(Adopted at the Second Session of the Third Council of the Chengdu Arbitration Commission on 14th September 2011 Revised at the Third Session of the Third Council of the Chengdu Arbitration Commission on 2nd July 2013 Revised at the Second Session of the Fourth Council of the Chengdu Arbitration Commission on 18th September 2020)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 (Purpose and Basis)
The Rules are formulated in accordance with the Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China (the “Arbitration Law”) and other relevant laws and regulations to regulate arbitration procedures, ensure fair and speedy resolution of commercial disputes by arbitration, and protect legitimate rights and interests of the parties.
Article 2 (Application)
The Rules shall apply where the parties have agreed to refer their disputes to the Chengdu Arbitration Commission (the “CDAC”) for arbitration. Where the parties have agreed on certain procedural matters or the application of a different set of arbitration rules, such agreement shall prevail, unless such agreement is unenforceable or in violation of mandatory provisions of the law of the seat of arbitration.
Where the parties have agreed to apply the Rules but have not designated an arbitration institution, they shall be deemed to agree to refer their disputes to the CDAC for arbitration.
Where the name of arbitration institution agreed by the parties is a sub-commission of the CDAC or an industry or professional arbitration court established by the CDAC (including full name and abbreviation), they shall be deemed to agree to refer their disputes to the CDAC for arbitration.
Article 3 （Waiver of Right to Object）
A party shall be deemed to have waived its right to object where it knows or should reasonably have known that any provision of the Rules or any requirement of the arbitration agreement has not been complied with and yet participates in or proceeds with the arbitral proceedings without stating its objection in writing before the end of debate.
Chapter II Arbitration Agreement
Article 4 (Definition and Form of Arbitration Agreement)
An arbitration agreement is an agreement in which the parties agree to refer any of their disputes that may arise or have arisen to arbitration. An arbitration agreement means an arbitration clause in a contract or any other written agreement providing for the settlement of disputes by arbitration.
An arbitration agreement shall be in writing. An arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in a tangible form such as a contract, letter, data messages (including telex, facsimile, EDI, e-mail), etc.
Article 5 (Separability of Arbitration Agreement)
An arbitration agreement shall be an agreement independent of and separate from the underlying contract. The validity of an arbitration agreement shall not be affected by any modification, rescission, termination, invalidity, expiry, non-effectiveness, revocation, or non-establishment of the underlying contract.
Article 6(Extension of the Effectiveness of Arbitration Agreement)
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, where a party to an arbitration agreement changes in case of merger, split, termination, and revocation etc., the arbitration agreement shall remain binding upon the successors that assume the rights and obligations.
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, after the death of a party of the arbitration agreement, the arbitration agreement shall remain binding upon the successors that assume the rights and obligations of the subject matter of the arbitration agreement.
Where all or part of the rights and/or debts of a party are transferred, the arbitration agreement shall be binding upon the transferee, unless otherwise agreed by the parties or, upon transfer of the rights or debts, the transferee explicitly objects to or is unaware of the existence of a separate arbitration agreement.
Article 7(Objections to the Validity of Arbitration Agreement or the Jurisdiction)
Where the parties object to the validity of an arbitration agreement or the jurisdiction of the case, they may apply to the CDAC for decision or to a people’s court for ruling. If one of the parties submits to the CDAC for decision, but the other party applies to a people’s court for ruling, the people’s court shall give the ruling and the arbitration proceedings shall be suspended. Where a people’s court rules that the arbitration agreement is valid and the CDAC has the jurisdiction，the arbitral proceedings shall be resumed. Where a people’s court decides the arbitration agreement is invalid and the CDAC has no jurisdiction, the arbitral proceedings shall be terminated.
Where the parties object to the validity of an arbitration agreement or the jurisdiction of the case, the objection shall be made in writing before the start of the first hearing hold by the Arbitral Tribunal. For a documents-only arbitration agreed upon by the parties, the written objection shall be raised prior to the expiry of the time limit for the submission of the first defense. A party shall be deemed to have recognized the validity of the arbitration agreement and the jurisdiction of the CDAC if it has not raised any objection within the stipulated period of time.
When an objection has been raised by the parties regarding the validity of an arbitration agreement or the jurisdiction of the case, the CDAC shall have the power to rule or authorize an Arbitral Tribunal to rule on such objection.
Chapter III Application, Defense and Counterclaim
Article 8 (Application for Arbitration)
The Claimant shall submit the following documents:
(1) the arbitration agreement;
(2) a Request for Arbitration, which shall include the following particulars:
(i) the name, ethnic group, national ID number, domicile, contact information of the Claimant, the name and domicile of a legal person or an organization, and the name, position, contact information of its legal representative or the person in charge;
(ii) the name, ethnic group, national ID number, domicile of the Respondent; the name, domicile and other information of a legal person or an organization;
(iii) detailed and specific claims, the facts and grounds on which the claims are based;
(3) documents proving the identity of the Claimant and the Respondent;
(4) evidence and the source of evidence (together with a list thereof), and the names and domicile of witnesses; and
(5) other documents required by the CDAC.
Upon receiving the documents submitted by a party, the CDAC should issue a confirmation receipt, indicating the names of documents, number of copies, number of pages and the date of receipt. The confirmation receipt shall be signed by the handling person.
Article 9 (Time Limit for Acceptance and Rejection)
Upon the receipt of the application documents, the CDAC shall review the documents within five days. If the CDAC considers the conditions for acceptance have been met, it shall inform the Claimant to deposit with the CDAC an amount as an advance for the costs of the arbitration. After the advance has been deposited, the CDAC shall promptly accept the case.
