Arbitration law updating to help opening-up

More foreign-related disputes are expected to be resolved through arbitration in line with a draft revision to the Arbitration Law, this will help promote high-level opening-up, Minister of Justice He Rong said.

The draft revision to the Arbitration Law was submitted to an ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on Monday for first review.

Under the current law, just foreign-related economic, trade, transport and maritime disputes can be arbitrated, but the draft amendment states that all cases involving foreign factors are allowed to be settled through arbitration.

"This means that more foreign-related cases can be applied to arbitration procedures," he said while introducing the draft to Chinese lawmakers on Monday.

She emphasized that the revision aims to help advance the high-level opening-up and broaden the scope of foreign-related arbitration cases.

In addition, the draft is to refine the legal framework of arbitration with Chinese characteristics, making it more compatible with international rules and enhancing the credibility and international competitiveness of arbitration, thus fostering a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized, she added.

The current law was promulgated in 1995. It is the first major revision of the law since then.

By the end of August, China had set up 282 arbitration committees, with litigants from more than 100 countries and regions, according to data provided by the NPC Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee.

With over 60,000 arbitrators, China has also handled more than 5 million disputes through arbitration, playing a big role in the country's economic development and opening-up, the data also showed.

On Monday, a draft revision to the Maritime Law was also submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for review, in a move to strengthen the protection of rights and interests of the crew. In the draft, more content will be focused on tanker transportation and ship financing leasing.