Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Arbitration-related Judicial Review Cases

SPC Interpretation [2017] No.22

These Provisions have been formulated pursuant to laws such as the PRC Civil Procedure Law and the PRC Arbitration Law, and by taking into account trial practice, in order to correctly try arbitration-related judicial review cases and protect the lawful rights and interests of concerned parties in accordance with the law.

Article 1: For the purposes of these Provisions, the term “arbitration-related judicial review case” includes the following types of cases:

(1) cases involving an application for confirmation of the validity of an arbitration agreement;

(2) cases involving an application for enforcement of an arbitration award rendered by a domestic arbitration institution;

(3) cases involving an application for the vacation of an arbitration award rendered by a domestic arbitration institution;

(4) cases involving an application for the recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region or Taiwan;

(5) cases involving an application for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitration award; and

(6) other types of arbitration-related judicial review cases.

Article 2: Jurisdiction in a case involving an application for confirmation of the validity of an arbitration agreement shall be exercised by the intermediate people's court or a specialized people's court of the place where the arbitration institution specified in the arbitration agreement is located, the place where the arbitration agreement was signed, the place where the applicant is domiciled or the place where the respondent is domiciled.

Jurisdiction in a case involving the validity of an arbitration agreement in a maritime dispute shall be exercised by the maritime court of the place where the arbitration institution specified in the arbitration agreement is located, the place where the arbitration agreement was signed, the place where the applicant is domiciled or the place where the respondent is domiciled. If there is no maritime court in the aforementioned locations, jurisdiction shall be exercised by the closest maritime court.

Article 3: Where there is an association between a foreign arbitration award and a case being tried by a people's court, but neither the place where the respondent is domiciled nor the place where its property is located is in mainland China and the applicant applies for recognition of the foreign arbitration award, jurisdiction shall be exercised by the people's court that accepted the associated case. If the people's court that accepted the associated case is a basic-level people's court, jurisdiction over the case involving the application for recognition of the foreign arbitration award shall be exercised by the people's court one level above the basic-level people's court. If the people's court that accepted the associated case is a higher people's court or the Supreme People's Court, such court shall decide whether to conduct the review itself or designate an Intermediate people's court to do so.

Where there is an association between a foreign arbitration award and a case being heard by a domestic arbitration institution, but neither the place where the respondent is domiciled nor the place where its property is located is in mainland China and the applicant applies for recognition of the foreign arbitration award, jurisdiction shall be exercised by the Intermediate people's court of the place where the arbitration institution that accepted the associated case is located.

Article 4: Where an applicant submits an application to two or more competent people's courts, jurisdiction shall be exercised by the people's court that first placed the case on the docket.

Article 5: An applicant that applies to a people's court for confirmation of the validity of an arbitration agreement shall submit a written application and the original of the arbitration agreement or a certified true copy thereof.

The written application shall specify the following matters:

(1) if the applicant or respondent is a natural person, his/her name, sex, date of birth, nationality and address; if it is a legal person or another organization, its name, domicile and the name and title of its legal representative or representative;

(2) the content of the arbitration agreement; and

(3) the specific claims and grounds.

The written application, the arbitration agreement or another document submitted by a party that is in a foreign language shall be accompanied by a Chinese translation thereof.

Article 6: An applicant that applies to a people's court for the enforcement or vacation of an arbitration award rendered by a domestic arbitration institution or applies for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitration award shall submit a written application and the original of the arbitration award or a certified true copy thereof.

The written application shall specify the following matters:

(1) if the applicant or respondent is a natural person, his/her name, sex, date of birth, nationality and address; if it is a legal person or another organization, its name, domicile and the name and title of its legal representative or representative;

(2) the main content and effective date of the arbitration award; and

(3) the specific claims and grounds.

The written application, the arbitration award or another document submitted by a party that is in a foreign language shall be accompanied by a Chinese translation thereof.

Article 7: If a document submitted by an applicant does not comply with Article 5 or 6 hereof and still fails to do so after an explanation by the people's court, a ruling not to accept the same shall be rendered.

If an applicant submits an application to a people's court that does not have jurisdiction in a case, the people's court shall inform it to submit the application to a competent court, and if the applicant still does not change its application, a ruling not to accept the same shall be rendered.

If an applicant is dissatisfied with a ruling to refuse acceptance of its application, it may lodge an appeal.

Article 8: If a people's court discovers that an application does not satisfy the conditions for acceptance after placing the case on the docket, it shall render a ruling to dismiss the application.

