广州仲裁委员会

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 Purpose and Basis

In order to resolve civil and commercial disputes in an independent, fair and efficient manner and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, the Arbitration Rules of the Guangzhou Arbitration Commission (hereinafter referred to as “these Rules”) are hereby formulated in accordance with the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Arbitration Law") and other applicable laws and regulations.

Article 2 Organization and Name

(1) Guangzhou Arbitration Commission (hereinafter referred to as "Commission") is a permanent arbitration institution established and registered in accordance with the Arbitration Law. The address of the Commission is located in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, the People's Republic of China.

(2) The Commission has Nansha International Arbitration Center in Nansha District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, Dongguan Sub-commission in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, and Zhongshan Sub-commission in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. The Commission has set up various professional arbitration platforms such as Guangzhou Court of Financial Arbitration, Guangzhou Court of Intellectual Property Arbitration, Guangzhou Arbitration Court of International Shipping, and Guangzhou Arbitration Court of Construction.

(3) The name of Guangzhou International Arbitration Court is also used by the Commission. The Commission was formerly called China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, and China Guangzhou International Arbitration Court. If the parties concerned agree to submit the dispute to the Commission, its sub-commissions and various professional arbitration platforms for arbitration, or if the agreed arbitration institution is under any previously used name of the Commission, its sub-commissions and various professional arbitration platforms, the parties shall be deemed as agreeing to be arbitrated by the Commission.

(4) For the convenience of the parties, the Commission may accept Request for Arbitration and related materials submitted by the parties who agree to be arbitrated by the Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center, and the Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center may accept Request for Arbitration and related materials submitted by the parties who agree to be arbitrated by the Commission. Cases are managed by the Commission，or its Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center that accepts the Request for Arbitration, except the party’s intent is to apply for the transfer of the case to the Commission or its Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center, or the Commission deems that such a transfer more convenient for case management.

(5) The business offices established by the Commission in overseas regions shall carry out businesses in accordance with the authorization of the Commission and local laws.

Article 3 Scope of Arbitration

(1) In accordance with the Arbitration Law, the Commission accepts Request for Arbitration involves contractual disputes and other disputes over rights and interests in property between natural persons, legal persons, and other organizations with equal status as per the agreement and request of domestic and foreign parties.

(2) The Commission does not accept Request for Arbitration involves the following disputes according to law:

1. Disputes over marriage, adoption, guardianship, family support, , inheritance and succession;

2. Administrative disputes that shall be decided by administrative organs according to law;

3. Labor and personnel disputes;

4. Agricultural contract disputes within agricultural collective economic organizations;

5. Disputes that shall be decided by other organs and entities according to laws, rules and regulations.

(3) If the tribunal finds after hearing that a case falls under the circumstances specified in Paragraph (2) of this Article hereof, and the parties fail to withdraw the Request for Arbitration upon elucidation thereof, the tribunal shall decide to reject the Request for Arbitration according to law.

Article 4 Application of Rules

(1) If the parties agree to be arbitrated by the Commission, they shall be deemed as agreeing to abide by these Rules. If the parties agree to be arbitrated by Nansha International Arbitration Center, these Rules shall be applied in accordance with the General Rules of Arbitration of Nansha International Arbitration Center, and the arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with these Rules.

(2) If the parties agree otherwise on matters of arbitration proceedings or rules applicable to arbitration, such agreement shall prevail, except that the agreement is inoperative or in conflict with the mandatory provisions of laws and regulations of the place of arbitration. If the parties agree to apply other arbitration rules, the Commission, its Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms shall perform corresponding management duties.

(3) For matters not explicitly stipulated in these Rules, the Commission, its Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms or tribunals may proceed with the arbitration proceedings in accordance with the principle of being conducive to fair and timely resolution of disputes.

Article 5 Responsibilities of Chairperson

(1) The Chairperson of the Commission shall perform the duties stipulated in the Arbitration Law and these Rules.

(2) Upon authorization, the Vice-Chairperson or the Secretary General of the Commission may perform such duties on behalf of the Chairperson.

Article 6 Panel of Arbitrators

(1) The Commission shall appoint impartial and decent domestic and foreign professionals to act as arbitrator according to law, and establish the Panel of Arbitrators.

(2) The Commission may classify and set up the Panel of Arbitrators and the Panel of Recommended Arbitrators according to different professions, industries regions, and so forth. The purpose of related category classification is only for the convenience of reference by the parties, rather than a restriction on their appointment of arbitrators for cases involving specific categories and regions.

(3) The Panel of Arbitrators of the Commission is applicable to the Commission, its Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center, and various professional arbitration platforms.

(4) Either party may appoint the registered arbitrators of other arbitration institutions that mutually recognize and share the Panel of Arbitrators with the Commission.

(5) If either party intends to appoint a person from outside the Panel of Arbitrators to act as an arbitrator, the party shall provide resume and specific contact information of such person to the Commission. When such person is confirmed by the Commission as meeting the conditions stipulated in the Arbitration Law and promises to abide by the code of conduct and various professional ethics of arbitrators of the Commission during the performance of duties, such person may serve as an arbitrator in the case.

Article 7 Place of Arbitration

(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the place of arbitration shall be the place where the domicile of the Commission, its Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center, and various professional arbitration platforms that manages the case locates. The Commission may determine any other places as the place of arbitration as the case may be.

(2) An award shall be deemed as being rendered at the place of arbitration.

Article 8 Principle of Good Faith

The parties, their representatives, and other participants in the arbitration shall follow the principle of good faith when participating in the arbitration.

Article 9 Principle of Party Autonomy

(1) If the parties have an agreement on whether or not to proceed with the arbitration, on the proceedings or on the distribution of substantive rights and obligations, the agreement shall prevail, except that the agreement damages the interests of persons not involved in the case and public interests or violates the mandatory provisions of the laws and regulations of the place of arbitration.

(2) The parties have the discretion to decide whether to file or waive the claim or defence, and also have the discretion to decide on the disposal of the substantive rights.

Article 10 Principle of Non-disclosure of Hearings

(1) All hearings shall be held in camera. The parties to an arbitration case, their representatives, witnesses, appraisers, relevant technical professionals, as well as arbitrators, case managers, experts consulted by the tribunal, and relevant staff-members of the Commission shall not disclose to any outsiders any specific information of the case, except as otherwise provided by law.

(2) If the parties agree on an open hearing, an open hearing may be held if the Commission or the tribunal considers that it does not involve state secrets, and commercial secrets and privacy of person not involved in the case.

Article 11 Principle of Legitimacy and Reasonability

(1) The tribunal shall, based on facts and in accordance with laws, resolve disputes fairly and reasonably.

(2) In order to solve disputes reasonably, the tribunal may refer to commercial practices, industry standards and trading rules, but shall not damage the interests of persons not involved in the case, public interests or violate the mandatory provisions of the laws and regulations of the place of arbitration.

Article 12 Finality of the Arbitral Award

The arbitration award is final and binding. After the award is rendered, the parties may not apply for arbitration or bring a lawsuit to any people’s court with respect to the same dispute.

Article 13 Waiver of Right to Object

A Party shall be deemed to have waived its right to object where it knows or should have known that any provisions of these Rules, other arbitration rules applicable to the arbitration proceedings, the decisions of the tribunal or the clauses in the arbitration agreement has not been complied with and yet participates in or proceeds with the arbitration proceedings without promptly and explicitly submitting its objection in writing to the Commission or the tribunal to such non-compliance.

Chapter II Arbitration Agreement

Article 14 Definition and Form of the Arbitration Agreement

(1) An arbitration agreement refers to the agreement under which the parties agree to submit all or certain disputes that have occurred or may occur over their contractual or non-contractual legal relations determined by them to arbitration.

(2) The arbitration agreement includes the arbitration clause concluded by the parties in the contract, and the agreement on request for arbitration reached in other written forms before or after the dispute occurs.

(3) The arbitration agreement shall be made in written forms. The written forms include contracts, letters and electronic messages (including telegrams, telexes, faxes, electronic data exchange and e-mails), which may tangibly express the contents contained therein.

(4) In the exchange of the Request for Arbitration and the Statement of Defense, if one party asserts that there is an arbitration agreement, and the other party does not deny it and attends the hearing, such other party shall be deemed as accepting the arbitration agreement.

Article 15 Separability of the Arbitration Agreement

An arbitration agreement is considered to be separate from the underlying contract. Whether the underlying contract is established, changed, transferred, rescinded, terminated, invalid, ineffective, revoked or whether the underlying contract on which the arbitration agreement depends exists or not, shall not affect the separability of the arbitration agreement.

Article 16 Determination of the Validity of the Arbitration Agreement

(1) If the name of the arbitration institution agreed in the arbitration agreement is inaccurate, but it can be determined that the specific arbitration institution stipulated therein is the Commission, its Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center or various professional arbitration platforms, the parties shall be deemed as agreeing to submit the dispute to the Commission, its Sub-commissions/Nansha International Arbitration Center or various professional arbitration platforms for arbitration.

(2) If the parties agree to proceed with the arbitration in accordance with these Rules without agreement on a specific arbitration institution, they shall be deemed as agreeing to submit the dispute to the Commission for arbitration.

(3) In cases of mergers or divisions of the parties after entering into the arbitration agreement, such arbitration agreement shall be binding on the successors of their rights and obligations, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

(4) If a party is deceased after concluding the arbitration agreement, such arbitration agreement shall be binding on the successor of its rights and obligations involved in the arbitration, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

(5) If the parties' creditor's rights and debts are transferred in whole or in part, the arbitration agreement shall be binding on the assignees, unless otherwise agreed by the parties or explicitly opposed by the assignees when the creditor's rights and debts are transferred or the assignees are not aware of the existence of a separate arbitration agreement.

(6) If a branch of a legal person enters into an arbitration agreement, the arbitration agreement shall be valid for both the legal person and the branch.

(7) The arbitration agreement of a principal contract shall be valid for an accessory contract of the same legal subjects, except as otherwise agreed in the accessory contract.

Article 17 Objection to the Arbitral Jurisdiction

(1) If the parties raise an objection to the arbitral jurisdiction due to the existence, validity or other aspects of the arbitration agreement, they shall submit their objections in writing before the first hearing; if it is agreed not to hold a hearing, the objection shall be made in writing before the expiration of the time limit for the submission of defense.

(2) If the parties fail to raise an objection to jurisdiction within the time limit specified in Paragraph (1) of this Article, it shall be deemed as acknowledging the jurisdiction of the Commission over the arbitration case.

(3) If the parties dispute the validity of the arbitration agreement, they may request the Commission to make a decision or request a people’s court to make a ruling. If one party applies to the Commission to make a decision while the other party applies to a people’s court to make a ruling, the validity of the arbitration agreement shall be exclusively decided by the people’s court. If the Commission accepts the request and makes a decision before the other party’s request to a people’s court, such decision shall have legal effect. If the parties apply to the people’s court to determine the validity of the arbitration agreement, they shall simultaneously submit to the Commission a copy of the request for the objection to the validity of the arbitration agreement and the notice of filing a case by the people’s court .

(4) If the parties raise an objection to jurisdiction of the Commission, and the Commission considers that a decision can be made only through a hearing, it may authorize the tribunal to make a decision on the objection to jurisdiction. The tribunal may render a separate decision during the arbitration proceedings or incorporate the decision in the award.

(5) The decision made by the Commission on the jurisdiction over the case based on the prima facie evidence shall not affect the tribunal's re-making of a jurisdiction decision inconsistent with the original decision based on the facts or evidence discovered during the proceedings.

(6) The parties' objection to the jurisdiction raised to the Commission shall not affect the proceeding of the arbitration proceedings. If the Commission or the tribunal authorized by the Commission decides that it has no jurisdiction over the disputes, it shall reject the Request for Arbitration.

Chapter III Application and Acceptance

Article 18 Application for Arbitration

(1) A party shall submit the following documents when applying for an arbitration:

1. An arbitration agreement;

2. A Request for Arbitration, which shall include the following contents:

(1) the name, domicile, postal code, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address or any other means of electronic communication of the party; as for a legal person or other organizations, the name and position of its legal representative or principal shall be specified;

(2) a Request for Arbitration and the facts and grounds on which the Request for Arbitration is based;

3. Evidence or other supporting materials;

4. Identity certificates of the Claimant and the Respondent.

(2) If a party does have difficulties submitting the identity certificate of the Respondent, the Commission may issue a Notice of Supplementing Identity Certificate upon the request by the party. The party may collect the identity certificate of the Respondent from the relevant department with such notice.

