In the News: Virus Dispute Resolution; Business Resumption Requirements; and Airline Subsidies

                                  A transit worker takes the temperature of a passenger before letting him on to a ferry in Shanghai , China on Thursday 30 January 2020. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

China has issued a guideline promoting mediation and arbitration for business disputes arising from the disruption to businesses caused by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The guideline issued by the Ministry of Justice on Mar. 3 instructs judicial and administrative authorities at all levels to prioritize and expedite notarization, authentication and arbitration work relating to epidemic control and work resumption.

The guideline calls for the building up of online arbitration capabilities through the strengthening of online case management systems and increased coordination between arbitration institutions in developing online arbitration features. The guideline also calls on local judicial and administrative authorities to target legal services towards medical personnel, army personnel, volunteers and others who are directly involved in anti-epidemic efforts, as well as migrant workers returning to work.

The issue of force majeure is mentioned in the guideline, which calls on notary offices to notarize force majeure claims made by companies and individuals whose businesses have been disrupted by the outbreak. The notary offices should support such businesses by providing legal consultation surrounding the preservation of relevant evidence materials for a force majeure claim, in order to reduce the likelihood of legal disputes among contractual parties, according to the guideline. Moreover, the guideline calls on grassroots judicial bodies, mediation organizations and mediators to promote mediation as a way to resolve business disputes, including using information technology to promote mediation. Arbitration bodies meanwhile should conduct targeted research and analysis on legal issues emerging from this epidemic and proactively provide advice to businesses.