there were 320 disputes concerning contracts for construction projects, accounting for 15.68% of all cases; there were 307 disputes concerning investment & financing contracts, accounting for 15.04% of all cases; there were 138 disputes concerning lease contracts, accounting for 6.76% of all cases; there were 146 disputes concerning loan contracts, accounting for 7.15% of all cases; there were 58 disputes concerning new-type contracts in the franchise and tourism sectors, accounting for 2.84% of all cases; there were 25 disputes concerning contracts of hired work, accounting for 1.22% of all cases; there were 61 disputes concerning information networks, accounting for 2.99% of all cases; there were 33 disputes concerning technology contracts, accounting for 1.62% of all cases; there were 5 disputes concerning guarantee contracts, accounting for 0.24% of all cases; there were 43 intellectual property disputes, accounting for 2.11% of all cases; and there were 29 other disputes, accounting for 1.42% of all cases. Through the comparison with 2013, it can be seen that the numbers of disputes concerning sales contracts, contracts for construction projects, commission contracts, investment & financing contracts and lease contracts still were the top 5. There were no extremely ups or downs in the proportions of case types, reflecting BAC’s stable market recognition degree and solid foundation for sustainable development.
In 2014, BAC accepted 41 international commercial arbitration cases, accounting for 2.01% of all cases.
Among domestic cases, there were 1,054 ones in which at least one party was in another place, accounting for more than a half (52.7%); there were 298 ones in which both parties were in other places, accounting for 14.9%.
3. BAC maintained high rates of case conclusion and compromise as well as high case quality in 2014
BAC concluded 1,755 cases in 2014, with an increase of 141 cases (9%).
The average duration of cases is 89 days.
Among them, 857 cases were concluded by arbitral awards, accounting for 48.83%; 354 cased were concluded by mediation, accounting for 20.17%; 543 cases were withdrawn by the relevant parties, accounting for 30.94% (340 cases were withdrawn before the tribunal was formed, 80.57% cases were withdrawn after the tribunal was formed); 1 case was canceled by BAC, accounting for 0.06%.
None of BAC’s arbitral awards were revoked by the courts in 2014; 1 arbitral award of BAC was refused for enforcement by the court, accounting for 0.06% of all concluded cases. The primary reason is that BAC’s arbitration tribunals and arbitrators are continuously improving their standardization and professionalization in case handling, and BAC’s active exchanges and communications with the courts are also helpful to such a result.
(II) Mediation cases
The mediation cases in 2014 are related to 17 types of disputes, including those concerning finance, real estate and intellectual property. BAC’s Mediation Center accepted 118 cases and realized revenue of 701,700 Yuan, with a big rise over the previous years.
BAC vigorously participated in the activities related to entrusted mediation organized by Beijing Higher People’s Court, so as to expand the sources of independent mediation cases. BAC gradually consolidated its cooperation with the relevant courts through good communications with them and the handling of first mediation cases entrusted by them, eliminating the obstacles of fee collection and improving the quality of case handling. Compared with the number of 2 cases and the dispute amount of 80,600 Yuan (40,300 Yuan per case) in 2013, the number of cases entrusted by the courts reached 29 and the dispute amount reached 87,636,600 Yuan (3,022,000 Yuan per case) in 2014.
(III) Arbitrator appointment
In 2014, a total of 314 arbitrators participated in case handling. BAC appointed arbitrators for a total of 1,929 person times; among which, presiding arbitrator for 592 person times, sole arbitrator for 918 person times, first arbitrator for 140 person times, second arbitrator for 279 person times. A total of 277 arbitrators were appointed, showing three characteristics. Firstly, more balanced appointment reduced the over concentration of cases, which lessened the case handling pressure of certain arbitrators and is good for the improvement of arbitration efficiency and quality. Secondly, new arbitrators grew rapidly, which enabled more rational team building. In 2014, new arbitrators were mainly appointed by one party or acted as sole arbitrators, while case handling quality and experience remained top priorities for the appointment of presiding arbitrators and sole arbitrators in complex cases. The top 20 arbitrators with the most appointments in 2014 were senior ones. In BAC’s team of arbitrators, seniors ones advised new ones and all arbitrators help each other. Thirdly, the rapidly updated appointment information enabled timely adjustment. In 2014, BAC carried out the quarterly statistical analysis of arbitration appointment and made adjustment according to the results, so as to make the arbitration appointment accord with BAC’s overall planning in this aspect. For example, it was found in the mid-year information statistics carried out in July that 9 newly employed arbitrators had not been appointed, such a feedback led to the fact that all of these 9 arbitrators were appointed in the latter half of 2014.