If the CDAC considers that the conditions for acceptance have not been met, it shall notify the party in writing of its rejection and the reasons thereof.
If the CDAC finds that the documents of application for arbitration are not complete, it may request the Claimant to complete them within a specified time period. If the Claimant fails to do so within the specified period of time, it shall be deemed that the Claimant has not submitted the application to the CDAC and the application documents submitted by the Claimant will not be retained by the CDAC.
An arbitration shall be deemed to commence on the date of acceptance as stated in the Notice of Acceptance.
Article 10 (Notice of Arbitration)
Upon acceptance of a case, the CDAC shall promptly send to the Claimant a Notice of Acceptance, a copy of the Rules and a list of the CDAC’s Panel of Arbitrators and within five days, the CDAC shall send to the Respondent a Notice for Submission of Defense, a copy of the Request for Arbitration, a copy of the Rules, and a list of the CDAC’s Panel of Arbitrators.
Article 11 (Defense)
Within fifteen days of the service of the Notice for Submission of Defense, the Respondent shall submit:
(1) a Statement of Defense, which shall include the following particulars:
(i) the name, ethnic group, national ID number, domicile, contact information of the Respondent, the name and domicile of a legal person or an organization, and the name, position, contact information of its legal representative or the person in charge;
(ii) the key points of its defense and the facts and grounds on which the defense is based.
(2) documents proving the identity of the Respondent.
(3) evidence and the source of evidence (together with a list thereof), and the names and addresses of witnesses; and
(4) other documents required by the CDAC.
Within five days of the receipt of the Statement of Defense, the evidence and other supporting documents, the CDAC shall send a copy of the Statement of Defense, together with its attachments, to the Claimant.
Failure by the Respondent to submit the Statement of Defense shall not affect the progress of the arbitral proceedings.
Article 12 (Counterclaim)
The Respondent shall file its counterclaim within fifteen days from the date of the service of the Notice for Submission of Defense. If the counterclaim is submitted after the expiry of the time limit, the Arbitral Tribunal, or the CDAC, if the Arbitral Tribunal has not been constituted, shall decide whether to accept the counterclaim.
If the Respondent submits its counterclaim, the CDAC shall exam the documents within five days upon receipt. If the conditions for acceptance of the counterclaim have been met, the Respondent shall deposit with the CDAC an amount as an advance on the costs of the arbitration. After the advance has been deposited, the CDAC shall promptly accept the counterclaim.
Within five days of the acceptance of the counterclaim, the CDAC shall send to the Claimant a Notice for Submission of Reply to the Counterclaim, a copy of the Statement of Counterclaim, and its attachments. Article 11 of the Rules shall apply to the Claimant’s submission of its reply to the Counterclaim.
Article 13 (Abandon, Amendments to the Claim or Counterclaim)
The Claimant may abandon or amend its claims while the Respondent may admit or object to the claims. The Counter-claimant may abandon or amend its counterclaims while the Counter-respondent may admit or object to the counterclaims.
An application to amend the claims or counterclaims shall be made in writing before the first hearing. If an application is made after the first hearing, the Arbitral Tribunal shall decide whether to permit such amendment or not.
An application to withdraw the application for arbitration made by the Claimant shall not affect the progress of the arbitral proceedings relating to any counterclaim.
Article 14 (Costs of Arbitration)
The Claimant or Counter-claimant shall pay an advance for the costs of the arbitration according to the amount and the specified time limit as notified by the CDAC. The costs of the arbitration consist of the Registration Fee and Administrative Fees.
A party may request a deferred payment if it encounters difficulties to deposit the advance on the costs of the arbitration. Such request is subject to the approval made by the CDAC. If a party fails to deposit the advance and does not request a deferred payment, the party shall be deemed to have withdrawn its claims or counterclaims. The application documents submitted by the party will not be retained by the CDAC.
The Registration Fee for foreign-related cases is the same as the domestic cases.
Article 15 (Preservation of Property)
A party may apply for property preservation if, as the result of an act of the opponent party or for some other reasons, the award is likely to be unenforceable or difficult to enforce.
If a party applies for property preservation, the CDAC shall, upon the receipt of the application for property preservation, submit the application to the competent people’s court of the place where the Respondent is domiciled or where the property is located.
Any interested party whose lawful rights and interests, due to urgent circumstances, would suffer irreparable harms without immediately applying for property preservation may, before referring the dispute to arbitration, apply for interim measures to the people’s court of the place where the Respondent is domiciled or where the Respondent’s property is located or other competent people’s courts.
Article 16 (Representation of Arbitration)
Where a party is represented by representatives, a power of attorney setting out the matters and the authority specifically entrusted shall be submitted to the CDAC. Representatives shall be no more than three individuals.
Article 17 (Number of Copies of Arbitration Documents to be Submitted)
The Request for Arbitration, the Statement of Defense, the Statement of Counterclaim, the Statement of Reply to Counterclaim, evidence and other written documents shall be submitted in five duplicates. If there are more than two opponent parties, additional copies shall be provided accordingly. If the Arbitral Tribunal is composed of a sole arbitrator, the number of copies can be reduced by two.
Chapter IV Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal
Article 18 (Panel of Arbitrators)
The parties shall choose arbitrators from the list of Panel of Arbitrators maintained by the CDAC.
Article 19 (Number of Arbitral Tribunal)
The Arbitral Tribunal shall be constituted by one or three arbitrators.