(3) The party shall pay the arbitration fee in advance as stipulated.

Article 19 Acceptance

(1) Upon receipt of the Request for Arbitration, if the Commission considers that it meets the conditions for acceptance, the Commission will accept the application after the applicant pays the arbitration fee in advance, and will send the notice of acceptance, these Rules, and the Panel of Arbitrators of the Commission to the applicant within five days after acceptance; if the Commission considers otherwise, it shall notify the applicant in writing and give the reasons for rejection.

(2) If the Request for Arbitration does not comply with the provisions of Paragraph (1) under Article 18 of these Rules, the Commission may require the applicant to supplement the documents within a specified reasonable time limit; if the applicant fails to do so within such time limit, the Request for Arbitration shall be deemed as not having been made.

(3) The arbitration proceedings shall begin from the date when the Commission accepts the Request for Arbitration.

Article 20 Arbitration Case Manager

The arbitration case manager is responsible for assisting the tribunal in managing the procedural affairs of arbitration cases and providing other services related to arbitration cases for the tribunal.

Article 21 Notice of Arbitration

(1) The Commission will send the notice of arbitration, the Request for Arbitration, the evidence or other supporting documents submitted by the Claimant, these Rules, and the Panel of Arbitrators of the Commission to the Respondent within five days after accepting the Request for Arbitration.

(2) the Claimant may file an application to the Commission for delaying the delivery of the documents mentioned in the preceding paragraph to the Respondent, under which the time limit is not subject to that stipulated in such preceding paragraph upon the approval of the Commission.

Article 22 Defense

(1) The Respondent shall submit the following documents to the Commission within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice of arbitration:

1. The Statement of Defense, which shall include the following contents:

(1) the name, domicile, postal code, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address or any other means of electronic communication of the Respondent, as for a legal person or other organizations, the name and position of its legal representative or principal shall be stated;

(2) the Statement of Defence as well as the facts and grounds on which the defense is based;

2. Evidence or other supporting materials;

3. The identity certificate of the Respondent.

(2) The Commission will send the Statement of Defense to the Claimant within five days upon receipt thereof.

(3) The failure of the Respondent to submit a Statement of Defense shall not affect the proceedings of the arbitration.

Article 23 Counterclaim

(1) The Respondent may file a counterclaim according to the same arbitration agreement. The party against which the counterclaim is filed shall be limited to the Claimant to the Claim.

(2) If the Respondent intends to make a counterclaim, it shall submit an application for the counterclaim to the Commission within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice of arbitration. If it fails to submit the application for the counterclaim within the time limit, the tribunal decide whether or not to accept the application; if the tribunal has not been constituted, the Commission shall make the decision. If the Commission or the tribunal refuses to accept the application, the Respondent may make a separate application to the Commission for the matters involved in the counterclaim. Such separate application filed by the Party shall not affect the proceedings of the ongoing arbitration.

(3) The filing and acceptance of counterclaims shall be made with reference to the provisions of Articles 18 and 19 of these Rules.

(4) The hearings of the claims and counterclaims in the same case shall be consolidated.

(5) The Commission shall send the Statement of Counterclaim and relevant documents to the Respondent to the counterclaim within five days after accepting the counterclaim. The Respondent to the counterclaim shall submit the Statement of Defence and relevant documents to the Commission in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (1) under Article 22 of these Rules; the failure of such submission shall not affect the continuation of the arbitration proceedings.

(6) For other counterclaim matters not mentioned in this Article hereof, they shall be processed in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Rules on Request for Arbitration.

Article 24 Amendment to Claim or Counterclaim

(1) The parties may, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance, submit an application for an amendment toclaim or counterclaim. If the submission is delayed, the tribunal has the discretion to decide whether to accept the application.

(2) The provisions in Article 18, 19 and 22 of these Rules shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the submission and acceptance of, and response to, such amended claim or counterclaim.

Article 25 Submissions and Copies

The Request for Arbitration, the Statement of Defence, the Statement of Counterclaim, evidentiary documents, and other written documents submitted by the parties shall be made in quintuplicate. Where there are more than two parties or one party has more than one service address, additional copies shall be provided accordingly; if the tribunal is composed of a sole arbitrator, the number of copies submitted may be reduced by two. Electronic versions of the above materials may be submitted to the Commission concurrently.

Article 26 Consolidated Arbitration under Multiple Contracts

The Claimant may initiate a single arbitration concerning disputes arising out of or in connection with multiple contracts, provided that::

1. The multiple contracts constitute a relation of principal and accessory, or the multiple contracts involve the same parties, with legal relationship of the same nature;

2. The disputes arise out of the same transaction or series of transactions that are inseparable from each other;

3. The contents of arbitration agreements of the multiple contracts are identical or compatible.

Article 27 Joinder of additional Parties

(1) If an additional party who is a party to the same arbitration agreement applies to become a joint claimant, the consent of the Claimant must be obtained. The tribunal shall, at its discretion, decide whether or not to accept the application, or, if the tribunal has not been constituted, the Commission shall make the decision.

(2) Where the party applies to add an additional party who is a party to the same arbitration agreement to be a joint respondent. The tribunal shall, at its discretion, decide whether or not to accept the application, or, if the tribunal has not been constituted, the Commission shall make the decision.

(3) In cases of an arbitration counterclaim, the provisions of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article shall apply to the counterclaim proceedings for the joinder of the additional party.

(4) The joinder of an additional party, without an arbitration agreement into the arbitration proceedings to becomes a party thereto, shall require unanimous consent by the additional party and all the parties concerned. The tribunal shall, at its discretion, decide whether or not to accept, or, if the tribunal has not been constituted, the Commission shall make the decision.

(5) If the tribunal discovers during the hearing that the award of a case may involve the rights and interests of a third party, it may notify such party. If outsider third party applies to join the arbitration proceedings, reference to the provisions of Paragraph (1) or Paragraph (4) of this Article shall be made. If the third party fails to submit the joinder application in writing within the time limit required by the tribunal, the arbitration proceedings shall continue.

(6) If the Commission decides to accept an additional party to join the arbitration proceedings, the tribunal shall be constituted in accordance with the provisions of Article 35 of these Rules. If the tribunal decides to accept an additional party to join the arbitration proceedings, the tribunal shall proceed with the hearing.

(7) Where the parties apply for adding an additional party into the case or where an additional party applies to join into the arbitration proceedings, the application shall be made in writing, which shall contain the case number of the existing arbitration case, the names, domiciles and contact information of all the parties concerned, including the additional party, the arbitration agreement, facts and grounds on which the application is based, as well as the Claim. When submitting the application, the parties shall attach the evidence materials and other supporting documents on which their application is based.

Article 28 Claim Involving Multiple Parties

(1) Where there are two or more Claimants or Respondents, either party may submit claims against other parties in accordance with the same arbitration agreement. The tribunal shall, at its discretion, decide whether or not to accept the claims, or, if the tribunal has not been constituted, the Commission shall make the decision.

(2) The submission, acceptance, defense, amendment and other matters of the above-mentioned Claim shall be dealt with by reference to the provisions of Article 18, Article 19, Article 22, and Article 24 of these Rules.

Article 29 Conservatory and Interim Measures

(1) A party may apply for conservatory measures if it appears that an award may be impossible or difficult to enforce due to actions performed by the other party or for other reasons.

(2) In case the evidence may be lost or difficult to be obtained in the future, the party concerned may apply for evidence preservation.

(3) Where the party applies for conservatory measures, the Commission shall submit the application to the people’s court with jurisdiction within five days after the receipt thereof. After the people’s court has notified the Commission of taking conservatory measures or ruling to reject the application, etc., the Commission will forward the case files and the relevant materials to the tribunal.

(4) Under emergent circumstances, if the application for conservatory measures is not filed immediately, party’s legitimate rights and interests may suffer irreparable damage or the evidence may be lost and difficult to be obtained in the future, the party may apply for conservatory measures before the Application for Arbitration. the Claimant shall apply for arbitration within thirty days after the people's court takes preservation measures.

(5) If the party applies tolift the conservatory measures, the Commission shall forward the application to the people's court with jurisdiction.

Article 30 Entrusted Representatives

(1) The parties or their legal representatives may entrust one to three persons as arbitration representatives. Upon the application of the parties and the consent of the tribunal, the number of representatives may be increased as appropriate.

(2) If there are more than two representatives, a representative shall be appointed as the chief representative to the tribunal.

(3) When one party entrusts a representative to conduct arbitration activities, it shall submit a power of attorney stating the agency matters and authority, as well as the identity certificate of the entrusted representative to the Commission.

(4) The following persons may be entrusted as arbitration representatives:

1. Lawyers;

2. Close relatives or staff members of the parties;

3. If the party is a citizen of the People's Republic of China, such party may entrust a person recommended by the community, his/her employer and relevant social organization, or a legal personnel as representative.

Article 31 Signing a Letter of Guarantee

(1) If the Commission or the tribunal deems it necessary, it may require the parties or their representatives to sign a letter of guarantee to ensure compliance with the principle of good faith; if they refuse to do so, the Commission and the tribunal shall record the relevant information on file.

(2) If the parties or their representatives refuse to sign the letter of guarantee, or are found providing false statements or forged evidence or committing other violations of guarantees after signing such letter, the tribunal may reject any statement or evidence submitted thereby.

Chapter IV Tribunal

Article 32 Numbers of Arbitrators

(1) If the parties make no agreement upon the composition of the Tribunal, the tribunal shall be composed of three arbitrators, except as otherwise provided in these Rules.

(2) The parties may agree that the tribunal shall be composed of three arbitrators or one arbitrator, and may also agree on the way of constitution of the tribunal or the specific arbitrators.

(3) If the parties agree that the tribunal shall be composed of other number of arbitrators, such agreement shall prevail; however, if the way of constitution of the tribunal or the specific arbitrator is not agreed by then, and the way of constitution of the tribunal or the specific arbitrator is not determined through consultation within thirty days after the commencement of the arbitration proceedings, it shall be deemed that only the three-arbitrator tribunal applies.

Article 33 Constitution of a Three-arbitrator Tribunal

(1) If the three-arbitrator tribunal applies, the Claimant and the Respondent may, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/notice of arbitration, respectively appoint or entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint an arbitrator. If the parties fail to appoint or fail to entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint an arbitrator within the time limit,the arbitrators shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission.

(2) The Claimant and the Respondent may jointly appoint or jointly entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint an arbitrator as the presiding arbitrator of the tribunal within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/notice of arbitration. Within the above time limit, the Claimant and the Respondent may also nominate one to five arbitrators as the candidates for the presiding arbitrator. If there is one common arbitrator in the list of the presiding arbitrators nominated by the Claimant and the Respondent, such arbitrator shall be the presiding arbitrator jointly appointed; in case of more than one common arbitrator, the Chairperson of the Commission shall appoint one of them as the presiding arbitrator jointly appointed by the Claimant and the Respondent as the case may be.

(3) If the Claimant and the Respondent fail to jointly appoint the presiding arbitrator in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Article, the Chairperson of the Commission shall designate a person who is not on the nomination list of the parties as the presiding arbitrator.

(4) If the parties have agreed on the way of Constitution of the three-arbitrator tribunal or the specific arbitrator, such agreement shall prevail.

Article 34 Constitution of a Sole-arbitrator Tribunal

(1) If the parties agree that the tribunal shall be composed of one arbitrator, the sole-arbitrator tribunal shall apply, except that the Commission considers it is necessary to apply a three-arbitrator tribunal based on the amount under dispute, the complexity of the case and other relevant factors.

(1) If the sole-arbitrator tribunal is applied, the Claimant and the Respondent may, within ten days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/notice of arbitration, jointly appoint or jointly entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint one arbitrator as the sole arbitrator. The Claimant and the Respondent may also nominate one to five arbitrators as the sole arbitrator within the above time limit. If there is one common arbitrator in the list of sole arbitrator nominated by the Claimant and the Respondent, such arbitrator shall be the sole arbitrator jointly appointed; in case of more than one common arbitrator, the Chairperson of the Commission shall appoint one of them as the sole arbitrator jointly appointed by the Claimant and the Respondent as the case may be.