Among the 591 cases for ordinary procedure in which a tribunal was formed, 76.48% claimants nominated arbitrators and 69.69% respondents nominated arbitrators. The fairness, professionalism and services of BAC’s arbitrators have won the recognition of the relevant parties.
(IV) Revenue and tax payment
In 2014, BAC had revenue of 114 million Yuan, and paid taxes of 23,468,000 Yuan. Till the end of 2014, BAC has accumulated paid taxes of 170.5 million Yuan, 38 times of the fiscal allocation upon its establishment.
The arbitrators’ remuneration was 36,088,800 Yuan in 2014, increased by 6,403,100 Yuan and 21.57% over 2013, and accounted for 42.3% of the arbitration revenue as to the accounting on accrual basis (current revenue / accrued or payable expenses).
II. New Arbitration Rules and New Name of “Beijing International Arbitration Center”
On December 4, 2014, BAC promulgated its new Arbitration Rules. In 2015, BAC’s new Arbitration Rules will enter into force, and BAC will begin to use the new name of “Beijing International Arbitration Center”.
BAC’s new Arbitration Rules change the emphasis from the right of an arbitration institution to regulate the arbitration process to the “user experience” of the relevant parties in the application of arbitration rules, embodying the spirit of commercial arbitration that respects the free will of the relevant parties and their status as dominators of the arbitration process. These new rules also comply with BAC’s consistent attitude of openness, inclusiveness and active learning. On the basis of according to the arbitration practice in China, these new rules realize the combination with development trends of international commercial arbitration, and showcase the utmost efforts of BAC in promoting the internationalization of its arbitration practice within the current legal framework of China.
Besides, BAC released the comparison table between old and new rules, it also became the first arbitration institution in China to express its acknowledgement of all related parties. These behaviors won favorable feedback. It is a popular opinion that the comparison table reflects BAC’s utmost attention to service and the acknowledgment shows BAC’s popularity. BAC now offers the interpretation for each article of its new Arbitration Rules through its official website and its WeChat account.
III. Publicity, Trainings and International Contacts
In 2014, BAC organized or participated in more than 100 publicity events for over 10,000 person times, including various meetings, visits and advertisements (refer to the appendix for details). BAC’s publicity events and trainings not only enable the public to have a better knowledge and recognition of arbitration as a dispute resolution method, but also display the good image of China’s arbitration to the whole world. When selecting the top ten developments of China’s arbitration in 2014, WWW.CNARB.COM commented that “BAC organized a series of themed trainings covering a large range and involving a lot of participants, and began to promote China’s arbitration to foreign countries.”
(I) Highlights in publicity
In 2014, BAC not only participated in and made speeches in a lot of important conferences, but also displayed the positive energy of China’s commercial dispute resolution to the world.
On June 4, BAC and The ICC International Court of Arbitration jointly held the 2014 Paris Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China at the ICC Global headquarters. On June 6, BAC and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London jointly held the 2014 London Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China. On September 11, the 2014 Beijing Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China with more than 40 speakers was held at BAC’s International Conference Hall; the participants highly praised the Commercial Dispute Resolution in China: An Annual Review and Preview (2014) which was released as a book for the first year, and expressed the hope that BAC could continue compiling the report in the future.
In March, Deputy Secretary-General CHEN Fuyong led a BAC delegation to participate in the 2014 APRAG Conference held in Australia, and made a keynote speech themed “Reservation of Public Order in the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in China”, enhancing the understanding of the international arbitration circle on the support of Chinese courts to the enforcement of arbitral awards.
In April, BAC participated in the 22nd ICCA Congress on invitation as the only sponsor in the Chinese Mainland and exchanged opinions with delegates from various countries. The ICCA specially expressed its sincere thanks to BAC and other sponsoring institutions; and many delegates appreciated BAC’s efforts and effect in internationalization.
In June, BAC dispatched a delegation to participate in the IBA Young Lawyer Training Program and delivered a keynote speech themed “Empirical Analysis of the Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in China”, analyzing the enforcement of different arbitral awards based on China’s and BAC’s data, arousing the extensive interest of the participants, and enhancing the knowledge and recognition of participating young lawyers from various countries on China’s arbitration.
On August 30 and 31, the Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei (CAA) and the Asian Center for WTO & International Health Law and Policy (ACWH) jointly held the 2014 Taipei International Conference on Arbitration and Mediation, attracting the participation of dozens of professionals in the dispute resolution circle from all over the world. A BAC delegation led by Deputy Secretary-General CHEN Fuyong participated in the conference on invitation, and Mr. Chen made a keynote speech themed “Recent Developments of Arbitration in Mainland China”, introducing the latest developments in China’s arbitration circle and BAC’s efforts in recent years to meet the expectations of international arbitration clients.