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or prescribed by the Rules, an Arbitral Tribunal shall be constituted by three arbitrators.
Article 20 (Constitution of a Three-Member Tribunal)
A three-member tribunal is constituted by one presiding arbitrator and two arbitrators.
Within fifteen days of the service of the Notice of Acceptance or Notice for Submission of Defense, each party shall respectively designate one arbitrator or entrust the Chairman of the CDAC to appoint an arbitrator. If the parties fail to designate arbitrators within the time limit or entrust the Chairman of the CDAC to appoint arbitrators, the Chairman of the CDAC shall make the appointment.
Within fifteen days of the service of the Notice of Acceptance or Notice for Submission of Defense, the parties shall jointly designate or jointly entrust the Chairman of the CDAC to appoint the presiding arbitrator. If the parties fail to jointly designate or jointly entrust the Chairman of the CDAC to appoint the presiding arbitrator, the presiding arbitrator shall be appointed by the Chairman of CDAC.
The parties may also jointly appoint the presiding arbitrator by the following way: each party may respectively select one to three arbitrator (s) as the recommended candidate(s) for the presiding arbitrator within the time limit as stipulated by paragraph 3 above. Subject to the application or agreement by the parties, the CDAC may also provide a list of five to seven individual as candidates for the presiding arbitrator, from which the parties shall respectively select one to three recommended candidate(s) within the time limit as stipulated by paragraph 3 above. Where there is only one common candidate selected by both parties, such candidate shall be the presiding arbitrator jointly appointed by both parties. If there are more than one common candidate, the Chairman of the CDAC shall, taking into consideration the specific circumstances of the case, select one of them as the presiding arbitrator, who shall be regarded as being jointly appointed by the parties. If there is no common candidate, the Chairman of the CDAC shall appoint the presiding arbitrator outside of the lists of candidates recommended by the parties. If one of the parties has more than two persons, such persons shall jointly appoint or entrust the Chairman of the CDAC to appoint arbitrators or the presiding arbitrator.
If an arbitrator does not accept the appointment of a party, the party shall re-appoint an arbitrator within five days of the service of the Notice of Re-appointment of Arbitrator. If the party fails to re-appoint an arbitrator within the time limit, the arbitrator shall be appointed by the Chairman of CDAC.
Article 21 (Appointment of Sole Arbitrator)
Where the parties have agreed that the dispute shall be referred to a sole arbitrator, the sole arbitrator shall be appointed as per paragraph 3 or 4 of Article 20 in the Rules.
Article 22 (Notice of Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal)
Within five days of the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, the CDAC shall notify the parties accordingly.
Article 23 (Neutrality of Arbitrators)
An arbitrator shall not represent either party and shall be and remain independent of the parties and treat them equally.
An arbitrator shall sign a statement confirming his or her impartiality and independence, which shall be read out in the first hearing by the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator.
Article 24 (Challenge of Arbitrators and Decision on Challenge)
In case any of the following circumstances occurs, an arbitrator shall withdraw and the parties shall have a right to challenge the arbitrator:
(1) the arbitrator is a party to the case, or is a close relative of any party or its representative;
(2) the arbitrator has a stake relating to the case;
(3) the arbitrator has any other relationships with any party or its representative which may affect the arbitrator's impartiality; or
(4) the arbitrator meets with a party or its representative in private, or accepts invitations or gifts from a party or its representatives.
A party who intends to challenge an arbitrator shall challenge the arbitrator in writing and shall state the reasons with supporting evidence before the first hearing. Where a party becomes aware of the circumstances for the challenge only after the first hearing, the party can raise the challenge prior to the close of the final hearing. The CDAC shall forward the challenge to the other party within three days of the receipt of the challenge and inform all members of the Arbitral Tribunal.
The Chairman of the CDAC shall decide on the challenge. Before the decision is made by the Chairman of the CDAC, an arbitrator who has been challenged shall continue to perform the duties as an arbitrator.
Article 25 (Replacement of Arbitrator)
In case any of the following circumstances occurs, the Chairman of the CDAC shall decide whether or not to replace the arbitrator:
(1) the arbitrator becomes unable to conduct the arbitration due to death or illness;
(2) the time limit of the arbitration will be seriously affected as a result of the arbitrator’s leave on business trip or going aboard etc.;
(3) if the arbitrator has a legitimate reason to apply for withdrawal, or both parties have a legitimate reason to request the arbitrator to withdraw;
(4) if the arbitrator is dismissed or removed from the Panel of Arbitrators;
(5) other circumstances, as a matter of law or fact, preventing the arbitrator from performing his/her duties, or the arbitrator fails to perform duties in accordance with the Rules.
Before making any decision as per paragraph 5, the CDAC shall give both parties and the Arbitral Tribunal an opportunity to submit written comments.
Article 26 (Re-appointment of Arbitrator)
If the arbitrator to be withdrawn or replaced has been appointed by a party, that party shall appoint a new arbitrator within five days of the service of the Notice of Re-appointment of Arbitrator. If the arbitrator to be withdrawn or replaced has been appointed by the Chairman of the CDAC, the Chairman of the CDAC shall appoint a new arbitrator. After the appointment of a new arbitrator, the parties may request to reopen the ongoing proceedings and the Arbitral Tribunal shall decide on such request. The Arbitral Tribunal may also decide by itself whether to reopen the ongoing arbitral proceedings.