(3) If the Claimant and the Respondent fail to jointly appoint the sole arbitrator in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Article, the Chairperson of the Commission shall designate a person who is not on the nomination list of the parties as the sole arbitrator.

(4) If the parties have agreed on the way of Constitution of the sole-arbitrator tribunal or the specific arbitrator, such agreement shall prevail.

Article 35 Constitution of a Tribunal in Multi-party Dispute

(1) Where the tribunal is composed of three arbitrators, if the Claimant or the Respondent has two or more persons, all the parties of the Claimant or the Respondent shall jointly negotiate and appoint or entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint an arbitrator as their appointed arbitrator of the tribunal, and appoint the presiding arbitrator of the tribunal according to the provisions of Paragraph (2) under Article 33 of these Rules.

(2) Where the tribunal is composed of one arbitrator, if the Claimant or the Respondent has two or more persons, all the parties of the Claimant or the Respondent shall jointly negotiate and appoint the sole arbitrator in accordance with Paragraph (2) under Article 34 of these Rules.

(3) Where the Claimant and the Respondent appoint the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article, all the parties of the Claimant or Respondent shall jointly submit the nomination list of arbitrators to the Commission in the name of the Claimant or the Respondent after confirming the arbitrator candidates.

(4) If the parties fail to reach an agreement and appoint an arbitrator in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Article within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/notice of arbitration by the last party, or fail to reach an agreement and appoint an arbitrator in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Article within ten days, the Chairperson of the Commission shall make the appointment in accordance with the provisions of Articles 33 and 34 of these Rules respectively.

Article 36 Notice of the Constitution of the Tribunal

Within five days after the constitution of the tribunal, the Commission will send the Notice of the Constitution of the Tribunal to the parties and the arbitrators.

Article 37 Disclosure of information about Arbitrators

(1) After receiving the Notice of the Constitution of the Tribunal, each arbitrator shall sign a Declaration, promise to arbitrate independently and impartially, and take the initiative to disclose in writing any circumstances known to him/her which may give a rise to justifiable doubts as to his/her independence and impartiality, including but not limited to the circumstances specified in Paragraphs (1) and (2) under Article 38 of these Rules.

(2) If the arbitrator believes that the circumstance that shall be disclosed is sufficient to constitute a cause for challenge, he/she shall make a declaration of challenge when making the written disclosure.

(3) If the circumstances that shall be disclosed occur after signing the Declaration, the arbitrator shall take the initiative to disclose such circumstances promptly in writing.

(4) The Declaration containing matters that shall be disclosed will be forwarded to the parties in a timely manner by the Commission upon receipt thereof.

Article 38 Challenge

(1) The arbitrator shall withdraw from the tribunal and the parties have the right to challenge the arbitrator under any of the following circumstances:

1. The arbitrator is a party to the case or close relative of the party or the party's representative;

2. The arbitrator has an interest in the case;

3. The arbitrator has other relations with the parties or their representatives in the case, which may affect impartial arbitration.

4. The arbitrator meets the parties or their representatives without permission, or accepts hospitality or gifts offered by the parties or their representatives.

(2) The "other relations with the parties or their representatives in the case" in Item 3 of Paragraph (1) of this Article include the following circumstances:

1. Consulting and being consulted by, managing and being managed by the parties or their representatives in the case, or acting as representative and consultant of the parties or their representatives in the case, except that the pertinent relationship has ended for more than two years on the date of the constitution of the Tribunal;

2. Working in the same entity with the parties or their representatives in the case;

3. Having recommended and introduced the representatives to the parties with respect to the dispute involved in the case;

4. Having provided consultation with respect to the dispute involved in the case, or having served as a witness, appraiser, inspector, translator, interpreter, defender or representative in cases related to the dispute involved in the case;

5. Being arbitrator as the parties to the case or their representatives in other cases being heard by the Commission;

6. In another case in which a party or its representative to the current case acts as an arbitrator, while the arbitrator of the current case happens to be a party or its representative to such other case, except that such case has been concluded for more than two years on the date of the constitution of the Tribunal;

7. Other circumstances that may affect impartial arbitration.

(3) If one party applies for challenging the arbitrator, it shall do so within five days after its awareness of the cause of the challenge and before the commencement of the first hearing; if it becomes aware of the cause of the challenge after the first hearing commences, it shall make the challenge no later than the conclusion of the last hearing.

(4) If one party applies for challenging the arbitrator on the grounds of the matters disclosed by the arbitrator in accordance with Article 37 of these Rules, it shall do so within five days after receiving the arbitrator's disclosure declaration; if it fails to do so, it may not raise a challenge the arbitrator on the grounds of the matter already disclosed by the arbitrator.

(5) If the appointment of a representative by one party after it is notified of the members of the tribunal constitutes a circumstance under which a challenge to the arbitrator shall be raised, it shall be deemed as waiving the right to raise a challenge, but the right of any other party to raise a challenge in this regard shall not be affected.

(6) The request for challenge shall be submitted to the Commission in writing, which shall make a statement of the cause on which the request is based with relevant evidence. The Commission will send to the other party the request for challenge submitted by the party within five days upon receipt thereof.

(7) If one party requests a challenge, the other party agrees to the request or the arbitrator being challenged takes the initiative to withdraw from the hearing of the case, the arbitrator shall be replaced, but it shall not be deemed that the challenge made by the party is sustainable.

(8) Except for the provisions of Paragraph (7) of this Article, the Chairperson of the Commission shall make a decision on the challenge; if the Chairperson of the Commission acts as an arbitrator, the general members' meeting of the Commission shall make a decision on the challenge to the Chairperson of the Commission.

(9) A challenge to case managers, translators, interpreters, appraisers, and inspectors shall be governed by the provisions of this Article. The Chairperson of the Commission shall make a decision on the challenge to the translators, interpreters, appraisers and inspectors; and the Secretary-General of the Commission shall make a decision on the challenge to the case managers.

Article 39 Replacement of Arbitrators and Change of the Tribunal

(1) Unless otherwise provided in these Rules, an arbitrator shall be replaced under any of the following circumstances:

1. The arbitrator died or is unable to engage in the arbitration due to health reasons;

2. The arbitrator is successfully challenged;

3. The arbitrator takes the initiative to withdraws from the hearing, or the parties unanimously request him/her to withdraw from the hearing;

4. The Chairperson of the Commission believes that the arbitrator is prevented de jure or de facto from performing his/her functions or fails to perform his/her functions according to law.

(2) If the arbitrator replacement occurs before the constitution of the Tribunal, the party who agreed upon and appointed the replaced arbitrator may, within five days after receiving the notice of the Commission, agree upon, appoint or entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint a new arbitrator in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Rules; if the party fails to agree upon, appoint or entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint a new arbitrator within the time limit, the Chairperson of the Commission shall appoint a new arbitrator.

(3) If the arbitrator replacement occurs after the constitution of the Tribunal, a Notice on Reconstitution of Arbitral Tribunal shall be issued to the parties. The party who agreed upon and appointed the replaced arbitrator may, within five days after receiving such notice of the Commission, agree upon, appoint or entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint a new arbitrator in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Rules; if the party fails to agree upon, appoint or entrust the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint a new arbitrator within the time limit, or if the replaced arbitrator was originally appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission, the Chairperson of the Commission shall appoint a new arbitrator.

(4) After the tribunal is reconstituted, the parties and the arbitrators shall be notified in accordance with the provisions of Article 36 of these Rules. The parties may, within five days from the date of receipt of the Notice on Reconstitution of Arbitral Tribunal, submit written opinions on whether and to what extent prior proceedings shall be repeated to the reconsitututed arbitral tribunal.If the parties fail to do so or no agreement is reached within the time limit, it shall be decided by the new tribunal. If the tribunal decides to repeat all the hearing proceedings, the time limit stipulated in Articles 85, 97, 109, 116 and 126 of these Rules shall be re-calculated from the date of constitution of the new tribunal.

Chapter V Evidence

Article 40 Types of Evidence

Evidence includes statements of the parties, documentary evidence, material evidence, audio-visual materials, electronic data, witness testimonies, appraisal, and records of inspection.

Article 41 Submission of Evidence

(1) One party shall provide evidence to prove the facts on which its Claims are based or the facts based on which it defends against the other party's Claims, except as otherwise provided by law.

(2) The parties shall complete the evidence within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/arbitration. If the submission is delayed, the tribunal shall decide whether to accept the evidence. If it is truly difficult for the parties to submit evidence within the time limit, they may apply in writing to extend the time limit for the submission of evidence before the expiration of such time limit. Whether or not to approve the application shall be decided by the tribunal.

(3) The time limit for the submission of evidence for the counterclaims by the parties shall be governed by Paragraph (2) of this Article.

(4) If the parties fail to submit evidence within the prescribed time limit, or the evidence submitted is insufficient to prove their claims, the parties who bear the burden of proof shall be held liable for the adverse consequences arising therefrom.

(5) When submitting evidentiary materials, the parties shall compile them by classification, indicating serial numbers and page numbers. A list of evidential catalogue should be attached, which indicates the titles, contents, submission dates of those evidentiary materials contained therein and bearing stamps and signatures.

(6) One party shall provide the original evidence or the original material evidence for the tribunal and the other party for cross-examination. If one party raise no objection to the authenticity of the copies, photos, duplicates, excerpts and other materials submitted by the other party, they can be deemed as consistent with the original evidence or the original material evidence.

Article 42 Exchange of Evidence

The Commission shall exchange the evidence materials submitted by the parties and deliver the evidence materials submitted by one party to the other party.

Article 43 Supplementary Evidence

(1) If the tribunal deems it necessary, it may require one party to supplement the evidence within a specified time limit. The party who bears the burden of proof shall provide supplementary evidence within the required time limit.

(2) If the party fails to provide or fails to provide within the time limit the supplementary evidence without justifiable reasons, such party shall bear the consequences of failure to provide evidence, and the tribunal shall determine the facts of the case and render an award according to existing evidence.

Article 44 Letter of Assistance in Investigation

If it is truly difficult for one party to investigate and collect evidence, the tribunal may issue a letter of assistance in investigation if the tribunal deems it necessary after receiving the application from the party. The party or its representative may investigate and collect evidence from relevant entities and individuals with such letter.

Article 45 Investigation and Evidence Collection by Tribunal

(1) As requested by one party or where the tribunal deems it necessary, the tribunal may investigate and collect evidence by itself or by entrusting the case manager to do so.

(2) If the tribunal investigates and collects evidence on the site by itself or by entrusting the case manager to do so, more than two persons shall be present at the investigation and make a record. The tribunal may notify the party to be present at the on-site investigation and evidence collection. If the party fails to be present upon notification, the investigation and evidence collection shall proceed without being affected.

(3) The parties shall have the right to cross-examine the transcripts, evidence and other materials collected by the tribunal by itself or by the entrusted case manager.

Article 46 Order to Submit Documentary Evidence

(1) If one party believes that the documentary evidence is under the control of the other party, it may apply in writing to the tribunal, within the time limit for the submission of evidence, to require the other party to submit the evidence. The application shall specify the name or content of the documentary evidence to be submitted, the facts to be proved by the documentary evidence and the importance of the facts, the basis for the other party's control of the documentary evidence and the reasons for submitting the documentary evidence.

(2) Where the other party denies its control of the documentary evidence, the tribunal shall make a comprehensive judgment on whether the documentary evidence is under the other party’s control according to the legal provisions, customs and other factors, in combination of the facts and evidence of the case.

(3) Where the party's application is justified, the tribunal shall make a decision requiring the other party controlling the documentary evidence to submit the documentary evidence; where the application is not justified, the tribunal shall notify the applicant of the corresponding reasons therefor.

(4) Where the documentary evidence mentioned in the application of the party is unclear, or the documentary evidence is inessential for proving the facts, or the facts to be proved have no substantial connection to the merit of the case, or the documentary evidence is not under the control of the other party, or there are other circumstances that are inappropriate for the other party to submit such documentary evidence, the tribunal shall deny the application.

