General Rules for Arbitration of China Nansha International Arbitration Center

 

Article 1 Basis of Enactment

With the purpose of  fair and timely arbitration and settlement of disputes over civil and commercial contracts and other international commercial contracts in the areas of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, these General Rules are enacted according to the Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance, and the Macao Foreign Commercial Arbitration Specialized System, and by reference to the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, the Convention of the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration Awards and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.

Article 2 Name and Organization

2.1 China Nansha International Arbitration Center (hereinafter referred to as the “Center”) is a not-for-profit platform for  international commercial arbitration initiated and established by the China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, the World Trade Center Macao Arbitration Center, as well as legal, economic, and trade experts in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.

2.2 The Center is located in Nansha District, Guangzhou, China.

Article 3 Scope of Accepting Cases

3.1 The Center handles contractual disputes and other property rights disputes among any natural individual(s), legal person(s), and other organization(s) of equal standing status. Where the parties agreed to apply the laws of other countries or regions rather than those of the People’s Republic of China and issues apart from the aforesaid disputes are arbitrable under such applicable laws,   the parties may refer such issues to arbitration.

3.2 Where the parties agree to submit their disputes to the Center for arbitration, they shall be deemed to have agreed to arbitrate in accordance with these General Rules and the supplemental rules thereof accordingly.

3.3 Where the parties have agreed to arbitrate in accordance with these General Rules, or to arbitrate in Nansha without agreeing on specific arbitration institution, they shall be deemed to have agreed to submit the disputes to the Center for arbitration. Where the parties have agreed to arbitrate in accordance with the “Nansha International Arbitration Center Rules” or have similarly expressed themselves, they shall be deemed to have agreed to arbitrate in accordance with these General Rules and the supplemental rules thereof accordingly.

3.4 Where enterprises registered in the Pilot Free Trade Zone agree with one another to proceed with the arbitration of the concerned disputes at a designated place in mainland China, according to the designated arbitration rules, by the designated personnel as per the Opinion of the Supreme People’s Court on Providing Judicial Safeguarding for the Construction of Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Center may, in accordance with the agreement between the parties or the regulations of laws, offer services for assisting the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, serving case documentation, or providing arbitration venues.

 

      Article 4 General Rules and Supplement thereof

4.1 These General Rules are the general rules for arbitration of this Center and the Proceedings Guidelines on the Three Models of Arbitration Hearing of China Nansha International Arbitration Center (the “Proceedings Guidelines”) are the supplemental rules. Matters not covered in the General Rules or the Proceedings Guidelines shall be subject to the parties’ consensus or determined by the Director of the Center according to the nature of the case with  other rules such as Arbitration Rules of  China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, the Administrative Procedures for International Arbitration of Hong Kong International Arbitration Center, and the Internal Regulations of World Trade Center Macao Arbitration Center as supplemental rules.

 

 

4.2 By consensus, the parties may amend these General Rules and the supplemental arbitration rules thereof, save and except for what they agreed cannot be implemented or is in conflict with the mandatory regulations of laws that are applicable to arbitration procedures.

 

4.3 In the arbitration process, the Center, as the case may be or at the request of the parties, may make rulings, interpretations, or supplements in respect of the conflicts, obstacles and other issues arising from the application of the arbitration rules.

 

Article 5 Application Acceptance and Rules Selection

5.1 Where the parties agree to submit the disputes to this Center for arbitration, the Center shall be responsible for accepting the application. After accepting the application, the Center shall, in accordance with the choice made by the parties of the Proceedings Guidelines set forth in Article 4 herein or  other arbitration rules, arrange for the arbitration proceedings according to such rules chosen by the parties.

 

5.2 Where the parties have not reached consensus on the Proceedings Guidelines or other arbitration rules, the parties shall make a choice in respect of the Proceedings Guidelines or applicable rules within fifteen days upon the receipt of the notice of acceptance or notice of arbitration from the Center.