Where the arbitral proceedings is reopened after the replacement of an arbitrator, the time limit for the arbitration shall be re-calculated from the date of such replacement; if the arbitral proceedings are not reopened but continue, the time limit for the arbitration shall be calculated from the date of the constitution of the original Arbitral Tribunal, whereas the delayed time caused by the replacement of an arbitrator shall be deducted.
Chapter V Hearing, Evidence, Mediation and Awards
Article 27 (Hearings)
The Arbitral Tribunal shall hold hearings to trial the case. If the parties agree on a documents-only arbitration, the arbitration tribunal may decide the case based on the Request for Arbitration, the Statement of Defense and other evidence materials. Regardless of which hearing mode is adopted, the Arbitral Tribunal shall give each party a fair opportunity to present and argue its case.
Article 28 (Principle of Privacy)
Hearings shall be held in private unless otherwise agreed by the parties. Cases involving state secrets shall be conducted in private in any event.
Where an arbitration is conducted in private, the arbitrators, the parties and other related individuals involving in the case shall not disclose to any third party any substantive or procedural matter relating to the case.
Article 29 (Seat of Arbitration)
Unless the parties have agreed otherwise，the seat of arbitration shall be Chengdu, China, where the CDAC is located. The arbitral award shall be deemed as made in Chengdu, China.
Article 30 (Venue of Hearing)
Hearings shall be held at the CDAC’ s premises.
If the parties have agreed upon other hearing venue, upon approval of the CDAC, hearings may be held in the agreed venue. However, the additional costs resulted thereof shall be borne by the parties. The parties shall deposit an advance for the additional costs in the proportion as agreed by the parties or determined by the Arbitral Tribunal within the time limit stipulated by the CDAC. If the parties do not deposit the advance, hearings shall be held at the CDAC’s premises.
Article 31 (Consolidation of Arbitrations)
The Arbitral Tribunal may, at the request of a party and after being agreed by all the other parties, to consolidate two or more arbitrations involving a same type of subject matter or involving at least one common party.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply if the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunals is different.
Article 32 (Notice of Hearing)
The CDAC shall notify the parties of the date of the first hearing at least five days before the hearing. At the request by both parties, the hearing date may be brought forward upon approval of the Arbitral Tribunal. A party having justified reasons may request a postponement of the hearing. Such request shall be made at least three days before the hearing. The Arbitral Tribunal shall decide whether or not to postpone the oral hearing.
Notification of the date of any hearing subsequent to the first one shall not be subject to the five-day time limit as per the preceding paragraph.
Article 33 (Default)
If the Claimant, duly notified in writing, fails to appear at the hearing without any justified reason or withdraws from an ongoing hearing without the permission of the Arbitral Tribunal, the Claimant shall be deemed to have withdrawn its Request for Arbitration. In such case, if the Respondent files a counterclaim, the Arbitral Tribunal shall proceed with the hearing of the counterclaim and make a default award.
If the Respondent, duly notified in writing, fails to appear at the hearing without any justified reason or withdraws from an ongoing hearing without the permission of the Arbitral Tribunal, the Arbitral Tribunal may proceed with the hearing and make a default award. In such case, if the Respondent has filed a counterclaim, the Respondent shall be deemed to have withdrawn its counterclaim.
Article 34 (Burden of Proof)
Each party shall produce evidence to prove the facts on which it relies to support its claims, counterclaims, and objections to the opponent party’s claims or counterclaims.
If a party bearing the burden of proof fails to produce evidence or if the evidence produced is insufficient to prove the claimed facts, it shall bear the adverse consequences of such failure.
Where the relevant laws have different provisions as to the burden of proof, those provisions shall prevail.
Article 35 (Types and Forms of Evidence)
Evidence includes statement of the parties, documentary evidence, physical evidence, audio-video materials, electronic data, witness statement, expert opinions, records of inspection and other evidence prescribed by law.
The parties should submit the original copies of documentary evidence, the original items of physical evidence. If the party indeed experiences difficulties in presenting the original copies or items, it may present reproductions, photographs, duplicates or excerpts.
The documentary evidence in a foreign language shall be submitted with a Chinese translation.
Article 36 (Time Limit for Adducing Evidence)
The Claimant or Counter-claimant shall submit the evidence within fifteen days from the date of the service of the Notice of Acceptance; The Respondent or Counter-respondent shall submit the evidence within fifteen days from the date of the service of the Notice for Submission of Defense.
The party indeed having difficulties in producing evidence within the time limit for adducing evidence shall apply to the CDAC or the Arbitral Tribunal for an extension before the expiry of the time limit. Upon approval of the CDAC or the Arbitral Tribunal, a proper extension can be granted. For the evidence that fails to be produced within the time limit, the Arbitral Tribunal may decide whether to arrange the examination of evidence as per paragraph 3 of this Article. Any application to the Arbitral Tribunal for investigation on the evidence shall be made by a party within the time limit for adducing evidence.
Where the Arbitral Tribunal decides that it needs supplementary evidence adduced by the parties to ascertain facts of the case, it may set the time limit for parties to submit supplementary evidence.
For a documents-only arbitration agreed upon by the parties, the parties shall submit evidence according to requirements and the time limit set by the Arbitral Tribunal.
Article 37 (Preservation of Evidence)
A party may apply for preservation of evidence if the evidence may be destroyed, lost, or subsequently inaccessible.
If a party applies for preservation of evidence, the CDAC shall submit the application to the competent people’s court of the place where, the evidence is located, as designated by the party.
