CIETAC Issues Announcement Suspending Shanghai And Shenzhen Sub-Commissions

In March 2012, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission ("CIETAC") released amended arbitration rules that became effective on May 1, 2012 (the "Amended Rules").¹ Unfortunately, the release of the Amended Rules has led to a dispute between CIETAC in Beijing and its Shanghai and South China (Shenzhen) Sub-Commissions.

By way of background, CIETAC was founded in 1956 in Beijing as the first arbitration body in the People's Republic of China. CIETAC has its headquarters in Beijing and has sub-commissions (or branches) in Chongqing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. According to its statistics, in 2011 CIETAC accepted 1,435 new domestic and foreign-related arbitrations, more than in the previous year but less than in its peak year of 2009. Of the 2011 cases, 668 were submitted to Beijing, 523 to Shanghai, and 218 to Shenzhen. The other two sub-commissions receive only a small number of cases; for example, last year Tianjin received 21 cases and