 

5.3 Where the parties have not made a choice or reached consensus on the choice of arbitration rules, the Director of the Center shall, according to the circumstances of the cases, designate a set of arbitration rules or a model of the Proceedings Guidelines set forth in Article 4.1 herein for the arbitration.

 

 

5.4 The parties may jointly choose a direct application of the arbitration rules of other arbitration institutions in mainland China or overseas as supplemental rules to these General Rules. If the arbitration rules of an overseas arbitration institution are chosen, such a choice must not violate the laws of the People’s Republic of China.

 

Article 6 Governing Laws

6.1 For cases involving Hong Kong SAR or  Macao SAR, the parties concerned may choose to apply the laws of Hong Kong or Macao.

 

 

6.2 For cases with actual connection with countries or regions outside the People’s Republic of China, the parties may choose the laws of the country or region that is most closely connected with the case to be applied; where different laws apply to different regions of that country, the laws of the region that is most closely connected with the civil relationship in the case concerned should apply. Where the laws of foreign countries or regions are chosen, the parties shall provide such laws.

6.3 The applicable laws chosen by the parties shall not be contrary to the internationally acknowledged public orders and good morals, not be in conflict with the mandatory laws and regulations of the seat of arbitration, and not violate the laws and regulations of the People’s Republic of China.

6.4 Where the parties do not choose the applicable law, no consensus is reached on the choice of the applicable law, the choice of applying foreign law is invalid or the selected foreign law cannot be ascertained or there is no specific provision in the laws of that country, the laws of the People’s Republic of China shall apply.

 

 

Article 7 Waiver of Right to Object

Where a party participates in or continues attending the arbitration proceedings when it knows or should have known of any non-compliance with any term or condition set forth in these General Rules or the arbitration agreement without timely submitting a written objection, it shall be deemed to have waived its right to raise such objection.

 

Article 8 Requirements and Composition of Arbitrators

8.1 Arbitrators must be independent, impartial, professional, efficient, diligent and conscientious.

8.2 The following persons may become arbitrators of the Center:

8.2.1 Arbitrators on the current roster of arbitrators of the China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission;

8.2.2 Senior professionals in the fields of legal service, economics, trade, technology , etc.  who are qualified to serve as arbitrators in Hong Kong or Macao as per the arbitration laws of Hong Kong or Macao;

8.2.3 Arbitrators on the current rosters of arbitrators of other arbitration institutions in mainland China;

8.2.4 Senior professionals of foreign countries or regions in the fields of legal service, economics, trade, technology, etc. who are in compliance with the Arbitration Laws of the People’s Republic of China.

 

Article 9 Composition of the Arbitral Tribunal

9.1 The arbitral tribunal shall consist of one or three arbitrators, which shall be agreed by the parties. In the absence of an agreement by the parties on the number of arbitrator, the arbitral tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators. However, the Director of China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission may determine that the arbitral tribunal shall instead be composed of a sole arbitrator according to the complexity of the case, the amount in dispute or other circumstances.

9.2 The arbitrator(s) of the arbitral tribunal shall be selected from the person(s) set forth in Article 8.2 by the parties. Where a party selects an arbitrator outside the ambit of Article 8.2.1 or (and) Article 8.2.2, it shall provide the Center with the identity and other relevant information of the selected arbitrator to be submitted before  China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission for review. Whether or not the selected arbitrator can become a member of the arbitral tribunal shall be determined by the Director of China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission.

9.3 Where the parties cannot reach consensus on the selection of the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator, or do not make any choice in respect of the composition of the arbitral tribunal, the Director of China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission shall appoint the arbitrator(s) within the ambit of Article 8.2.1 and Article 8.2.2 of the General Rules.

9.4 Where the composition of the arbitral tribunal is stipulated in the applicable Proceedings Guidelines on the model of arbitration hearing or other arbitration rules, such provisions shall prevail.

 

Article 10 Disclosures by and Challenge of Arbitrators

10.1 An arbitrator been selected or appointed shall, from the time of such selection or appointment, disclose to the parties concerned and other arbitrators any circumstances likely to give rise to justifiable doubts as to his or her impartiality and independence.