Under exceptional circumstances where the evidence may be destroyed, lost, or subsequently inaccessible, an interested party may apply for preservation of evidence to a people’s court of the place where the evidence is located, where the Respondent is domiciled or other competent people’s courts before commencing the arbitration.
Article 38 (List of Exhibits)
Each party shall categorize and number the evidence it produces, make a list of exhibits, state briefly the source and contents of the evidence and what the evidence is sought to prove. The party, its representatives, or the person authorized by the party shall affix its signature or seal and indicate the date on which the evidence is produced.
Upon receiving the evidence materials submitted by a party, the CDAC shall issue a confirmation receipt signed by the handling person, indicating the name, number of copies, number of pages and time of receipt of the evidence.
Article 39 (Exchange of Evidence)
After a party submits its evidence, the CDAC shall timely serve a copy or duplicate of the evidence to the opponent party.
The Arbitral Tribunal may organize the parties to exchange the evidence after the expiry of time limit for submitting defense and prior to the first hearing as it considers necessary. The evidence exchange may be held by the presiding arbitrator.
In the process of evidence exchange, the Arbitral Tribunal shall record the undisputable facts and evidence; The evidence to which the parties raised objections shall be categorized according to facts to be proved and shall be recorded together with the reason for the objections. The Arbitral Tribunal shall determine the main disputed issues between the parties by means of evidence exchange.
Article 40 (Collection of Evidence by Arbitral Tribunal)
The Arbitral Tribunal may undertake investigation on facts or collect evidence by itself as it considers necessary. It shall notify the parties to be present when the Arbitral Tribunal considers necessary. In the event that one or both parties fail to be present, the investigation on facts and collection of evidence shall proceed without being affected.
The Arbitral Tribunal shall organize the parties to exam the evidence collected by the Arbitral Tribunal.
Article 41 (Appraisal)
Where the Arbitral Tribunal consents on appraisal at a party’s request, or it considers appraisal as necessary without a party’s request, it shall notify the parties to select an appraisal organization through negotiation within the specified time period. If the parties fail to reach an agreement or request the Arbitral Tribunal to do the selection, the appraisal organization shall be determined by the drawing of lots.
The parties shall submit relevant materials as requested by the appraisal organization within the specified time period. The party applying for appraisal or both parties shall pay an advance on the costs for appraisal in proportion. If a party fails to submit materials or pay the advance on the costs for appraisal within the specified time period, or does not cooperate with the appraisal, and results in the failure of appraisal, such party shall bear the legal consequences of not meeting the burden of proof.
In the course of appraisal, where the appraisal organization submits that certain issue should be first decided by the Arbitral Tribunal, the Arbitral Tribunal shall timely decide on such issue.
The result of the appraisal shall be presented at the hearing and examined by the parties. In the case that the appraiser attends the hearing, the appraiser shall give explanations on his/her opinions and the relevant questions raised by the Arbitral Tribunal and the parties.
Article 42 (Examination of Evidence and Authentication)
Evidence shall be presented at the hearing and examined by the parties. Evidence to which the parties do not have any objection in the course of evidence exchange before the hearing may not be presented at the hearing. Where evidence is adduced by a party during or after the hearing, if the Arbitral Tribunal decides to admit the evidence and both parties agree not to have further hearings, the Arbitral Tribunal may order the parties to submit in writing any challenge to the validity of the evidence within a specified time period.
The Arbitral Tribunal shall verify the evidence which is examined by the parties, and shall also verify other evidence and facts according to the following rules:
(1) the Arbitral Tribunal shall decide whether to admit the expert opinions or appraiser opinions.
(2) if a party neither admits nor denies the facts alleged by the other party and still refuses to express clear opinions on those facts despite being inquired by the Arbitral Tribunal, the party shall be deemed to have admitted those facts.
(3) if a party has admitted the facts or evidence against itself in the Request for Arbitration, Statement of Defense, other statements or written opinions, those facts or evidence shall be confirmed by the Arbitral Tribunal, unless the party subsequently backs out and produces sufficient evidence to the contrary.
(4) where evidence proving that one party is in possession of evidence but, upon being requested by the Arbitral Tribunal, refuses to provide such evidence without justified reasons and the other party claims that such evidence is unfavorable to the party in possession of the evidence, an inference that the other party's claim is valid may be drawn.
Article 43 (Interpretation)
In the course of arbitration, where the nature of legal relation claimed by a party or the validity of civil act is inconsistent with the findings made by the Arbitral Tribunal based on the facts of the case, the Arbitral Tribunal shall inform the party to amend its claims.
If a party amend its claims, the Arbitral Tribunal shall reset the time limit for adducing evidence.
Article 44 (Debate and Closing Statement)
The parties have the right to debate in the course of arbitration. At the close of the debate, the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator shall seek final comments from the parties.
Article 45 (Transcripts)
The Arbitral Tribunal shall make transcripts of the hearings, except in the case of mediation. The parties or other participants in the arbitration shall have the right to request a rectification of any omission and error regarding their statement in the transcripts. The request shall be recorded if the Arbitral Tribunal does not allow the rectification.
The Arbitral Tribunal may make an audio or video record of the hearings. The audio or video record shall only be used by the CDAC or the Arbitral Tribunal.
The arbitrators, the recorder, the parties, and other participants in the arbitration shall sign or affix their seals on the transcripts.