On November 13, the 2014 International Arbitration Conference was jointly held by the Australian Law Commission and the Australian International Arbitration Center in Sydney. With the theme of “Hot Issues in Commercial Arbitration – From the Perspective of the Asian-Pacific Region”, the conference is an important part of the 2014 Sydney Arbitration Week. The ICC International Court of Arbitration, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association and BAC are all supporting institutions of the conference, and a BAC delegation led by Deputy Secretary-General CHEN Fuyong participated in the conference on invitation. Mr. Chen joined in the group discussion on “Modes for Integration of Arbitration and Mediation”, making responses to some hot issues of great concern to foreign parties related to the arbitration practice in China.
(II) Continuation of events with traditional advantages
In 2014, BAC organized 11 salons covering such fields as finance, real estate, construction projects, information technology and arbitration procedure. These salons attracted 980 participants, including 679 arbitrators and 301 non-arbitrators.
In order to further improve the dispute review system and cultivate excellent talents in this field, BAC organized the second training for BAC’s dispute reviewers on the basis of summarizing BAC’s research and practical experience in engineering review for the past 5 years.
BAC inquired the demand of enterprises, developed specific cases, and organized two mock arbitration trainings for enterprises in 2014, introducing arbitration practice to nearly 100 in-house counsels.
(III) Exploration of new publicity fields
1. Enhanced publicity to lawyers
In order to enhance the capability and level of lawyers in dispute resolution by arbitration, BAC successively entered into framework agreements on cooperation with Chaoyang District Lawyers Association and Haidian District Lawyers Association in 2014 concerning the series of trainings to lawyers on commercial arbitration and the communication of correct commercial arbitration concepts to lawyers. BAC organized five trainings in 2014 covering both procedural and substantial issues. With strong pertinence and operability, these trainings won the praise of all participating lawyers.
In 2014, BAC organized 7 trainings on mock arbitration, developed cases in 4 different professional fields, and trained nearly 1,200 new lawyers.
2. Arbitration publicity in higher education institutions
The Mock Arbitration Course for the School of Juris Master, CUPL began in October 2014 and integrated mock arbitration hearings with the teaching process, becoming the first practice of this kind in China’s education on legal practice, promoting the teaching reform, and solving the disjunction between the traditional legal education and the demands of legal practice.
Based on the success in 2013, BAC held the 2nd BAC Cup article contest in 2014, further expanding BAC’s influence in China’s higher education institutions, and guiding the students’ interest and enthusiasm to the research of arbitration. The Award Ceremony of the 1st “BAC Cup” Article Contest & Summit Forum on Legal Education and Practice on Commercial Arbitration held on April 11, 2014 attracted the participation of more than 100 students from dozens of higher education institutions in Beijing, Chairperson LIANG Huixing also shared his precious opinions with the participants on invitation.
BAC continued its scholarship program with the Pepperdine University, No. 1 US university in the field of dispute resolution. BAC offered USD 25,200 to subsidize students pursuing the degree of Juris Master on international commercial arbitration, extending BAC’s publicity to the campus of a foreign university.
BAC also sponsored the CUPL Young Scholar Essay Contest, attracting the students’ attention to dispute resolution, urging the students to participate in academic research, improving the students’ recognition of arbitration and BAC, and enhancing the students’ interest in arbitration.
3. Publicity in new fields including Internet, intellectual property and aviation
On August 20, 2014, BAC and the Dispute Resolution Center of the Electronic Intellectual Property Center, MIIT jointly held the “Summit Forum on Guidance to Judicial Determination of Intellectual Property and Diversified Dispute Resolution Mechanisms”, attracting more than 100 participants from the business circles, the bar, higher education institutions, courts and news media. BAC released the Survey Report on ADR for the Internet, which won the affirmation and attention of the participating enterprises and lawyers with full and accurate data obtained through firsthand survey, and these data set the foundation for the targeted publicity of BAC in the Internet.
On July 18, 2014, BAC co-organized the “Seminar on Issues in the Practice of International Aviation Law”, which was attended by more than 50 participants including Mr. George Tompkins, a famous expert on international air law, persons in charge of legal affairs in major domestic airlines, scholars in scientific research institutions and some of BAC’s arbitrators. On September 3, 2014, BAC’s arbitration salon group on air law organized a salon to discuss the implementation of the interim IATA Arbitration Rules in China.