Article 47 Witnesses Presenting at Hearings

(1) If one party applies for a witness to present at the hearing to testify, it shall submit the application in writing and the approval of such application shall be decided by the tribunal. The written application shall include the information of the witness’ identity, contact information, facts to be proved by the witness, and such other contents with an attachment of the witness identity certificate. With the approvel of the tribunal, it may notify the witness to present at the hearing according to the application and via the contact information provided by the party.

(2) When the witness presents at the hearing to testify, such witness shall sign a guarantee of truthful testimony. If the witness refuses to sign, such witness shall not testify.

(3) When the witness presents at the hearing to testify, the tribunal and the parties may ask the witness questions on relevant matters, and the witness shall give truthful answers. If the witness makes a false statement, the tribunal may reject all his/her testimonies, and the witness shall bear corresponding legal responsibilities therefor.

Article 48 Appraisal

(1) The parties may apply for appraisal on the special issues to ascertain the facts. When one party applies for appraisal, it shall submit a written application and necessary supporting materials. The tribunal may refuse to approve the application for appraisal if they are irrelevant to the facts to be proved or meaningless to prove the facts to be proved. If the tribunal deems it necessary to proceed with an appraisal, it may decide to arrange an appraisal without an application from the party.

(2) After one party applies for an appraisal, the tribunal shall make a decision within a reasonable time limit. If the tribunal decides to arrange an appraisal, it shall notify the party to appoint an expertise institute within the prescribed time limit and inform the matters to be appraised.

(3) The party shall jointly appoint an expert institute with corresponding qualifications or jointly determine the rules for appointing an expertise institute within the time limit prescribed by the tribunal. If the party fails to reach an agreement, the expertise institute shall be randomly appointed by the tribunal in the panel of expertise institutes. If the conditions for a random appointment are not met, it shall be designated by the tribunal.

(4) The party shall pay the appraisal fee in advance according to the proportion and time limit determined by the tribunal. The final bearer of the appraisal fee and the proportion of bearing shall be determined by the tribunal in the award. If the party fails to pay the appraisal fee in advance within the time limit specified by the tribunal, no appraisal shall be carried out.

(5) The expertise institute shall, after accepting the entrusted appraisal, timely notify the appraisal-related materials that need to be provided or presented by the party. The party shall submit such materials within ten days from the date of receipt of the notice. If a time extension is necessary due to special circumstances, a written application shall be submitted for the approval of the tribunal before the expiration of the time limit. If the party fails to submit the appraisal-related materials within the time limit, as a result of which appraisal cannot be proceeded, such appraisal shall be terminated.

(6) If the expertise institute requires or if the tribunal deems it necessary, the tribunal may decide to hold an appraisal meeting and conduct the party, the expertise institute, or the appraiser to discuss the matters to be appraised.

(7) The expertise institute shall determine a reasonable appraisal period according to the workload of the matters to be appraised and the preparation of the related materials. If the time limit needs to be extended due to special circumstances, the expertise institute shall submit a written application before the expiration of the appraisal period, which may be appropriately extended with the consent of the tribunal.

(8) A copy of the appraisal report shall be sent to the party. If the party disagrees with the appraisal, they may submit written opinions to the tribunal, and the expert institute shall reply to the objections of the party in writing. If the party remains disagreeing with the written reply of the expertise institute or the tribunal deems it necessary, the appraiser shall in present at the hearing to testify. The tribunal shall organize the party to question the appraiser on matters related to the appraisal opinion, and the appraiser shall explain and illustrate his/her opinions.

(9) If the party applies for re-appraisal without justifiable reasons, the tribunal shall deny the application.

Article 49 Professional and Technical Opinions

(1) If one party applies for professional and technical opinions of relevant professional and technical personnel in a case which needs appraiser or involves highly professional skills, the party shall specify the identity information and contact information of, and professional and technical matters to be proved by the relevant professional and technical personnel in the written application submitted, and attach the identity documents of such professional and technical personnel with their qualification certificates. The approval of such application shall be decided by the tribunal.

(2) The tribunal shall consult professional and technical opinions during the investigation proceedings of the hearing, and organize the parties to inquire of the relevant professional and technical personnel who present at court, and; the professional and technical personnel designated by each party may cross-examine appraisal or professional and technical matters. With the unanimous consent of the parties, the cross-examination may be made in writing.

(3) The relevant professional and technical personnel shall not participate in any hearing activities other than those related to the appraisal or professional and technical matters.

(4) The expenses for the relevant professional and technical personnel toattend the hearing shall be borne by the party filing the application.

Article 50 Cross-examination

(1) The evidence that has been exchanged before the hearing shall be presented in the hearing for cross-examination. The parties shall cross-examine the authenticity and legality of the evidence and its relevance to the facts to be proved, and explain and debate whether the evidence has probative value and the weight thereof.

(2) If there is an amount of evidence in the case and the tribunal considers it necessary, the presiding arbitrator, the sole arbitrator or the entrusted case manager may summon the parties to conduct cross-examination before the hearing. Evidence that has been cross-examined before the hearing is not required to be presented and cross-examined during the hearing after an explanation is given by the tribunal.

(3) If the tribunal decides to accept the evidentiary materials submitted by the parties during or after the hearing , it may require the parties to submit written cross-examination opinions within a specified time limit if no further hearing will be conducted.

(4) Where a case is to be decided on the basis of documents only, cross-examination shall be conducted in writing.

(5) If cross-examination is conducted in writing, the parties have the right to request to access and check the original evidence.

Article 51 Confirmation of Evidence

(1) Evidence shall be confirmed by the tribunal. The tribunal shall comprehensively and objectively examine the evidence, and make comprehensive confirmation of the evidence in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, with reference to judicial interpretation, in combination with business practices and course of dealing and using logical reasoning and daily life empirical rule.

(2) The evidence not cross-examined shall not be used as the basis for ascertaining the facts of the case.

(3) Whether to accept professional and technical opinions shall be decided by the tribunal.

Article 52 Electronic Data Examination

(1) Electronic data refers to information generated or stored in electronic media via e-mail, electronic data exchange, online chat records, blogs, micro-blogs, mobile phone text messages, electronic signatures, domain names, etc.

(2) If one party raises a challenge to the authenticity of the electronic data, the tribunal shall examine and determine the authenticity of the process of generating, collecting, storing and transmitting the electronic data in combination with the cross-examination result, and focus on examining the following contents:

1. Whether the computer system and other hardware and software environment via which the electronic data is generated, collected, stored or transmitted are safe and reliable;

2. Whether the subject generating the electronic data and the generation time are clear, and whether the contents thereof are clear, objective, and accurate;

3. Whether the storage and maintenance media of the electronic data are clear, and whether the storage methods and means are appropriate;

4. Whether the subjects, tools and methods of electronic data extraction and fixation are reliable, and whether the extraction process may be reproduced;

5. Whether the contents of the electronic data have been added, deleted, modified or are incomplete, etc.;

6. Whether the electronic data can be verified in a specific form.

(3) If the parties submit the following electronic data, the tribunal shall accept its authenticity, unless there is evidence to the contrary based on which such electronic data may be proved false:

1. Electronic data notarized by a notary office;

2. Electronic data collected, fixed and tamper-proof by electronic signature, trusted timestamp, hash value verification, block chain and other technical means, and verified by the online dispute resolution platform;

3. Electronic data certified by the electronic deposit and evidence collection platform built by the Commission or the third-party data service provider cooperating with the Commission.

(4) According to the application of the parties, or when the tribunal deems it necessary, the tribunal may authorize the examination on the authenticity of electronic data or obtain other relevant evidence for verification.

(5) The parties may apply to the tribunal to consider the professional and technical opinions on the electronic data provided by the relevant professional and technical personnel.Article 53 Verification of Original Evidence

(1) If one party objects to the authenticity of electronic data or electronically processed documentary evidence, material evidence, audio-visual materials, appraisal, and records of the investigation of crime scenes with reasonable reasons, or objects to the authenticity of presented documentary evidence, material evidence, audio-visual materials, appraisal, records of the investigation of the crime scene with reasonable reasons, the tribunal may organize or entrust the case manager to organize the parties to verify the original evidence. The verification of original evidence may be carried out together with evidence exchange and pre-hearing cross-examination.

(2) If neither party raises objections to the authenticity of the evidence or claims no defense to the other party’s objection thereof, the tribunal may choose not to verify the original evidence.

(3) When the tribunal organizes the parties to verify the original evidence, the parties shall cooperate accordingly. If the parties do not cooperate, the tribunal may reject the corresponding evidence.

Chapter VI Time Limit and Service

Article 54 Calculation of Time Limit

(1) The time limit is calculated by hours, days, months and years. The time and day from which the time limit commences shall not be counted as within such time limit. If the last day of the time limit is a legal holiday or a festival of the People's Republic of China, the time limit shall end on the first subsequent business day.

(2) The time limit shall not include the time in transit, and the arbitration documents, materials and notices shall not be deemed overdue if they are delivered before the expiration of the time limit.

(3) If the parties have a delay due to force majeure or other justifiable reasons, they may apply for an extension within ten days after the removal of hindrance, and the approval of such application shall be decided by the Commission or the tribunal.

Article 55 Means of Service

Arbitration documents, materials and notices may be served by personal service, mailing, electronic service and service by public notice. If the parties agree otherwise, such agreement shall prevail.

Article 56 Personal Delivery

(1) If the arbitration documents, materials and notices are served by personal service, they shall be served directly on the addressee or the arbitration representative or designated recipient.

(2) If the addressee is a natural person, the delivery shall be signed off by his/her adult family upon receipt thereof when he/she is absent; if the addressee is a legal person or other organization, the delivery shall be signed off by the legal representative of the legal person, the principal of such other organization, or its staff of the office, mail room and duty room or the designated recipient upon receipt thereof; the date of receipt by the above personnel is the date of service. If the addressee refuses to accept the arbitration documents, materials and notices, the server may leave such arbitration documents, materials and notices at the addressee's residence, and record the delivery process by taking pictures or videos, in which case such documents are deemed as served thereafter.

(3) If one party, its representative or designated recipient arrives at the business premises of the Commission, its branches/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms, but refuses to sign off the receipt of service, the arbitration documents, materials and notices shall be deemed as served. The server shall write down the reason and date of the rejection on the receipt of service and sign it.

Article 57 Service by Mailing

(1) When applying for arbitration or submitting a defense, one party shall fill out the confirmation letter of service address, and confirm its accurate service address with the Commission. The arbitration documents, materials and notices shall be deemed as served when they are mailed to such address. Any and all legal consequences resulting from a failure of service caused either by an inaccuracy in the service address confirmed by the party or the intentional provision of false address shall be borne solely by the party.

(2) If the party changes its service address during the arbitration process, it shall reconfirm the address with the Commission in writing in a timely manner. The legal consequences caused by the failure to reconfirm or to reconfirm in time shall be borne solely by the party.

(3) If the party fails to confirm its service address with the Commission, but the service address is stipulated in the contract, the arbitration documents, materials and notices shall be deemed as served if they are mailed to such address.

(4) If the party fails to confirm its service address with the Commission, and the service address is not stipulated in the contract, but the following address exists, the arbitration documents, materials and notices shall be mailed to such address:

1. The contact address of the party agreed in the contract;

2. Other address provided by the other party;

3. The address of the natural person's domicile, habitual residence, actual residence, and the address stated in his/her legal identity certificate;

4. The domicile, registered office, office place, and business place of the legal person or other organization registered and filed according to law;

5. The representative office, branch and business agency legally established by the foreign party within the territory of the People's Republic of China.

(5) If the addressee's address specified in Paragraphs (3) and (4) of this Article cannot be found after reasonable inquiry, the arbitration documents, materials and notices shall be deemed as served if they are served to the addressee's last known domicile, business place, registered office, residence, household registration address, the address stated in his/her legal identity certificate, the service address agreed by the parties or other mailing address by registered mail, postal express or other means that can provide delivery records.

(6) If the addressee refuses to sign an acknowledgement on the receipt of the arbitration documents, materials and notices or requests to return the same, the date of return shall be regarded as the date of service. (7) After a successful service by mailing, subsequent documents and materials delivered to the same address shall be deemed as served, whether such documents and materials are signed or returned.

