In recent years, the Chinese legal system on civil litigation, arbitration and mediation, including their respective laws, regulations, and legal institutions, has undergone many changes. These reforms include, for example, three rounds of Reform Plans of the People's Courts (1998-2013), amendments to the Civil Procedure Law in 2007 and 2012, revisions to rules of China's flagship arbitration institution, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), in 2005 and 2012, and promulgation of the People's Mediation Law in 2010. This book focuses on the law and development of these three major dispute resolution mechanisms in China, examining the design and legal framework of civil litigation, arbitration and mediation, their operations, challenges, and past-decade reforms. It also explores the wider contextual factors (political, economic, and societal) that led to these developments and looks at the possible obstacles to further development, for civil justice reform in particular and rule-of-law in general. By examining up-to-date literatures while exploring answers to the academic inquiries, this book provides a thorough analysis of the dynamic contemporary Chinese system of dispute resolution that has on the one hand blended Chinese traditions, socioeconomic and sociopolitical realities, guanxi culture and foreign experience, and has on the other hand developed distinctively to respond to China's market and societal transitions. This book will be an invaluable reference tool for students, scholars and practitioners with an interest in Chinese law, dispute resolution, and broader economic and political dimensions of dispute resolution development in China.

The nature and magnitude of the growth in China-Africa economic relations in recent years is unprecedented and extraordinary. According to recent estimates, the value of China’s trade with African nations grew from a mere USD 10 million in the 1980s to USD 55 billion in 2006, and to more than USD 100 billion by the end of 2009, at which time nearly 1,600 Chinese companies were doing business in Africa with a direct stock investment of about USD 7.8 billion. The accelerating impetus of China-Africa trade has overtaken some crucially important features of an effective trade regime, most notably a fully trustworthy dispute resolution system. It is the current and potential future efficacy of such a system that is taken up in this book with great understanding and skill. The author evaluates existing mechanisms of dispute resolution in all aspects of China-Africa economic relations in light of the parties’ economic and cultural profiles and their evolving legal traditions, and goes on to propose a comprehensive institutional model of dispute resolution that takes full account of the economic needs and legal cultures of both China and the various African countries. Among the topics and issues that arise in the course of the book are the following: suitability of the WTO’s dispute resolution mechanism for China-Africa trade relations; domestic, bilateral, regional, and multilateral law sources affecting China-Africa commerce; the role of intra-Africa bilateral investment treaties; competing interests that underpin international investment law; relevant legal, economic, and political challenges and cultural barriers; permissible scope of regional trade regimes; national treatment versus duty to compensate; and harmonization initiatives—model laws, incoterms, restatements. The author includes in-depth analysis of how China-Africa economic relations fare in the varieties of dispute resolution methods available at the major arbitral European and American institutions—ICSID, AAA, ICC, LCIA, PCA—as well as under the rules of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the important arbitral fora in Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, and Lagos. Endorsing institutional arbitration as the most appropriate form of resolving trade, investment, and commercial disputes arising between China and African countries, this ground-breaking analysis outlines the obstacles and shortcomings of the available means of dispute settlement, both in international and domestic contexts, and offers deeply informed recommendations for improvement of the existing system. Although the book will be welcomed by interested scholars and practitioners for its detailed discussion of how China-Africa trade relations are situated within the global trade regime, its most enduring value lies in its thorough evaluation of the available options and its proposals for structuring a legal framework within which future disputes will be effectively resolved.

International Arbitration Law Library Volume 59 The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives not only to improve support for international commercial arbitration (ICA) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Focusing on these initiatives and their accompanying case law and trends in the Asia-Pacific region, this invaluable book challenges existing procedures and frameworks for cross-border dispute resolution in both commercial and treaty arbitration. Specially assembled for this project, an outstanding team of experienced and insightful arbitrators and scholars describes pertinent developments including: ICA and ISDS in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; the Singapore Convention on Mediation; the shift to virtual hearings and other challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic; mistrust of the application of the rule of law in certain East Asian jurisdictions; growing public concern over ISDS arbitration; tensions between confidentiality and transparency; and potential regional harmonisation of the public policy exception to arbitral enforcement. The contributors chart evolving practices and high-profile cases to make informed observations about where changes are needed, as well as educated guesses about the chances of reforms being successful and the consequences if they are not. The main jurisdictions covered are China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, Australia and Singapore. The first in-depth study of recent trends in dispute resolution practice related to business in the Asia-Pacific region, the book’s practical analysis of new resources for dealing with the increasing competition among countries to become credible regional dispute resolution hubs will prove to be of great value to specialists in the international business law sector. Lawyers will be enabled to make informed decisions on which venue and dispute resolution methods are the most suitable for any specific dispute in the region, and policymakers will confidently assess emerging trends in international dispute resolution policy development and treaty-making.

