Domestic:

2011 Foreign-Related Arbitration Forum Held in Beijing
On May 9, 2011, a forum on foreign-related arbitration was held in Beijing. The Director of the State Council Legislative Affairs Office Lu Yunhua and Department Head Yuan Shiming attended the forum. The event included a presentation summarizing the caseload of domestic arbitration commissions in 2010, with a focus on foreign-related cases (including cases involving Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). Afterwards, participants discussed their own experiences and shared their impressions of foreign-related cases, including current challenges and avenues of future growth. Director Lu Yunhua concluded the event with an important speech in which he indicated that further development of foreign-related arbitration must remain committed to correct guiding principles, while clarifying that foreign-related arbitration is an integral part of other domestic arbitration, and that there is no fundamental distinction between the two with regards to their purpose, nature or tasks. In the long run, the development of foreign-related arbitration will serve our socialist market economy and protect the legal rights of Chinese companies in international commerce.
http://www.gzac.org/info_view.asp?VID=2818

2011 China Academy of Arbitration Law Working Conference for Secretary-Generals Held in Xi’an
On May 18, 2011, the 2011 Working Conference for Secretary-Generals—convened by the China Academy of Arbitration Law （CAAL）—was hosted in Xi’an by the Xi’an Arbitration Commission. Lu Yunhua presided as advisor to the event, together with others including Vice Secretary-General of the CIETAC Mr. Leng Haidong. The CAAL Secretary-General Gao Fei briefly reported on the Academy’s 2011 working plan, and participants subsequently discussed preparations for the fifth China Arbitration and Judicial Forum 2011 Annual Conference in Guangzhou. The conference studied two projects, namely, an effort to compile selected Chinese arbitration cases, and the establishment of a negotiation committee under the auspices of the Academy.
http://cn.cietac.org/NewsFiles/NewsDetail.asp?NewsID=1043

International Conference on New Trends in Commercial Arbitration Held in Beijing
An international conference on new trends in commercial arbitration was held at the Beijing University of International Business and Economics on May 28, 2011, to which were invited: the director of the State Council Legislative Affairs Office Coordination Office Lu Yunhua, Judge of the Supreme People’s Court Gao Xiaoli, Beijing Arbitration Commission Secretary-General Wang Hongsong and Director of CIETAC Chen Jian, together with other arbitration committee principals and distinguished scholars, arbitrators and lawyers both domestic and foreign. Participants engaged in fervent discussion of current issues in the field of international commercial arbitration, including:measures for reform, recent trends and phenomena such as online arbitration, the implementation of foreign awards in China, the advantages and disadvantages of arbitrating abroad, review by domestic courts, and other pertinent issues.
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/index/content/2011-05/29/content_2685678.htm?node=20908

Hong Kong New Arbitration Rules Come into Effect
As reported in Hong Kong’s Ming Pao, Hong Kong’s new Arbitration Rules came into effect on June 1, 2011. From that moment, Hong Kong has adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration as the sole legal platform for all arbitration conducted in the territory. As with the UNCITRAL model law, the new rules are simple and convenient to use for local and foreign parties and practitioners. The new Arbitration Rules specify that the courts may only intervene where an arbitration agreement clearly permits it, which will serve to ensure that arbitration is both speedy and fair and reduce unnecessary expenditures. Another advantage of the new Arbitration Rules is that they guarantee the confidentiality of arbitral proceedings and court hearings.
http://www.gzac.org/info_view.asp?VID=2821

International:

Denmark's GN Says Polish Legal Challenges Dismissed
April 12，2011
Danish hearing aid and headset maker GN Store Nord (GN.CO) said two arbitration challenges by Poland's TPSA (TPSA.WA) had been dismissed and the telecom company should pay the money it owes.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/gn-tpsa-idUSLDE71N1J120110412

Supreme Court of Canada Allows the Pursuit of a Class Action Despite a Contractual Mandatory Arbitration Clause
April 20, 2011
In a recent 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada narrowly overturned, in part, a decision by the British Columbia Court of Appeal and held that consumers in British Columbia seeking to certify class action proceedings asserting rights, benefits or protections under s. 172 of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, S.B.C. 2004, c. 2 (the "BPCPA") may proceed with their suits notwithstanding prior contractual commitments to mediation or arbitration.
http://www.stikeman.com/cps/rde/xchg/se-en/hs.xsl/15124.htm

U.S. Supreme Court Issues Significant New Decision Regarding Class Action Litigation:
Ruling Rejects California Decision Prohibiting Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements
April 28, 2011
On April 27, 2011, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion that will have far-reaching implications for class action lawsuits and arbitration agreements. Indeed, many commentators have described AT&T Mobility as the Supreme Court's most important decision regarding class action suits, and two U.S. senators already have announced their intention to introduce legislation to amend the federal law upon which the Supreme Court relied.
http://www.wsgr.com/WSGR/Display.aspx?SectionName=publications/PDFSearch/wsgralert_class_action_litigation.htm

With NYU, WilmerHale Hosts Event on New French International Arbitration Law
May 9, 2011
On May 2, 2011, WilmerHale and New York University School of Law’s Center for Transnational Litigation and Commercial Law hosted a presentation on the new French international arbitration law, with guest speaker Catherine Kessedjian, a professor at the University of Paris Panthéon-Assas and Hauser Global Visiting Professor at NYU.
http://www.wilmerhale.com/about/news/newsDetail.aspx?leftnav=no&news=2611&RSS=true

Enforcement of Mainland Chinese Arbitration Award Refused on Public Policy Grounds in Hong Kong Amid Warnings on the Dangers of Arb-Med
May 9, 2011
The Hong Kong Court of first instance has refused to enforce an arbitration award issued by the Xian Arbitration Commission on public policy grounds where one of the arbitrators acted as both arbitrator and mediator in the case of Gao Haiyan and Another v Keeneye Holdings Ltd and Another [2011] HKEC 514.
http://www.snrdenton.com/news__insights/alerts/2011-05-09_med_arb.aspx

Arbitration Fairness Act Would Eliminate Forced Arbitration in Employment, Consumer and Civil Rights Cases
May 24, 2011
In May 2011, U.S. Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act, which seeks to eliminate forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer and civil rights cases, but would allow consumers and workers to elect arbitration after a dispute occurs.

New Mediation Rules for EU Cross Border Disputes
June 02, 2011
The EU Directive on mediation in civil and commercial matters in EU cross-border disputes has recently been implemented into Irish law.
The Irish Regulations implementing the Directive empower the Court to adjourn proceedings concerning a cross border dispute and to invite the parties to use mediation to settle the dispute. A cross-border dispute is where one (or both) of the parties to the litigation is domiciled or habitually resident outside of the jurisdiction of the Court which is dealing with the litigation but within the EU (excluding Denmark). Only disputes relating to civil and commercial matters are subject to the Regulations.
http://www.williamfry.ie/publication-article/new_mediation_rules_for_eu_cross_border_disputes.aspx