Article 58 Electronic Service

(1) One party may confirm its electronic service address (including but not limited to e-mail, mobile phone No., WeChat No., and QQ No.) to the Commission when applying for an arbitration or submitting a defense. When the Commission sends arbitration documents, materials and notices to the electronic service address confirmed by the party, they shall be deemed as served.

(2) The party shall ensure that the electronic service address is legal and valid. Any and all legal consequences resulting from a failure of service caused by an inaccuracy in the electronic service address confirmed by the party shall be borne solely by the party.

(3) If the party changes its electronic service address in the course of an arbitration, it shall promptly notify the Commission. The legal consequences caused by the party's failure to notify or timely notify the Commission shall be borne solely by the party.

(4) If the party registers an account on the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission and has confirmed its identity, the account shall be deemed as an electronic service address.

(5) Electronic service can be made by fax, e-mail, mobile communication and other specific systems with immediate receipt function as the delivery medium, and the sending date displayed by the corresponding system of the Commission shall be the date of service; however, if the address proves that the date of arrival displayed in its media system is inconsistent with the sending date displayed in the corresponding system of the Commission, such date of arrival in the addressee's media system shall be taken as the date of service.

Article 59 Service by Public Notice

If the whereabouts of a natural person are unknown or the service cannot be accomplished by other means in this Chapter, the service may be achieved via service by public notice. After sixty days from the post date of the public notice, the service shall be deemed as accomplished. Service by public notice is not applicable to international commercial arbitration cases.

Chapter VII Mediation and Reconciliation

Article 60 Basic Principles

(1) The mediation shall be conducted based on the voluntariness of the parties, following the principles of impartiality, legitimacy, confidentiality and efficiency. The parties also have the right to reconcile between or among themselves.

(2) The mediation/reconciliation may be conducted through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission.

(3) The mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement reached by the parties shall not damage the interests of third parties and public interests.

(4) If either party proposes to terminate the mediation in the mediation process, or the mediator/tribunal believes that it is impossible for the parties to reach an agreement, the mediation may be terminated.

(5) If the mediation/reconciliation fails to reach a consensus, either party shall not refer to the statements, opinions, viewpoints and suggestions made by the other party or mediator/tribunal in the mediation/reconciliation process as the basis for its claim, defense or counterclaim in the subsequent arbitration proceedings and other proceedings.

Article 61 Mediation before the Constitution of Tribunal

(1) If the parties have reached a mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement through negotiation or mediation before filing a Request for Arbitration with the Commission, they may jointly apply to the Commission according to the arbitration agreement under which the Commission has valid jurisdiction, and the tribunal constituted by the Commission shall render a mediation decision or an award according to the contents of the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the tribunal shall be composed of an arbitrator appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission, and shall conduct the hearing in accordance with the proceedings which the arbitrator considers appropriate, and the specific proceedings and time limit shall not be limited by other provisions of these Rules.

(2) If the parties jointly submit a written application for mediation to the Commission after the Request for Arbitration is accepted but before the constitution of a tribunal, the mediation agency authorized by the Commission or the mediator appointed by the Commission from the Panel of Mediators shall conduct mediation in accordance with the relevant rules of the Commission. With the unanimous consent of the parties, the Commission may entrust the case to another mediation agency recognized by the Commission for independent mediation. If the parties reach a mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement and jointly submit a written application to the Commission, the tribunal may, after its constitution, make a mediation decision or render an award with reference to the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Article.

Article 62 Mediation after the Constitution of Tribunal

(1) According to the request of the parties or with the consent of the parties, the tribunal may conduct mediation in the way it deems appropriate.

(2) If the parties are willing to mediate without a tribunal to conduct the mediation, with the unanimous consent of the parties, the Commission may assist the parties in conducting mediation in appropriate ways and proceedings, and may also entrust another mediation agency recognized by the Commission for independent mediation when necessary.

(3) With the unanimous consent of the parties and the third parties, such third parties may participate in the mediation. If a mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement is reached, with the permission of the tribunal and the unanimous consent of the parties and the third parties, the third parties may be added as a party to the case and bear civil liabilities or have corresponding civil rights according to the contents of the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement.

(4) The contents of the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement are not limited to the scope of the claim. The tribunal may grant permission for the contents beyond the scope of the claim, but the parties shall supplement additional arbitration fees as required.

Article 63 Result of Mediation

(1) If the parties reach a mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement, they may withdraw the claim or counterclaim, or apply to the tribunal to issue a mediation decision or render an award according to the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement. The mediation decision and the award have the same legal effect.

(2) The mediation decision shall specify the claim and the result of the agreement between or among the parties. The mediation decision shall be signed by the arbitrator, stamped with the common seal of the Commission, delivered to both parties, and become legally effective upon signing the receipt thereof by both parties.

(3) If no mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement is reached, or if the parties regret it before signing the receipt of the mediation decision, the case shall be resumed to the arbitration proceedings before the mediation is initiated.

Chapter VIII Hearing

Article 64 Conduct of Hearings

(1) The tribunal shall hold a hearing of the case, except as otherwise provided in these Rules.

(2) If the parties agree not to hold a hearing, the tribunal may decide the case on the basis of documents only. The tribunal shall render an award based on the Request for Arbitration, Statement of Defence, relevant evidence and other materials, and may also inquire about the opinions of the parties during the hearing or in writing when necessary.

(3) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the hearing or a written hearing may be conducted online, offline or by a combination thereof.

Article 65 Flexible and Simplified Hearing Modes

(1) Under the condition of meeting the recommended standard of Internet arbitration, namely, the "Guangzhou Standard", the tribunal may conduct remote video hearing for the convenience of the parties, and the parties also have the right to participate in such video remote hearing.

(2) Unless one party expressly objects, the tribunal may conduct online asynchronous hearing, and the parties may log in to the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission at their own choice within the specified time limit, and complete their opening statements, defenses, submissions of evidence, cross-examinations, oral arguments and fully express their opinions.

(3) Unless one party explicitly objects, the tribunal may conduct the hearing with a list of questions, and the parties may log in to the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission to express their opinions within a specified time limit according to such a list of questions; Generally, two rounds of expressing opinions may be arranged, and additional rounds may be added when necessary.

(4) In the course of the hearing, if the tribunal finds that a written hearing or a simplified hearing mode is not conducive to dispute resolution, or if the parties apply, the tribunal may decide to change from a written hearing to a in-person hearing, or from a more simplified hearing to a relatively simplified hearing or in-person hearing as the case may be. Switching between different hearing modes will not affect the validity of the statements and opinions already been made by the parties during the hearings.

Article 66 Place of Hearings

(1) Cases managed by the Commission, its branches/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms shall be heard in the business premises of the Commission, its branches/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms; if the tribunal deems it necessary, it may hold a hearing in other places with the consent of the Commission, its branches/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms where the case is managed.

(2) If the parties agree to hold a hearing at a place other than the business premises of the Commission, its branches/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms where the case is managed, the agreement shall prevail, but the parties shall bear the additional cost thus incurred. If the parties fail to pay such additional fee in advance within the specified time limit, it shall be deemed that they agree to hold the hearing in the business premises of the Commission, its branches/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms where the case is managed.

(3) If the remote video hearing, the online asynchronous hearing or the hearing with a list of questions is conducted, it shall be deemed that the hearing is held in the business premises of the Commission, its branches/Nansha International Arbitration Center and various professional arbitration platforms where the case is managed.

Article 67 Hearing Measures

The tribunal may determine the hearing schedule according to needs, and take various hearing measures such as issuing a list of questions, holding a pre-hearing meeting, and making a notice on the scope of the hearing.

Article 68 Consolidated Hearings

(1) The tribunal may hold a consolidated hearing for the cases that meet the following conditions:

1. The subject matters of the cases are the same kind or related;

2. The constitution of the tribunal is the same;

3. One party applies for the consolidated hearing and the other party agrees, or the parties agree to the consolidated hearing when the tribunal seeks for their opinions.

(2) For cases under consolidated hearings, the tribunal may decide the specific proceedings of the consolidated hearing as the case may be.

Article 69 Notice of Hearings

(1) The tribunal shall notify the parties of the time and place of the hearing five days before the commencement of the first hearing. If the parties agree unanimously, the tribunal may hold the hearing in advance.

(2) If the parties have justifiable reasons to apply for extending the hearing, the application shall be submitted five days before the hearing. Whether or not to approve the application shall be decided by the tribunal.

(3) The notice of the time and place of a reopened or postponed hearing shall not be subject to the time limit stipulated in Paragraph (1) of this Article.

Article 70 Identity Confirmation

(1) During the hearing, the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator shall ascertain whether the parties, representatives and other arbitration participants are present and confirm their identities, and the relevant personnel shall present relevant identity certificates and cooperate with the identity confirmation. The tribunal may also entrust the case manager to carry out the identity confirmation.

(2) If the parties and their representatives use the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission to participate in the hearing, they shall complete their identity confirmation by means of certificate and license comparison, biometric identification or the confirmation from the national unified identity authentication platform, etc.

(3) After the identity confirmation is completed, the operations of the parties and representatives after logging in to the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission with special accounts shall be regarded as their own operations, except that system errors occur due to technical failure of the online dispute resolution platform, or the parties and representatives can prove that their accounts in online dispute resolution platform have been abused.

Article 71 Proceedings in the absence of a party

(1) If the Claimant fails to appear at a hearing without justifiable reasons upon written notice, or withdraws from an on-going hearing without the permission of the tribunal, the Claimant may be deemed to have withdrawn its Request for Arbitration. If the Respondent has filed a counterclaim, the tribunal shall proceed with the hearing of the counterclaim and render a default award.

(2) If the Respondent fails to appear at a hearing without justifiable reasons upon written notice, or withdraws from an on-going hearing without the permission of the tribunal, the tribunal may proceed with the hearing. If the Respondent has filed a counterclaim, the Respondent may be deemed to have withdrawn its counterclaim.

Article 72 Hearing Investigations

The hearing investigation includes the following aspects:

1. One party states the claim, counterclaim, facts and reasons, and the other party makes a defense;

2. The parties present evidence and cross-examine each other, and the tribunal verifies the evidence;

3. The tribunal questions the parties and investigates the case;

4. Oral arguments shall be conducted under the direction of the tribunal;

5. Other aspects that the tribunal deems necessary to investigate.

Article 73 Debate and Final Statement

The parties have the right to debate during the hearing. After the end of the debate, the tribunal shall hear the final statements of the parties.

Article 74 Hearing Records

(1) The case manager shall make records of the hearing during the hearing process. According to the requirements of the parties or the tribunal, the mediation matters need not be recorded in the hearing records.

(2) The hearing records shall be signed or sealed by the arbitrator, the case manager, the parties and other arbitration participants.

(3) If the parties and other arbitration participants believe that there are omissions or errors recorded in the hearing records of their statements, they may apply to the tribunal for correction. If the tribunal refuses to correct, the application shall be recorded in the hearing records.

(4) If any party or any other arbitration participant refuses to sign or seal the hearing records, such refusal shall be recorded in the hearing records and signed by the arbitrator and the case manager.

(5) The tribunal may decide to record the hearing by means of synchronous audio and video recording and shall inform the parties thereof before the hearing.

(6) If the hearing records are recorded by means of synchronous audio and video recording or if the hearing is conducted through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission, the hearing records and relevant records need not be signed or sealed.

Article 75 Hearing Disciplines

(1) The Commission shall formulate the hearing disciplines in accordance with the Arbitration Law and these Rules.

(2) When the parties participate in the traditional hearing or the remote video hearing, they shall abide by the hearing disciplines.

(3) If any party violates the hearing disciplines, disturbs the hearing order, damages the procedural rights of the other party, or insults or make personal attacks in written form, and refuses to admit the mistake and correct the same after being warned by the tribunal, it shall be regarded as having withdrawn the Request for Arbitration or being absent.

Article 76 Withdrawal of Request for Arbitration or Counterclaim

(1) One party may withdraw its claim or counterclaim. When the Claimant withdraws his/her claim, it will not affect the tribunal's hearing and ruling on the counterclaim. When the Respondent withdraws its counterclaim, it will not affect the tribunal's hearing and ruling on the claim.