This book discusses how technological innovations have affected the resolution of disputes arising from electronic commerce in the European Union, UK and China. Online dispute resolution (ODR) is a form of alternative dispute resolution in which information technology is used to establish a process that is more effective and conducive to resolving the specific types of dispute for which it was created. This book focuses on out-of-court ODR and the resolution of disputes in the field of electronic commerce. It explores the potential of ODR in this specific e-commerce context and investigates whether the current use of ODR is in line with the principles of access to justice and procedural fairness. Moreover, it examines the major concerns surrounding the development of ODR, e.g. the extent to which electronic ADR agreements are recognized by national courts in cross-border e-commerce transactions, how procedural justice is ensured in ODR proceedings, and whether ODR outcomes can be effectively enforced. To this end, the book assesses the current and potential role of ODR in resolving e-commerce disputes, identifies the legal framework for and legal barriers to the development of ODR, and makes recommendations as to the direction in which practice and the current legal framework should evolve. In closing, the book draws on the latest legislation in the field of e-commerce law and dispute resolution in order to make recommendations for future ODR design, such as the EU Platform-to-Business Regulation on Promoting Fairness and Transparency for Business Users of Online Intermediation Services (2019) and the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (2018), which provide the legal basis for ODR’s future development.

This open access book opens up the black box of mediation in collective conflicts through the analyses and comparisons of various systems. Mediation and related third party interventions such as conciliation and facilitation are discussed as effective prevention and regulation tools for different types of collective labor conflicts. These interventions fit in a new developed five-phase model of collective conflicts in organizations, going from capacity building in latent conflicts, through conciliation, mediation and arbitration in escalating phases, to rebuilding of trust after hot conflicts. The authors promote understanding and discussion with regards to labor mediation systems, presenting comparative research on the perspectives of mediators and users of mediation. This book describes and analyses laws, regulations and practices of mediation in seventeen countries, with a relative strong emphasis on Europe. Part 1 presents theoretical frameworks on conciliation and mediation in collective labor conflicts. Part 2 presents regulations and practices in 12 European countries: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Part 3 discusses mediation in these collective conflicts in Australia, China, India, South Africa and the USA. Part 4 offers conclusions and ways forward. This book offers analyses, good practices and developments for third party intervention in collective labor conflicts in global and local changing environments. This book is a must-read for policy makers, , social partners at different levels, as well as scholars and practitioners in industrial relations, human resources management and conflict management, particularly conciliators and mediators.

The rapid and continuing development of the Chinese economy and its markets has made business with China an integral component of the strategies of countless foreign companies, regardless of their size or form. However, in order to turn opportunities into successful enterprises, managers need a practical guide on the legal aspects of conducting business in China, and on the strategies for effectively circumventing unnecessary risks while simultaneously using the legal system to strengthen operations and protect interests. This remarkable book provides the necessary insight and guidance to devise a corporate strategy, and to tackle issues relating to common aspects of doing business with Chinese counterparts, investing in a Chinese enterprise, and engaging in business operations there. Drawing on expertise gained during eight years in China serving the legal needs of foreign companies, the author shows how many of the mistakes that foreign companies make can easily be avoided by conducting a proper due diligence and understanding how applicable laws work in practice. He clearly describes the opportunities and pitfalls exposed as a foreign investor engages with such elements of business in China as the following: negotiating a detailed written contract; performing a legal and commercial due diligence on a prospective partner; resolving disputes through negotiation, arbitration or litigation; establishing and enforcing trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights; investing in China; considering the joint venture structure; expanding through a merger or acquisition; restructuring or liquidating an operation; designing and implementing effective corporate governance; retaining, managing and terminating employees; arranging funds into and out of China; ensuring both tax efficiency and tax compliance; and avoiding criminal liabilities in the course of doing business. Whether seeking to source from China or to establish manufacturing facilities in China to produce for export, to sell products or services on the domestic market, or even just to act as a conduit between China and the outside world, business managers and their counsel from all over the globe and across all industries will benefit enormously from this deeply informed, insightful, and practical guide

The European Union (EU) has now become the largest trade partner of China. While Sino-US trade relations and particularly the high-profile trade disputes between the US and China get considerable academic attention for geopolitical reasons, less research has been done on the Sino-EU trade disputes that gradually loom large on the horizon. This book delves into the trade disputes between China and the EU and identifies the causes for trade disputes. It examines how the disputes will shape China-EU trade relations, and offers a macro overview on how the issues can be resolved or at least how they should be managed.This timely book sheds light on Sino-EU trade disputes, putting these in global perspective and enriching the literature in this regard.