Article 46 (Suspension of Arbitration)
In case any of the following circumstances occurs, the arbitration shall be suspended:
(1) one of the parties dies and it is necessary to wait for his/her successor to clarify whether he/she will participate in the proceedings;
(2) one of the parties has lost the capacity and his/her legal representative has not been designated yet;
(3) the legal person or any other organization as one of the parties has terminated, and its successor who assumes its rights and obligations has not been designated yet;
(4) one of the parties is unable to participate in the proceedings due to force majeure;
(5) the current case is dependent on the results of another case which has not yet been closed; or
(6) other circumstances that the arbitration shall be suspended.
Where the cause of suspension arises prior to the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, the suspension shall be decided by the CDAC; where the cause of suspension arises after the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, the suspension shall be decided by the Arbitral Tribunal. The arbitration shall resume after the causes of the suspension have been eliminated.
Article 47 (Termination of Arbitration)
In case any of the following circumstances occurs, the arbitral proceedings shall be terminated:
(1) the Claimant dies without an heir, or the heir waives his/her right of arbitration;
(2) the Respondent dies without heritage and without a person who shall succeed to his/her obligations; or
(3) other circumstances that the arbitration shall be terminated.
Article 48 (Decision)
The CDAC or the Arbitral Tribunal may make a Decision in respect of the following matters. The Decision shall come into legal effect from the date on which the Decision is made:
(1) confirming the validity of the arbitration agreement;
(2) withdrawal of an arbitrator;
(3) add, reduce or replace a party;
(4) suspension or termination of the arbitral proceedings;
(5) other matters subject to the decision of the CDAC or the Arbitral Tribunal.
Any Decision of an Arbitral Tribunal composed of three arbitrators shall be made by a majority decision. If the Arbitral Tribunal fails to reach a majority decision, the decision of the presiding arbitrator shall prevail.
Article 49 (Withdrawal of Claims, Settlement and Back out)
A party may withdraw its claims or reaches a settlement with the other party by itself after the submission of the Request for Arbitration. Where the parties agree on a settlement, they may request the Arbitral Tribunal to make an award on terms agreed by the parties or withdraw the claims.
If the Claimant withdraws its claims before the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, the dismissal of the case shall be decided by the CDAC. If the Claimant withdraws its claims after the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, it shall be decided by the Arbitral Tribunal.
If the Claimant backs out after withdrawing the Request for Arbitration, it may re-apply for arbitration according to the arbitration agreement.
Article 50 (Mediation in Arbitration)
Mediation may be initiated by the Arbitral Tribunal at the willingness of both parties. Where the parties reach a settlement in mediation, they may withdraw their claims or request the Arbitral Tribunal to issue a Mediation Statement or an award.
Where the content of the settlement agreement reached by the parties in mediation goes beyond the scope of the claims or counterclaims in the arbitration, additional costs of the arbitration shall be paid accordingly.
The content of the settlement agreement reached by the parties in mediation shall not harm the public interests or the legitimate rights and interests of a third party.
If the parties fail to reach a settlement through negotiation or mediation, neither party shall invoke any of the statements, opinions, views or proposals mentioned, admitted or denied by the other party or by the Arbitral Tribunal during the mediation as grounds for any claim, defense or counterclaim in the subsequent arbitral proceedings.
Article 51 (Mediation Statement and Effectiveness)
The Mediation Statement shall state the claims, the settlement reached by the parties and the date on which the Mediation Statement is made. The Mediation Statement shall be signed by the arbitrators and affixed with the seal of the CDAC.
The Mediation Statement shall come into legal effect upon the signature of the parties or the representatives specially authorized by the parties.
If the parties back out before signing the Mediation Statement, an award shall be made by the Arbitral Tribunal in a timely manner.
Article 52 (Partial Award)
During the arbitration, a partial award may be issued by the Arbitral Tribunal in relation to certain issues of which the facts are clear. The partial award shall come into legal effect as of the date on which it is made. The issues included in the partial award shall not be repeatedly decided in the final award.
Article 53 (Time Limit for Making Award)
The Arbitral Tribunal shall render its award within three months from the date of its constitution. After its constitution, if the parties amend their claims or raise counterclaims, the Arbitral Tribunal shall render its award within three months from the date of the expiry of the time limit for serving the defense of the amended claims or counterclaims. If there are special circumstances justifying an extension, the presiding arbitrator or sole arbitrator shall report to the Secretary-General. An extension may be granted if approved by the Secretary-General.
The “three months” in the preceding paragraph does not include the period of time for appraisal, the extension requested jointly by the parties and the suspension of arbitration.
Article 54 (Arbitral Award)
Where the Arbitral Tribunal is composed of three arbitrators, the award shall be made by a majority of the arbitrators and the opinions of the minority arbitrators shall be recorded in writing. If there is no majority opinion, the award shall be made according to the opinion of the presiding arbitrator. The dissenting opinions of other arbitrators shall be recorded in writing.
The Arbitral Tribunal may also order in its award,at the request of the winning party ,that the losing party bears the costs and expenses reasonably incurred by the winning party in the arbitration, mainly including attorney fees,travel expenses,notarization fees,and preservation related expenses.When deciding the costs and expenses,the arbitral tribunal shall take into consideration various factors such as the outcome and complexity of the case,the amout in dispute,etc.
Article 55(Award and Effectiveness)
The award shall state the claims, the facts of the dispute, the reasons upon which the award is based, the result of the award, the allocation of the costs of the arbitration, and the date of the award. The facts of the dispute and the reasons on which the award is based may not be stated in the award if the parties have so agreed, or if the award is made in accordance with the terms of a settlement agreement between the parties.