(2) When the party applies to withdraw its claim or counterclaim, whether to approve the application or not shall be decided by the Commission before the constitution of the tribunal, or by the tribunal if it is constituted. When the party proposes to withdraw its claim or counterclaim, if the tribunal considers that it has entered into the collegiate stage, it shall notify the other party and specify a reasonable time limit for such other party to raise a written objection, except that the other party is absent; after examination, if the objection raised by the other party is considered to be justifiable, the tribunal shall proceed with the arbitration proceedings and refuse the withdrawal application.

Article 77 Suspension and Resumption of Arbitration

(1) Under any of the following circumstances, the arbitration shall be suspended:

1. One party raises objections to the validity of the arbitration agreement to the competent people's court;

2. One party dies and it is required to wait for the heir to participate in the arbitration;

3. One party loses capacity for act and has not confirmed its legal representative yet;

4. One party which is a legal person or other organization terminates, and the person to bear the rights and obligations has not been determined yet;

5. One party is unable to participate in arbitration due to force majeure;

6. The case must be based on the hearing result of another case, while the other case has not yet been concluded;

7. The parties jointly apply for suspension or one party applies for suspension and the other party agrees;

8. Other circumstances under which arbitration shall be suspended.

(2) After the cause for suspension of arbitration has been eliminated, the arbitration proceedings shall be resumed upon the written application of either party or if the Commission or the tribunal deems it necessary.

(3) The parties shall be notified of the decision to suspend or resume the arbitration.

(4) If the cause for suspension occurs before the constitution of the tribunal, the suspension shall be decided by the Commission; in the case of the occurrence thereof after the constitution of the tribunal, the suspension shall be decided by the tribunal. If the Commission considers that the suspension can be decided only through the hearing held by the tribunal, it may authorize the tribunal to make the decision.

Article 78 Conclusion of Arbitrations

(1) Under any of the following circumstances, the arbitration shall be concluded:

1. The Claimant dies or is terminated, and there is no successor or the successor waives the right of arbitration;

2. The Respondent dies or is terminated, has no inheritance or property, and no person shall bear its obligations;

3. The competent people's court ruled that the arbitration agreement was invalid or the Commission had no jurisdiction over the arbitration;

4. Other circumstances under which the arbitration shall be concluded.

(2) If the cause for conclusion occurs before the constitution of the tribunal, the conclusion shall be decided by the Commission; in the case of the occurrence thereof after the constitution of the tribunal, the conclusion shall be decided by the tribunal.

(3) If the Commission or the tribunal decides that the arbitration shall be concluded, a written decision shall be made and the parties shall be notified.

Article 79 Continuing Arbitration Proceedings by Majority of Arbitrators

Except for the sole-arbitrator tribunal, if an arbitrator is unable to continue to perform his/her functions due to death, voluntary withdrawal or other reasons after the end of the last hearing, the remaining arbitrators of the tribunal shall continue the arbitration proceedings with the unanimous consent of the parties, and shall make a closing document according to law.

Article 80 Prevention of False Statements

(1) If the tribunal finds that there is malicious collusion between or among the parties concerned during the hearing, and it is suspected that the parties have obtained illegal interests by fabricating legal relations and facts of the case, the tribunal shall report to the Commission immediately and record the relevant information as an attachment.

(2) If the tribunal finds that there are suspected false statements in the process of hearing, it may take the following measures:

1. Notify the parties to present at the arbitration hearing;

2. Inform the parties to submit relevant evidence;

3. Inform the witnesses to present at the hearing to testify;

4. Inquiry the interested parties about the related situation;

5. Investigate and collect evidence according to authority;

6. Require the parties and representatives to sign the letter of guarantee;

7. Other measures that may be taken according to law.

(3) If one party does not cooperate with the investigation of the tribunal without justifiable reasons, the tribunal may determine that the so-called factual evidence claimed by the party is insufficient.

(4) The Commission or the tribunal may require the parties to make a statement to guarantee the legitimacy and authenticity of the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement and related transactions, and promise not to damage the interests of outsiders and public interests.

(5) If the tribunal has reasonable doubts about the authenticity and legality of the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement, or considers that the mediation or award to be rendered based on the contents of the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement may damage the interests of outsiders and public interests, it may require the parties to explain; if the explanation of the parties cannot eliminate the reasonable doubts of the tribunal, the tribunal may refuse to make a mediation decision or award according to the contents of the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement.

Article 81 Expert Consultation

(1) The Commission or the tribunal may, where it deems necessary, submit to the Expert Advisory Committee or relevant professional committees for advice on handling a major and difficult case.

(2) The tribunal shall, after fully considering the relevant advisory opinions with prudence, render the decision and award independently, impartially and responsibly.

Chapter IX Decision and Award

Article 82 Decisions

(1) The Commission and the tribunal may decide on the procedural matters involved during the hearing of a case.

(2) With the unanimous consent of the parties or the authorization of other arbitrators, the presiding arbitrator may make decision on procedural matters.

(3) The decision shall take legal effect from the date of rendering.

Article 83 Rendering Decisions and Awards

(1) Unless otherwise provided in these Rules, if the tribunal is composed of three or more arbitrators, the decision and award shall be rendered by a collegial panel and rendered in accordance with the opinions of the majority of arbitrators; if no majority opinion is concluded, it shall be rendered in accordance with the opinion of the presiding arbitrator. The collegiate panel shall make a collegiate record. The arbitrators' different opinions shall be recorded in the collegiate record.

(2) Where the tribunal is composed of one arbitrator, the decision and award shall be rendered by the sole arbitrator.

(3) When rendering the award, the tribunal shall issue the arbitral award. The arbitral award shall specify the claims, disputed facts, reasons for the award, the award result, the allocation of the arbitration fee, the date of award and the legal consequences of overdue performance. According to the mediation agreement/reconciliation agreement reached by the parties, or as otherwise agreed by the parties, the relevant disputed facts and reasons for the award may be omitted.

(4) The decision and award rendered by the tribunal shall be signed or electronically signed by the arbitrators and stamped with the common seal or electronic seal of the Commission. Arbitrators with different opinions may choose to sign their names thereon or not. The arbitrators choosing not to sign may issue written opinions and submit them to the Commission for filing. The written opinions do not constitute a part of the written decision or award, and the Commission will decide whether or not to attach the written opinions to the written decision or award.

(5) The decision made by the Commission shall be stamped with the common seal or electronic seal of the Commission.

Article 84 Scrutiny of Draft Closing Documents

(1) Before the tribunal issues the closing document, it shall submit the document to the Commission for scrutiny on the form standardization thereof.

(2) If the Commission reminds the tribunal of the relevant issues found during the scrutiny, the tribunal shall fully consider with prudence the opinions of the Commission, and make the closing document independently, impartially and responsibly.

Article 85 Time Limit for Rendering an Award

(1) The tribunal shall render an award within four months after its constitution, except as otherwise provided in these Rules.

(2) In case of any special circumstances due to which the time limit needs to be extended, the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator shall submit a written application before the expiration of the time limit, and the extension may be appropriately made upon approval by the Chairperson of the Commission.

(3) The appraisal period, suspension period, announcement period, expert consultation period, and the time when both parties jointly apply for postponement of hearing or for mediation/reconciliation shall not be counted in the time limit.

Article 86 Advance Award and Consolidated Award

(1) If the party applies and the tribunal approves, or if the tribunal deems it necessary, the tribunal may make an advance award on partial claims of the party. The advance award is an integral part of the final award and has legal effect.

(2) The parties shall perform the advance award, and the failure to perform such award shall not affect the continuation of the arbitration proceedings nor prevent the tribunal from rendering the final award.

(3) With respect to consolidated cases in hearing, if the parties to different cases are the same, and the tribunal considers that it is more conducive to the settlement of disputes, a consolidated award may be rendered.

Article 87 Validity and Execution of Award

(1) The award shall come into legal force from the date of rendering.

(2) After the award is rendered, the parties shall execute the award in accordance with the time limit stipulated therein. If the time limit for execution is not specified, the parties shall execute the award immediately.

(3) If one party fails to execute the award of the Commission, the other party may apply to the competent people's court for enforcement in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China.

(4) If the person subject to enforcement or his/her property is located in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region or Taiwan Region of the People's Republic of China, the parties may apply to the local court with jurisdiction for award recognition and enforcement in accordance with pertinent arrangements and relevant regulations.

(5) If the person subject to enforce or his/her property is not within the territory of the People's Republic of China, the parties may apply to a foreign court with jurisdiction for award recognition and enforcement in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards or other bilateral and multilateral international treaties concluded and participated in by the People's Republic of China.

Article 88 Allocation of Costs

(1) The arbitration fee that the parties shall finally pay to the Commission and other actual expenses (including attorney's fee, preservation fee, notarial fee, etc.) shall be determined by the tribunal in the award.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitration fee shall be borne by the losing party in principle; if the party partially wins the case, the tribunal shall determine the proportion to be borne by both parties fairly and reasonably according to the scope of responsibility and the proportion of case winning. If the parties settle the case on their own or settle the case through mediation by the tribunal, they may negotiate to determine their respective proportion to be borne thereby.

(3) If the winning party requires the losing party to bear the attorney's fee that the winning party paid for handling the case, the tribunal shall, according to the scope of the responsibility and the proportion of the case winning, comprehensively consider the complexity of the case, the amount in dispute, the actual workload of the attorney, and related factors, and make a fair and reasonable decision, but the maximum amount shall not exceed 15% of the winning amount; if it is difficult to specify the winning amount, the tribunal shall determine it according to the specific circumstances of the case.

Article 89 Rectification of Award and Supplementary Award

(1) The tribunal shall rectify the errors in texts, symbols, diagrams, calculations, typographical or similar errors in the arbitral award, as well as the matters that have been decided in the opinions of the tribunal but are omitted from the main body of the arbitral award.

(2) The tribunal shall make a supplementary award if the related decision on the matters that the parties apply for arbitration is omitted. If the tribunal deems it necessary to hold a hearing, it may hold a hearing on such matters which is omitted from the decision.

(3) The parties may apply to the tribunal to make rectification or make a supplementary award within 30 days from the date of receipt of the award.

(4) The rectification or supplementary award made by the tribunal shall be an integral part of the original award.

(5) The provisions of this Article shall apply to the rectification of written decisions and mediation decisions.

Article 90 Application for Revocation of Award

If one party applies for revocation of an award, such party shall apply to the competent people's court in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Law.

Article 91 Re-arbitration

(1) Where the competent people's court notifies the tribunal to re-arbitrate in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Law, if the tribunal agrees, the entire hearing proceedings shall be re-conducted. If the Chairperson of the Commission deems it necessary, or any members of the original tribunal takes the initiative to withdraw, or one party requests to change the tribunal, the entire proceedings of constitution of the tribunal and hearing shall be re-conducted.

(2) If one party applies for supplementing evidence in the re-arbitration, whether to approve the application shall be decided by the tribunal. If the tribunal deems it necessary, it may require the party to supplement the evidence within a specified time limit.

Chapter X Summary Proceedings

Article 92 Application of Summary Proceedings

(1) Summary proceedings shall apply to a case where the amount in dispute does not exceed RMB 3 million, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

(2) When a case where the amount in dispute exceeds RMB 3 million, the summary proceedings can be applied with the unanimous consent of the parties.

(3) If there is no amount in dispute or the amount in dispute is unclear, the Commission shall comprehensively consider whether to apply the summary proceedings according to the complexity of the case, the actual interests involved and other relevant factors.

Article 93 Constitution of Tribunals

Cases applying the summary proceedings shall be heard by the sole-arbitrator tribunal. The Constitution of the sole-arbitrator tribunal shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 34 of these Rules.

Article 94 Defense and Counterclaim

(1) The Respondent shall submit a Statement of Defense, evidence or other supporting materials, and identity documents to the Commission within ten days from the date of receipt of the notice of arbitration. Where the Respondent intends to make a counterclaim, it shall submit the counterclaim in writing within the above time limit.