BAC set up an energy group in 2013, attracting the participation of arbitrators and non-arbitrators in the energy sector. The group organized multiple activities, expanding BAC’s influence in the energy sector and promoting BAC’s research on disputes in the energy sector.
IV. Research
1. Strengthened construction of research platforms
On the basis of such platforms of BAC Book Collections, BAC Translation Series and BAC Scientific Research Fund, BAC achieved a group of research results: the printing of Re-arbitration Awards Collection, the translation of ICCA’s Guide to the Interpretation of the 1958 New York Convention: A Handbook for Judges, the publication of Discussion on Hong Kong Arbitration Act, the inclusion of Beijing Arbitration Quarterly in www.classiclaw.com.
2. Professional communication with the courts
In 2014, BAC reached a consensus with Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court on co-publishing the collected works on judicial review, some of BAC’s staff members participated in the compilation work.
On September 4, 2014, BAC had a communication meeting with Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court, attracting the participation of judges in charge of the applications for revocation of arbitral awards, case-filing and enforcement, who discussed issues related to the concept, direction and practice of judicial review together.
3. Targeted study on specific work
The research on arbitration in Beijing was completed. In 2014, BAC successfully completed the research on arbitration in Beijing, and the research group drafted a survey report, which analyzed the fundamental factors of consideration for the choice of arbitration by the relevant parties as well as BAC’s market share and existing problems. BAC will carry out targeted publicity in various fields according to the findings in the report.
BAC carried out the research on case-filing, summarized the characteristics and experience of its work, visited other major arbitration institutions to learn from and discuss with them, so as to accumulate experience for improving the Case-filing Office’s work.
BAC completed the collection of all 134 Interim Arbitral Awards made from its establishment to December 2014 after screening and integration, and will carry out further study on them through consolidation, comparison and analysis.
BAC generally completed the collection of its 36 excellent arbitral awards on equity transfer after careful selection, with the comments from famous professors. The collection will be published by the Commercial Press in 2015 in the form of Intensive Interpretation of Arbitration Cases on Equity Transfer in China.
BAC completed the instrument gathering, editing, proofreading, technical process and classification for the Selection of Arbitral Awards without Arbitrator’s Signature, setting the foundation for the following internal release and printing.
V. Internal Construction
1. BAC completed the transformation of its business system, the upgrading of its website and the improvement of its WeChat public account.
2. BAC carried out the research on its human resources program, completed the gathering of individual reports, identification of routine items and the verification of basis workload standards, and is entering the stage of gathering and measuring case-handling performance and program workload.
3. BAC carried out the integration and reconstruction of its office building. At present, the fitment on the 15th floor has finished and passed the acceptance, the construction on the 17th floor has begun.
VI. Work in 2015
2015 marks the 20th anniversary of BAC, and is also the beginning year of many new rules and new systems. On the basis of continuously improving case-handling quality and efficiency, BAC will organize a series of events to showcase its professionalism, to expand its influence and to set a solid foundation for its future development.
With regard to case-handling: BAC will make a new start from the implementation of new Arbitration Rules, strengthen the trainings for and communication among its arbitrators, and improve the professional level of handling arbitration cases. BAC will take its new case-handling system as the entry point to improve its case-handling efficiency. BAC will improve its performance in handling independent mediation cases, and expand the brand influence of its Mediation Center.
With regard to research: BAC will achieve a group of research results with its own characteristics and with great significance based on the existing platforms, such as the Commercial Dispute Resolution in China: An Annual Review and Preview, the Excellent Arbitral Awards Selection, the collection of a series of arbitral awards concerning different fields, and the collection of results of the BAC Scientific Research Fund.
With regard to publicity: BAC will continue to expand its overseas influence, take the release of the Commercial Dispute Resolution in China: An Annual Review and Preview as the thread, actively participate in international arbitration events, so as to display the image of BAC and China’s arbitration. Domestically, BAC will take its 20th anniversary as the entry point, organize seminars on the arbitration practice in the relevant professional fields, so as to summarize experience and look forward to the future. BAC will develop modules of training courses for higher education institutions, lawyers associations and in-house counsels.
With regard to internal construction: on the one hand, BAC will complete the echelon formation of its talent team with clear layers and orderly escalation based on its talent planning, and bring success to the competition for appointment of middle-level cadres; on the other hand, BAC will further enhance its service level with the improvement of its office environment as the opportunity.
(This report has been deliberated and adopted by the 5th Meeting of the Sixth Committee of BAC on February 6, 2015)