The award shall be signed by the arbitrators and affixed with the seal of the CDAC. The arbitrator who disagrees with the award may sign or refuse to sign it. The arbitrator who refuses to sign the award shall present opinions in writing.
The award shall be legally effective as of the date on which it is made.
Article 56 (Correction of Award)
The Arbitral Tribunal shall correct any clerical or typographical error, calculation error, or matter which has been ruled but omitted from the award.
Article 57 (Performance of Award)
The parties shall perform the arbitral award within the time limit specified in the award. If one party refuses to perform the award, the other party may apply to a competent people's court for enforcement of the award in accordance with relevant PRC laws, or apply to a competent court for enforcement of the award according to the 1958 United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards or other international treaties that China has concluded or acceded to.
Article 58 (Judicial Remedy)
If a party objects against the arbitration award, it may apply to a competent people's court for setting aside the award or non-enforcement of the award as per article 58 or article 63 of the Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Chapter VI Summary Procedure
Article 59 (Application of Summary Procedure)
The Summary Procedure shall apply to cases where:
(1) the amount in dispute does not exceed RMB 500,000（inclusive）and the parties do not exclude application of the Summary Procedure in the arbitration agreement;
(2) the amount in dispute exceeds RMB 500,000, but the parties agree or later consent the application of the Summary Procedure;
(3) the Summary Procedure has been applied, the amount in dispute exceeds RMB 500,000 owing to the increased amount claimed or counterclaimed by a party, but the parties do not exclude the application of the Summary Procedure;
(4) there is no monetary claim or the amount in dispute is not clear, and the parties do not exclude the application of the Summary Procedure.
Article 60 (Time Limit for Adducing Evidence, Submitting Defenses and Counterclaims)
The Claimant, within ten days from the date of the service of the Notice of Acceptance, and the Respondent, within ten days from the date of the service of the Notice for Submission of Defense, shall submit evidence materials to the CDAC.
The Respondent shall also submit the Statement of Defense and the Counterclaims within the time limit as stipulated in the preceding paragraph.
Article 61 (Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal)
The cases where the Summary Procedure applies shall be referred to a sole arbitrator.
Within ten days from the date of the service of the Notice of Acceptance or the Notice for Submission of Defense, the parties shall jointly appoint or jointly entrust the Chairman of the CDAC to appoint a sole arbitrator. The sole arbitrator may be appointed as per paragraph 4 of Article 20.
If the parties fail to jointly appoint or jointly entrust the Chairman of the CDAC to appoint the sole arbitrator within the specified period of time, the sole arbitrator shall be appointed by the Chairman of the CDAC.
Article 62 (Termination of Summary Procedure)
In the Summary Procedure, any amendment to the claims or any counterclaim is without prejudice to the Summary Procedure, unless the parties have agreed to adopt standard procedure.
In the event of a transfer from the Summary Procedure to the standard procedure, the parties shall, within five days from the date of the service of the Notice of Transfer of Procedure, respectively appoint or entrust the Chairman of the CDAC to appoint an arbitrator in accordance with the Rules. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the original sole arbitrator shall be the presiding arbitrator.
The re-constituted Arbitral Tribunal shall decide whether or not to reopen the ongoing arbitral proceedings which have been conducted prior to the re-constitution. The Summary Procedure shall not be applied to the arbitral proceedings conducted after the re-constitution.
Article 63 (Time Limit for Making Award)
For domestic cases where the Summary Procedure applies, the Arbitral Tribunal shall render its award within one month of the date of its constitution. In the event that there are special circumstances justifying an extension of the time limit, the sole arbitrator shall report to the Secretary-General. An extension may be granted if approved by the Secretary-General.
Article 64 (Application of Other Provisions of the Rules)
For matters not stipulated in this Chapter, other relevant provisions of the Rules shall apply.
Chapter VII Special Provisions for Foreign-related Arbitrations
Article 65 (Applicable Scope of this Chapter)
Arbitration of foreign-related commercial disputes is subject to provisions of this chapter. Subject to consent of the Commission, parties’ agreement could prevail. Where issues are not covered by provisions in this chapter, provisions of other chapters under this arbitration rules shall apply.
Arbitration involving parties from Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan is subject to provisions of this chapter by reference.
Article 66 (Determination of Foreign Element)
If a party has objection as for how to define a foreign element in its case, it shall submit the objection to the CDAC or the Arbitration Tribunal for a decision prior to the first hearing.
Article 67 (Notice of Arbitration)
After the acceptance of the application for arbitration, the CDAC shall send to the claimant a notice of acceptance, a copy of the Arbitration Rules, a list of the Panel of Arbitrators, meanwhile, send to the respondent a notice for submission of the defence, a copy of Arbitration Rules and a list of the Panel of Arbitrators.
Within 45 days from the date of the service of the notice for submission of the defense, the respondent shall submit to the CDAC the statement of defence and the relevant evidence materials. After receiving the statement of defence and the evidence, the CDAC shall send the claimant a copy of the statement of defence and the evidence. Failure by the Respondent to submit its statement of defence shall not affect the progress of the arbitration proceedings.
Article 68 (Counterclaim)
The respondent shall file its counterclaim, if any, by submitting the arbitration application for counterclaim within 45 days from the date of receiving the notice for submission of defence.
Upon receiving the arbitration application for counterclaim, the CDAC shall immediately send it to the claimant. The claimant shall submit the statement of defence to the counterclaim within 30 days upon receiving the arbitration application for counterclaim. Failure by the claimant to submit its statement of defence to the counterclaim shall not affect the progress of the arbitration proceedings.