(2) The Respondent to the counterclaim shall submit the Statement of Defense against the counterclaim and relevant materials to the Commission within ten days from the date of receipt of the Statement of Counterclaim; its failure to do so shall not affect the conducting of the arbitration proceedings.

Article 95 Hearings

(1) For a case examined by way of a hearing, the tribunal shall notify the parties of the time and place of the hearing three days in advance of the date of hearing. If the parties agree unanimously, the hearing may be held in advance.

(2) In principle, only one hearing will be held in the case of summary proceedings. The tribunal may hold a hearing again where it deems necessary. The notice of the time and place of the hearing issued after the hearing is reopened and postponed shall not be subject to the time limit stipulated in Paragraph (1) of this Article.

(3) In a case where the amount in dispute is small, the facts are clear and the legal relationship is simple, the parties and the tribunal are encouraged to give priority to video remote hearing, online asynchronous hearing, hearing with list of questions or documentary hearing in summary proceedings.

Article 96 Change of Summary Proceedings to General Proceedings

(1) In the course of hearing, upon the unanimous application of the parties or the consent of one party to the application of other parties, or if the Commission or the tribunal deems it necessary, the tribunal may decide to change to the general proceedings for hearing, and issue a notice of proceedings change to the parties.

(2) If the amount in dispute exceeds RMB 3 million due to the submission or the change of the Claims or the counterclaims, the proceedings shall not be changed. However, if the parties unanimously apply for the change of proceedings, it shall be changed to the general proceedings; if only some parties apply for the change of proceedings, whether to approve the application or not shall be decided by the Chairperson of the Commission.

(3) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, after the summary proceedings is changed to the general proceedings, the sole-arbitrator tribunal shall be changed to a three-arbitrator tribunal. If the tribunal has not been constituted at the time of the proceedings change, the constitution of the tribunal shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 33 of these Rules after the notice of proceedings change is issued; if the tribunal has been constituted, each party may, within five days from the date of receipt of the notice of proceedings change, appoint an arbitrator respectively in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (1) under Article 33 of these Rules, and the original sole arbitrator shall be the presiding arbitrator, who will, jointly with the other two appointed arbitrators, constitute the new tribunal.

Article 97 Time Limit for Rendering an Award

The tribunal shall render an award within seventy-five days after its constitution.

Article 98 Application of Other Provisions of These Rules

Other provisions of these Rules shall apply to the matters not specified in this Chapter.

Chapter XI Special Proceedings for Internet Transaction Disputes

Article 99 Scope of Application

For transactions made and completed by major trading behaviors on the Internet, if the parties agree to submit the dispute to the Commission for arbitration, including submitting to the Commission for full online arbitration, electronic arbitration, arbitration through the Internet, online arbitration, remote arbitration, networking arbitration, Internet arbitration, batch intellectual hearing, etc., or agree to arbitrate according to the proceedings specified in this Chapter or the original networking arbitration rules of the Commission, etc., they shall be deemed as agreeing to arbitrate according to the proceedings specified in this Chapter.

Article 100 Technical Conditions

To apply the proceedings stipulated in this Chapter, the parties shall have the necessary equipment and technical conditions to participate in the arbitration. The parties are encouraged to achieve batch intellectual hearing by data docking with the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission.

Article 101 Submission of Written Materials to the Commission

(1) The parties shall submit written materials to the Commission through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission. The written materials submitted by the parties shall be accessible at any time and may be forwarded by the Commission to other parties.

(2) If one party fails to submit written materials through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission, or the submitted materials cannot be accessed or forwarded to the other party due to errors in format and uploading, etc., and the party fails to update and resolve the errors through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission within a reasonable time limit as informed and required by the Commission, such materials shall be deemed as not being submitted.

(3) The sender of the materials must keep records for the written materials sent by it, so as to record the specific facts and conditions of materials sending, for the party concerned to check.

(4) In the offline procedural affairs organized by the Commission, the tribunal or the case manager, the parties may submit paper materials on the spot.

Article 102 Submission of Evidence

(1) The parties shall submit evidence to the Commission through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission. With the consent of the tribunal, the parties may submit it in other means.

(2) For documentary evidence, material evidence, audio-visual materials, appraiser reports, inspection records and other evidence, the parties shall process them electronically by scanning, reproduction, transcription and other appropriate means, and submit them through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission;

(3) The Commission may establish or cooperate with a third-party data service provider to establish an electronic evidence storage and collection platform, and confirm the authenticity of relevant electronic data evidence according to law by comparing the original documents which are stored in real-time and verified by the electronic evidence platform as not tampered with and their copies by data docking.

Article 103 Rules of Electronic Service

(1) The parties shall register their accounts on the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission and confirm their identities. The Commission shall serve arbitration documents, materials and notices by electronic service to such accounts confirmed by the parties as their electronic service address.

(2) When applying for arbitration, one party shall provide the electronic service address agreed by the other party in the contract, the electronic mailing address used in Internet transactions, and other legal and valid electronic mailing address known to it, and explain the use of relevant electronic mailing addresses.

(3) If the party has not registered its account on the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission or refuses to register its account on the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission, the arbitration documents, materials and notices shall be deemed as served if they are sent to the electronic service address agreed by the party in the contract.

(4) If the party does not indicated its electronic service address in the contract, the Commission may also simultaneously or successively use the electronic mailing address used by the party in Internet transactions, other electronic mailing address provided by the other party, and other legal and valid electronic mailing address known to the Commission as the electronic service address, and determine whether or not served and the time of service according to the following rules:

a. If the feedback from the relevant media system has arrived at the addressee's electronic mailing address and has been read, it will be deemed as served, and the time of service will be the time when the feedback from the relevant media system is read unless the addressee can prove that there is a media system error, or the relevant electronic mailing address is not owned or used by itself;

b. If the addressee takes the initiative to reply that it has received the materials or made an expression with the same meaning, or takes corresponding actions according to the contents of the arbitration documents, materials and notices served, it shall be deemed as served, and the time of service shall be presumed to be the sending time of the Commission;

c. After the first service, when the materials are sent to the same electronic mailing address, as long as the feedback from the relevant media system has arrived or used to arrive at the electronic mailing address of the addressee, regardless of whether it is read or rejected, the materials will be deemed as served, and the time of service will be the arrival time of the feedback from the relevant media system.

(5) If it is difficult to obtain any legal and valid electronic mailing address of the party or all electronic service attempts are failed, the Commission may adopt other ways of service in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VI of these Rules.

Article 104 Defense and Counterclaim

(1) The Respondent shall submit the Statement of Defence, evidence or other supporting materials, identity documents and cross-examination opinions through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission within five days from the date of receipt of the notice of arbitration. Where the Respondent intends to make a counterclaim, the Statement of Counterclaim shall be submitted through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission within the above time limit.

(2) The Respondent to the counterclaim shall submit the Statement of Defence against the counterclaim and relevant materials through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission within five days from the date of receipt of the Statement of Counterclaim; its failure to do so shall not affect the conducting of the arbitration proceedings.

Article 105 Amendments to Claims or Counterclaims

If one party changes the claim or counterclaim, it shall submit the application within five days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance; failing which, whether to accept or not shall be decided by the tribunal.

Article 106 Constitution of Tribunal

(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or the Commission deems it necessary to apply a three-arbitrator tribunal, the sole-arbitrator tribunal shall apply to a case in which the amount in dispute does not exceed RMB3 million. the Claimant and the Respondent may jointly appoint a sole arbitrator within five days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/notice of arbitration; if they fail to do so within the same time limit, the sole arbitrator shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, a three-arbitrator tribunal shall apply to a case in which the amount in dispute exceeds RMB3 million. the Claimant and the Respondent may each appoint an arbitrator within five days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/notice of arbitration, and jointly appoint a presiding arbitrator within the same time limit; if the arbitrators are not appointed respectively or the presiding arbitrator is not jointly appointed within the time limit, the arbitrators shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission.

(3) If there are two or more persons are the Claimant or the Respondent, all the persons as the Claimant or the Respondent shall jointly negotiate and appoint arbitrators according to the provisions of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article. If they fail to agree on the arbitration appointment within the time limit, the arbitrators shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission.

(4) If the change or the submission of the claim or the counterclaim leads to the change of the amount in dispute, it will not affect the application of the provisions of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article, except that the parties unanimously apply for the application of a three-arbitrator tribunal. If the tribunal has not been constituted when the parties unanimously apply for the application of the three-arbitrator tribunal, the constitution of the tribunal shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Article after the notice of re-constitution is sent; if the tribunal has been constituted, the parties may, within five days from the date of receipt of the notice of changing the tribunal, each appoint an arbitrator in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Article, and the original sole arbitrator shall be the presiding arbitrator, who will, jointly with the other arbitrators, constitute the newly new tribunal changed.

Article 107 Hearing

(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or explicitly opposed by one party, the proceedings stipulated in this Chapter shall apply, and the tribunal shall conduct a written hearing in principle.

(2) If the tribunal deems it necessary, it may decide to listen to the opinions of the parties through video conference, teleconference and other appropriate forms.

(3) If the tribunal deems it necessary, it may decide to adopt the hearing with list of questions, and issue the list of questions to the parties through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission. The parties shall make explanations through the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission within the time limit specified by the tribunal. If the explanations are not made within the time limit, the parties shall be deemed as waiving the right to explain.

(4) If the tribunal deems it necessary, it may decide to adopt a video remote hearing and online asynchronous hearing.

(5) If the tribunal decides to hold the hearing of the case online in real-time through video remote hearing, video conference, teleconference, etc., it shall notify the parties of the relevant time and method at least three days in advance. If one party applies for an extension, such party shall apply at least two days in advance, and whether to postpone the hearing shall be decided by the tribunal.

Article 108 Change of Proceedings

(1) If the first electronic service cannot be completed to at least one party within 30 days after the case is accepted, the Commission may decide not to apply the proceedings stipulated in this Chapter, but to apply other provisions of these Rules for hearing, and issue a notice of change of proceedings to the parties.

(2) In the course of the hearing, the change of proceedings may be decided upon the unanimous application of the parties or the consent of one party to the application of the other party, or where the Commission or the tribunal deems it necessary.

(3) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if it is necessary to change from a sole-arbitrator tribunal to a three-arbitrator tribunal due to the change of proceedings, Paragraph (3) of Article 96 of these Rules shall be subject to.

(4) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, when the change of proceedings does not involve the change from a sole-arbitrator tribunal to a three-arbitrator tribunal, if the tribunal has not been constituted, it shall be constituted in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Rules after the notice of change of proceedings is issued; if the tribunal has been constituted, such tribunal shall proceed with the hearing, and the hearing proceedings already conducted shall remain valid.

Article 109 Time Limit for Rendering an Award

For a sole-arbitrator tribunal, it shall render an award within thirty days after its constitution; for a three-arbitrator tribunal, it shall render an award within sixty days after its constitution.

Article 110 Signature and Service of Closing Document

(1) The closing document shall be electronically signed by the arbitrator and stamped with the electronic seal of the Commission. When the electronic signature and electronic seal are used to confirm arbitration materials, data and proceedings such as mediation agreement and closing document, it shall be deemed as conforming to the provisions and requirements of the Arbitration Law and other applicable laws and regulations on signature and seal.

(2) The service of the closing document shall proceed with in accordance with the provisions of Article 104 of these Rules. The mediation decision becomes effective upon sign-off for receipt by one party, and the methods of sign-off include but are not limited to confirmation by click, reply by email and other methods that can prove that the party has voluntarily accepted the mediation decision.

(3) The party may apply to the Commission for issuing the paper closing document, and the Commission shall prepare the paper closing document according to the application of the party and send it to the party according to the addresses provided by such party and the provisions of Articles 56 and 57 of these Rules. Sending the paper closing document to the party shall not change the time of service and receipt of such document.

Article 111 Application of Other Provisions of these Rules

Other provisions of these Rules shall apply to the matters not provided for in this Chapter.

Chapter XII Special Provisions on Financial Arbitration

Article 112 Scope of Application

(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the provisions of this Chapter shall apply to an arbitration case of dispute over bank loan and its guarantee contract and arbitration case of dispute over credit card as accepted by the Commission and governed by the laws of Mainland China. Other provisions of these Rules shall be applied or referred to for the matters not covered in this Chapter.