If, in a case as mentioned in the preceding paragraph where a ruling is rendered to dismiss the application, the applicant applies again and this time the application satisfies the application conditions, the people's court shall accept the same.

If an applicant is dissatisfied with a ruling to dismiss its application, it may lodge an appeal.

Article 9: A people's court shall review and decide whether to accept an application from an applicant within seven days.

A people's court shall issue a notice to the applicant and respondent within five days after its acceptance of an arbitration-related judicial review case, informing them of the acceptance and their relevant rights and obligations.

Article 10: If a respondent has an opposition to jurisdiction after a people's court accepts an arbitration-related judicial review case, it shall file such opposition within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice from the people's court. The people's court shall review and render a ruling on the opposition filed by the respondent. If a party is dissatisfied with the ruling, it may lodge an appeal.

If a respondent without a domicile in the territory of the People's Republic of China opposes the jurisdiction of a people's court, it shall file such opposition within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice from the people's court.

Article 11: A people's court shall form a collegiate bench to review an arbitration-related judicial review case and question the concerned parties.

Article 12: If the circumstances set forth in Article 1 of the Supreme People's Court, Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the (1) apply to an arbitration agreement or arbitration award, it shall be deemed a foreign-related arbitration agreement or a foreign-related arbitration award.

Article 13: If the parties agree to select the law applicable to confirmation of the validity of a foreign-related arbitration agreement, they shall make an express expression of their intent and the mere stipulation of the law governing the contract may not serve as the law governing the confirmation of the validity of the arbitration clause in the contract.

Article 14: When a people's court determines the law governing confirmation of the validity of a foreign-related arbitration agreement in accordance with Article 18 of the PRC Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-related Civil Relationships, the parties have not selected the governing law, and applying the law of the place where the arbitration institution is located and the law of the seat of arbitration would give rise to different findings as to the validity of the arbitration agreement, the people's court shall apply the law that confirms the validity of the arbitration agreement.

Article 15: If an arbitration agreement does not specify the arbitration institution or seat of arbitration, but, pursuant to the applicable arbitration rules specified in the arbitration agreement, it is possible to determine the arbitration institution or seat of arbitration, it shall be found to be the arbitration institution or seat of arbitration as specified by Article 18 of the PRC Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-related Civil Relationships.

Article 16: When a people's court applies the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in reviewing a case involving an application for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitration award, and the respondent mounts its defense on the grounds that the arbitration agreement is invalid, the people's court shall determine the law governing confirmation of the validity of the arbitration agreement pursuant to Article V.1(a) of the Convention.

Article 17: In reviewing a case involving an application for the enforcement of an arbitration award without a foreign element rendered by a domestic arbitration institution, a people's court shall apply Article 237 of the PRC Civil Procedure Law.

In reviewing a case involving an application for the enforcement of a foreign-related arbitration award rendered by a domestic arbitration institution, a people's court shall apply Article 274 of the PRC Civil Procedure Law.

Article 18: The solicitation or acceptance of a bribe, practicing of favoritism, commission of an irregularity, rendering of an award in a manner that perverts the law by an arbitrator in arbitrating the case in question as specified in Item (6) of the first paragraph of Article 58 of the PRC Arbitration Law and Item (6) of the second paragraph of Article 237 of the PRC Civil Procedure Law refers to an act that has already been confirmed in an effective criminal legal document or disciplinary sanction decision.

Article 19: If an applicant requests withdrawal of its application after the people's court has accepted the arbitration-related judicial review case but before it has rendered a ruling, the people's court shall rule to permit the same.

Article 20: Save for a ruling to not accept a case, to dismiss an application or on an opposition to jurisdiction, a ruling rendered by a people's court in an arbitration-related judicial review case shall become legally effective upon service. If a party applies for reconsideration, lodges an appeal or applies for a retrial, the people's court shall not accept the same, unless otherwise provided in law or in judicial interpretations.

Article 21: A case involving an application for the recognition of the validity of a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region or Taiwan-related arbitration agreement or a case involving an application for the enforcement or vacation of a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region or Taiwan-related arbitration award rendered by a mainland China arbitration institution accepted by a people's court shall be reviewed with reference to the provisions applicable to the review of foreign-related arbitration-related judicial review cases.

Article 22: These Provisions shall be effective as of January 1 2018. In the event of any inconsistencies between these Provisions and judicial interpretations promulgated in the past by this court, these Provisions shall prevail.