10.2 If there exist any circumstances that may give rise to justifiable doubts  as to an arbitrator’s impartiality or independence, the party or parties may raise challenge to the arbitrator. The Director of China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission may decide whether or not to approve such challenge to the arbitrator.

Article 11 Removal and Replacement of Arbitrators

11.1 Under any of the following circumstances, the Director of China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission shall decide to remove the selection or appointment of the arbitrator:

11.1.1 The arbitrator applies on its own initiatives for resigning from the arbitral tribunal;

11.1.2 The challenge to the arbitrator raised by the party or parties is approved;

11.1.3 The arbitrator is incapable of or delay performing his or her obligations/functions for any other reason.

11.2 In case the replacement of arbitrator is needed after an arbitrator is removed, a  substitute arbitrator shall be selected or appointed in the original way that was applicable to the selection or appointment of the arbitrator being replaced. The performance of an arbitrator’s  functions shall not be affected until he or she is replaced. If an arbitrator is replaced, the arbitration proceedings shall resume at the stage where the arbitrator who was replaced ceased to perform his or her functions, unless the arbitral tribunal decides otherwise.

 

Article 12 The Language of Arbitration

 

12.1 The parties may agree on the language(s) of the arbitration. The parties who both are from Guangdong, Hong Kong, or Macao can also choose Cantonese as the language of the arbitration.

12.2 In the absence of consensus on the language of arbitration by the parties, the Director of the Center shall decide the applicable language of the arbitration in view of the circumstances of the case.

 

12.3 Documents submitted by the parties that are in Chinese or foreign languages shall be accompanied by a translation into the language agreed upon by the parties or decided by the arbitral tribunal.  If it considers necessary, the Center or the arbitral tribunal may require the parties to provide translations of the documents submitted in other languages.

 

Article 13 The Award

13.1 Where the parties choose the Arbitration Rules of the China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, the arbitration award shall be made in the name and form of the China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission; where the parties choose arbitration rules of Hong Kong or Macao, arbitration awards shall be accordingly made in the name and form of the Hong Kong or the Macao arbitral institutions or the arbitral tribunal as the case may be; where the parties choose the Proceedings Guidelines, the arbitration award shall be made in accordance with the Proceedings Guidelines; where the parties do not choose any applicable supplemental rules or the Proceedings Guidelines, the arbitration award shall be made in the name and form of the China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission.

 

13.2 The parties may choose to make the awards in the names and forms of other arbitration institutions; if the chosen arbitration institution does not act accordingly or fails to make the awards in the time limit prescribed by the arbitral tribunal, either party may request the Director of the Center to decide on the suitable form of making the awards.

Article 14 Costs of Arbitration

 

14.1 The costs of arbitration include remuneration of the arbitrators, the case management fees, and the administrative expenses of the Center.

14.2 Parties making arbitration application to the Center shall deposit an amount as advance for the costs of arbitration within five days after the application is made; in case of failure to make such deposit within the specified time limit, the arbitration application shall be deemed to be withdrawn by the party. The costs of arbitration shall be calculated as per the charging standard set forth in the applicable arbitration rules or the Proceedings Guidelines on models for arbitration hearing chosen by the party.

 

14.3 Where the parties have not determined the applicable rules or Proceedings Guidelines on models for arbitration hearing when applying for arbitration, the costs of arbitration will be charged in advance in accordance with the Measures on Charging the Costs of Arbitration by China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, and be calculated and charged by the Center according to the applicable rules or Proceedings Guidelines once the same have been determined.

14.4 The amount and allocation of the costs of arbitration shall be finalized in the award by the arbitral tribunal.

 

 

Article 15 Interpretation of the General Rules

The Center is responsible for the interpretation of the General Rules.

 

Article 16 Implementation of the General Rules

The General Rules shall come into force as of 1st September, 2019. For cases accepted before the said effective date, the existing General Rules at the time when the cases were accepted shall apply. Subject to mutual consent of the parties, these General Rules may apply.