(2) In case of any dispute between the parties over the application of this Chapter, it shall be decided by the Commission.

(3) If a financial transaction is also an Internet transaction, the provisions of Chapter XI of these Rules shall be applied preferentially.

(4) In a case of financial dispute involves international factors, the Commission or the tribunal may decide to apply the provisions of Chapter XIII of these Rules on the time limit as the case may be.

Article 113 Defense and Counterclaim

Article 114 Constitution of Tribunal

(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the sole-arbitrator tribunal shall apply to a case where the amount in dispute does not exceed RMB3 million, and the constitution of the tribunal shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 34 of these Rules.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the three-arbitrator tribunal shall apply to a case where the amount in dispute exceeds RMB3 million, and the constitution of the tribunal shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 33 of these Rules.

(3) If the change of the claim or the submission or change of the counterclaim leads to the change of the amount in dispute, it will not affect the application of the provisions of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article, except that the parties unanimously apply for the application of a three-arbitrator tribunal. If the tribunal has not been constituted when the parties unanimously apply for the application of the three-arbitrator tribunal, the constitution of the tribunal shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 33 of these Rules after the notice of re-constitution is sent; if the tribunal has been constituted, the parties may, within five days from the date of receipt of the notice on change of tribunal, appoint an arbitrator respectively in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (1) of Article 33 of these Rules, and the original sole arbitrator shall be the presiding arbitrator, who will, jointly form with the other arbitrators, constitute the new tribunal changed.

Article 115 Hearing

(1) In a case where the provisions of this Chapter apply unless otherwise agreed by the parties or one party expressly raise an object, the tribunal may conduct the hearing in the manner it deems appropriate, including but not limited to adopting a simplified hearing mode and deciding to conduct a written hearing.

(2) If the tribunal decides to hold a hearing, it shall notify the parties of the hearing time three days in advance. If the parties agree unanimously, the hearing may be held in advance.

(3) The notice of time and place of hearing issued after the hearing is decided to be reopened and postponed shall not be subject to the time limit stipulated in Paragraph (2) of this Article.

Article 116 Time Limit for Rendering an Award

The tribunal shall render an award within sixty days after its constitution.

Chapter XIII Special Provisions on International Commercial Arbitration

Article 117 Scope of Application

(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the provisions of this Chapter shall apply to international commercial arbitration cases. Other provisions of these Rules shall apply to the matters not covered in this Chapter.

(2) Cases involving the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, or Taiwan Region of the People's Republic of China shall be applied by the provisions of this Chapter by reference.

(3) If the parties dispute whether the case involves international factors, the decision shall be made by the Commission if the tribunal has not been constituted, or by the tribunal if it has been constituted. The decision of the Commission or the tribunal shall not affect the previously conducted proceedings. After the Commission or the tribunal decides that the case involves international factors, the proceedings stipulated in this Chapter shall apply to the case.

Article 118 Notice of Acceptance and Notice of Arbitration

Within ten days from receipt of the Statement of Claim, the Commission will send the notice of acceptance, these Rules and the Panel of Arbitrators of the Commission to the Claimant, and send the notice of arbitration, Statement of Claim, evidence or other supporting materials submitted by the Claimant, these Rules and the Panel of Arbitrators of the Commission to the Respondent.

Article 119 Interim Measures

(1) The "interim measures" mentioned in this Article include property preservation, evidence preservation, requiring and/or prohibiting one party from doing certain acts, and other measures prescribed by law.

(2) Upon the application by the party, the tribunal may decide to take interim measures that it deems necessary or appropriate in accordance with applicable laws or the agreement of the parties. Before the tribunal is constituted, the application may be submitted to the emergency arbitrator for decision.

(3) The tribunal or the emergency arbitrator may take interim measures as it deems appropriate by making a decision, instruction, and award or by other ways recognized by applicable laws. If necessary, the tribunal or the emergency arbitrator may require the party applying for an interim measure to provide appropriate guarantees.

(4) The party may also apply for an interim measure directly to the court with jurisdiction in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. If the party applies for the interim measures directly to the competent people's court, it may apply to the Commission to give necessary assistance in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and whether to provide such assistance shall be decided by the Commission.

(5) If the party disagrees with the decision, instruction, or award made by the tribunal or the emergency arbitrator, it may apply to the tribunal or the emergency arbitrator for modification, suspension or revocation of the relevant decision, instruction or award within three days from receipt of the same. Under special circumstances, the tribunal or the emergency arbitrator may take the initiative to modify, suspend or revoke the interim measures approved by it upon prior notice to both parties.

Article 120 Emergency Arbitrator

(1) Before the constitution of the tribunal, if one party needs to apply for interim measures, it may submit a written application to the Commission for appointing an emergency arbitrator in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and these Rules. Whether to agree or not shall be decided by the Commission.

(2) The written application of the party shall include the following contents:

1. The name, basic information and valid way of service of the party involved;

2. Basic facts in dispute submitted to arbitration;

3. Reasons for applying for appointing an emergency arbitrator and taking interim measures;

4. Specific contents of applying for interim measures;

5. Other necessary information needed to apply for interim measures.

When submitting the application, the party shall attach the evidence materials and other supporting documents on which the application is based, including but not limited to the arbitration agreement and the relevant agreements that caused the underlying dispute.

The application, evidence materials and other documents shall be made in triplicate, and the number thereof for the case involving multiple parties shall be increased accordingly.

(3) After the preliminary examination and the approval of appointing an emergency arbitrator, the Commission shall promptly appoint an emergency arbitrator in the Panel of Arbitrators of the Commission and notify the party of such appointment.

(4) Information disclosure and challenge to the emergency arbitrator shall be made with reference to the provisions of Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules, but the party shall raise a challenge within three days from receipt of the notice of confirmation of emergency arbitrator.

(5) The emergency arbitrator may examine the party's application for interim measures as it deems appropriate but shall ensure that the party has a opportunity to make a reasonable statement.

(6) The emergency arbitrator shall make the relevant decision, instruction or award in written form within fifteen days from the appointment, and explain the reasons therefor. Such decision, instruction or award shall be signed by the emergency arbitrator and stamped with the seal of the Commission before being sent to the party. If the emergency arbitrator applies for extending the time limit, the Chairperson of the Commission will approve it only when the Chairperson deems it as reasonable.

(7) The power of the emergency arbitrator and the emergency arbitrator proceedings shall terminate on the day when the tribunal is constituted. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the emergency arbitrator shall not act as an arbitrator in the case of dispute related to the application for interim measures.

(8) The relevant decision, instruction or award made by the emergency arbitrator in the above proceedings shall not be binding upon the tribunal. The tribunal may modify, suspend or revoke such decision, instruction or award of the emergency arbitrator.

Article 121 Constitution of Tribunal

(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or provided by these Rules, the parties may determine the constitution of the tribunal in accordance with the provisions of Article 33 of these Rules within twenty days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/arbitration.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or the Commission considers it necessary to apply a three-arbitrator tribunal, the sole-arbitrator tribunal shall apply to a case in which the amount in dispute at the time of applying for arbitration does not exceed RMB 3 million or equivalent foreign currency, and the parties may determine the constitution of the tribunal within twenty days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance/arbitration in accordance with Article 34 of these Rules.

Article 122 Defense and Counterclaim

(1) The Respondent shall submit its Statement of Defense, evidence or other supporting materials and identity documents to the Commission within forty-five days from the date of receipt of the notice of arbitration; if it intends to make a counterclaim, the counterclaim shall be made in writing within the above time limit.

(2) The Respondent to the counterclaim shall submit the Statement of Defense against the counterclaim and relevant materials to the Commission within forty-five days from receipt of the Statement of Counterclaim; its failure to do so shall not affect the conducting of the arbitration proceedings.

Article 123 Hearing

(1) The tribunal shall notify the parties of the time and place of hearing thirty days before the commencement of the first hearing. If the parties agree unanimously, the hearing may be held in advance.

(2) If the parties have justifiable reasons to apply for postponement of the hearing, the application shall be submitted fifteen days before the hearing. Whether or not to approve the application shall be decided by the tribunal.

(3) The notice of time and place of hearing issued after the hearing is decided to be reopened and postponed shall not be subject to the time limit stipulated in Paragraph (1) of this Article.

Article 124 Application of Law

(1) If the parties have agreed about the applicable law, the tribunal shall apply such law as agreed by the parties to render an award, regardless of whether it is substantially related to the legal relationship involved in the dispute.

(2) The applicable law agreed by the parties may include international treaties and international practices, but not include the conflict-of-law rules.

(3) If the applicable law agreed by the parties cannot be ascertained, has no provision on the legal relationship involved in the dispute, or if the application of such applicable law agreed by the parties will damage the public interests of the place of arbitration and conflict with the mandatory provisions of the laws and regulations of the place of arbitration, the tribunal shall apply the laws of the place of arbitration to render an award.

(4) If the parties have no agreement on the applicable law, or it is difficult to ascertain whether such agreement exists, the tribunal may determine the applicable law according to the principle of most significant connection or pursuant to the conflict-of-law rules of the place of arbitration.

Article 125 Amiable Arbitration

If the parties agree in the arbitration agreement or make a written application upon negotiation during the arbitration proceedings, the tribunal may conduct amiable arbitration. The tribunal may render an awardex aequo et bono and in good faith, but it shall not violate the mandatory provisions of the laws and regulations of the place of arbitration, nor damage the interests of outsiders or the public interests of the place of arbitration.

Article 126 Time Limit for Rendering an Award

The tribunal shall render an award within six months from its constitution.

Chapter XIV Supplementary Provisions

Article 127 Arbitration Language

(1) Chinese is the official language of the Commission.

(2) In an international commercial arbitration case, the parties may agree on the language to be used; if a language other than Chinese is selected, the Commission or the tribunal may require the parties to provide the corresponding Chinese translation or interpretation, and the expenses thus incurred shall be borne by the parties themselves. If the parties have no agreement or cannot reach an agreement, the Commission or the tribunal may decide to use Chinese or other languages according to the specific circumstances of the case.

(3) If the parties or their representatives or witnesses need translation or interpretation during the hearing, the Commission may provide translation or interpretation, and the parties may provide translation or interpretation on their own account. Costs of translation or interpretation shall be borne by the parties themselves.

(4) If the Commission or the tribunal deems it necessary, it may require the parties to provide corresponding Chinese translation or other language translation for the various documents and documentary evidence submitted by the parties.

Article 128 Data Security

(1) In the process of using the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission, the Commission provides security for online transmission among and storage of case data of the parties, the tribunal, the case manager and the Commission, including but not limited to adopting appropriate technical means such as data information encryption.

(2) After the parties register their accounts on the online dispute resolution platform of the Commission, the Commission shall not be held liable for any losses caused by the loss and/or leakage of case data and information due to force majeure, computer viruses, hacker attacks, system instability network failures, and so forth.

Article 129 Formulation and Application of Special Rules and Docking Rules

(1) The Commission may formulate special rules as needed, and such special rules are an integral part of these Rules.

(2) In case of inconsistency between the special rules and these Rules, the special rules shall prevail; for matters not covered in the special rules, these Rules shall apply.

(3) If the dispute between parties falls within the scope of application of the special rules, the special rules shall apply, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

(4) The arbitration rules of Nansha International Arbitration Center shall apply to the case agreed by the parties to be arbitrated by Nansha International Arbitration Center.

(5) If a dispute arises between the parties over the application of the special rules, it shall be decided by the Commission.

Article 130 Arbitration Fee

Collection of arbitration fee of the Commission shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State, the province and the city.

Article 131 Interpretation of These Rules

(1) The headings of the provisions of these Rules only serve as a guide, and shall not be used to interpret the meanings of such provisions.

(2) The Chinese, English and other language versions of these Rules promulgated by the Commission are all official versions. In case of any inconsistency between different versions, the Chinese version shall prevail.

(3) These Rules shall be interpreted by the Commission.

Article 132 Implementation of these Rules

These Rules have been revised and adopted at the first plenary meeting of the sixth session of the Commission on March 30, 2021, and shall come into force as of July 1, 2021. From the date of implementation of these Rules, these Rules shall apply to the cases accepted by the Commission, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.