Professional notice
Website : www.bjac.org.cn
History and background
The Beijing Arbitration Commission, also known as the Beijing International Arbitration Center (the BAC/BIAC), was established on 28 September 1995. Since 1998, the BAC/BIAC has become the first self-funded arbitration institution in China. Since 2018, it has been included in the China International Commercial Court’s “one-stop” diversified international commercial dispute resolution mechanism as one of the first of five institutions. Over the past two decades, the BAC/BIAC has been also widely accepted as one of the leading arbitration institutions internationally.
The BAC/BIAC delivers reliable dispute resolution services and encourages the exchange of best practices. To this end, the BAC/BIAC organises an annual summit on commercial dispute resolution in China; sponsors the biennial ICCA conference; joins forces with the China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre (CAJAC) initiative; and contributes to the UNCITRAL working group II’s deliberations as an observer. The BAC/BIAC has been the major force promoting institutional cooperation in the international arbitration community, as well as the internationalisation of the law and practice of Chinese arbitration.
Structure and Service
- The BAC/BIAC is run by a committee comprising a chair and 11 members.
- The BAC/BIAC’s office, headed by the secretary general, has more than 50 case managers.
- The BAC/BIAC has more than 500 arbitrators, including more than 120 international arbitrators, on its panel. Nominating arbitrators from outside the BAC/BIAC’s panel is permissible in international cases.
- The BAC/BIAC has served clients from more than 30 countries, and has facilities to conduct arbitrations not only in Chinese and English but also in other languages.
- There has been an exponential increase in the number of arbitration cases filed with BAC/BIAC, from seven in 1995 to over 38,000 by 2018.
- Since 2014, the numbers of cases filed with the BAC/BIAC, on average per year, are more than 3,200 in domestic cases, and more than 65 in international cases.
- Since 2014, the disputed value, on average per arbitrated case, was over US$1.5 million. In 2018, the disputed value of the BAC/BIAC’s cases accounted for over 10% of the total number of the whole arbitration industry in China.
Up-in-front practice
- The BAC/BIAC’s current Arbitration Rules incorporate advanced practices of international arbitration. This includes the use procedural orders, joinder and good-faith participation, which have been well received in the BAC/BIAC’s practice.
- The consolidated arbitration and joinder systems provided for in the BAC/BIAC Arbitration Rules allow the parties to have the access to more streamlined procedural options in their complex disputes.
- In 2017, the BAC/BIAC conducted the very first emergency arbitrator procedure, which was a pioneering move in China.
- The BAC/BIAC introduced the Investment Arbitration Rules in 2019 in order to accommodate the needs of parties in investor-state disputes.
Advantages and Fees
- The BAC/BIAC is financially independent and is not subject to government interference.
- Foreign lawyers are allowed to represent cases without any restriction of numbers.
- The BAC/BIAC Arbitral Awards are final and binding, and enforceable under the 1958 New York Convention.
- Strict confidentiality of the arbitration process is ensured for a just and fair result and award.
- The BAC/BIAC’s arbitration fees are comparatively lower than other international arbitration institutions.
- Fixed arbitration fees are provided under the BAC/BIAC fee schedule, but the parties can agree on a different set of computation for arbitrators’ fees in international cases.
BAC/BIAC facilities
- Fourteen hearing rooms equipped with technical assistance and simultaneous translations.
- Three conference rooms for up to 200 people.
- Tele- and video-conferencing facilities.
- Online case management system and date and notification app.
- Self-service filing and enquiries system.
- 70 free parking spaces.
Annual caseloads over the past 10 years
Year | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total caseload | 1830 | 1566 | 1471 | 1473 | 1627 | 2041 | 2944 | 3012 | 3550 | 4784 |
Disputed amount (billion yuan) | 8.8 | 9.3 | 11.9 | 6.3 | 12 | 15.9 | 41.1 | 46.6 | 44.8 | 75.2 |
International caseload | 72 | 32 | 38 | 26 | 44 | 41 | 52 | 69 | 77 | 88 |
16/F, China Merchants Tower
No118 Jian Guo Road
Chaoyang District
100022 Beijing, China
Tel: +86 10 6566 9856
Fax: +86 10 6566 8078
Email: [email protected]
Lin Zhiwei
Secretary General