Article 69 (Appointment of Arbitrators)
Parties shall appoint or request the chairman of the CDAC to appoint an arbitrator, or jointly appoint or jointly request the chairman of the CDAC to appoint a presiding arbitrator within 20 days upon receiving the notice of arbitration or statement of defence in accordance with Article 20 of this Rules. Where parties fail to decide on the composition of the arbitration tribunal or fail to appoint arbitrators, the chairman of the CDAC shall make the decision.
Article 70 (Preservation of Property or Evidence)
Where a party submits an application to the CDAC for preservation of properties or evidences, the CDAC shall forward the application to the intermediary People’s Court at the specified place where the properties or evidences are located.
Article 71 (Notice of Hearing)
The CDAC shall notify the parties of the date of first hearing at least 15 days in advance. The hearing may be rescheduled to an earlier date by the arbitral tribunal with the agreement of the parties. A party may, no less than 10 days in advance of the hearing, request a postponement of the hearing, provided that there are grounds justifying the postponement. The arbitral tribunal shall, in its discretion, decide whether or not to postpone the hearing.
A notification of the date of any subsequent hearing shall not be subject to the 15 days’ time limit.
Article 72 (Time Limit for Rendering Award)
Arbitral tribunal shall render its award within 6 months of its constitution. In summary proceedings, award shall be rendered within 3 months of its constitution. If there are special circumstances justifying an extension of this period, the secretary-general may approve an appropriate time extension at the request of the sole arbitrator or the presiding arbitrator.
Article 73 (Applicable Law)
The arbitral tribunal shall, bases on facts, law, contractual terms, international customs, as well as fair and equitable principles, rule interpedently and impartially.
Where parties have agreed upon the applicable law of disputes, the choice shall prevail. Where parties fail to choose or their choice violates the mandatory provisions of law in China, the arbitral tribunal shall determine the law which is applicable to merits of the dispute.
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 74 (Language)
The official language of the CDAC is Chinese. Whereas the parties have otherwise agreed upon the language of the arbitration, subject to the approval of the CDAC, their agreement shall prevail.
If translation services are required by the parties or their representatives, or the witnesses, translators may be appointed by the CDAC or by the parties themselves. The costs for translation shall be borne by the parties.
Article 75 (Service)
Documents and materials of the arbitration may be directly served on the parties or their representatives or be served by registered post, express mail service, telex, facsimile, e-mail, or any other means deemed appropriate by the CDAC. However, the Arbitral Award, the Mediation Statement, and the Decision shall not be served on the parties or their representatives by means of telex, facsimile or e-mail.
In the event that documents and materials of the arbitration, served directly to the party or its representatives, are rejected by the party, such documents and materials shall be deemed to have been duly served if the process server leaves the document and materials at the domicile address of the party to be served and records the process of service by photos or video.
Documents and materials of the arbitration shall be deemed to have been duly served if they are sent to the place of business, habitual residence, or other addresses of the party to be served by registered post, express mail service, or any other means with a delivery record.
Where the business place, habitual residence, or other addresses of the party to be served cannot be found after reasonable inquiries, the documents and materials of the arbitration shall be deemed to have been duly served if they are sent to the business place, habitual residence, or other addresses last known of the party to be served by registered letter, express mail service, or any other means with a delivery record.
Article 76 (Date of Service)
For any document of material served directly, an acknowledgement of service shall be provided for the recipient to sign or affix the seal and specify the date of receipt. The date specified by the party to be served shall be deemed as the date of service. If the party to be served refuses to sign the acknowledgement of service, the date on which the document is left at the address of the party to be served shall be the date of service.
Where the service is made by post, the receiving date on the receipt shall be the date of service; Where the service is made by facsimile or e-mail, the sending date to the party to be served shall be the date of service.
Article 77 (Period of Time)
A period of time shall be calculated from the day following the date on which such period commences. The day on which a time period begins shall not be counted as within the time period.
If the day following the date on which the period of time commences is an official holiday or a non-business day at the place of the party to be served, the period of time shall begin to run on the first following business day. Official holidays or non-business days occurring within a period of time shall be counted. If the expiry date of the relevant period of time falls on an official holiday or a non-business day, the period of time shall expire on the first following business day.
A time period shall not include the delivery time. Any document or material of the arbitration that has been mailed or dispatched prior to the expiry date of the period of time shall not be regarded as overdue.
If, within a period of time, a party suffers delay due to a force majeure event or other justified reasons, the party may apply for an extension of the period of time within ten days after the removal of the obstacle. The CDAC or the Arbitral Tribunal shall decide on the request.
Article 78 (Interpretation of the Rules)
The Rules shall be interpreted by the CDAC. The headings of the Articles under the Rules shall not be used to interpret the contents of the Articles.
Article 79 (Official Versions of the Rules)
The Chinese, English and other language versions of the Rules published by the CDAC shall be deemed as official versions. In case of any discrepancy among the expression of different language versions, the Chinese version shall prevail.
Article 80 (Special Provisions)
The CDAC may formulate special arbitration rules for certain industries or professions in accordance with the Rules.
Where the special provisions of arbitration rules for certain industries or professions are inconsistent with the Rules, such special provisions shall prevail. Whereas there is no special provision under the arbitration rules for certain industries or professions, the Rules shall apply.
Article 81(Implementation of the Rules)
The Rules are effective as of 1st November 2020. For cases accepted by the CDAC before the Rules came into force, those rules effective at the time of such acceptance shall apply. In such a case, the Rules may apply if the parties so agree.
