CIETAC Rebranding In Shanghai And Shenzhen

In our Commentary in August 2012, we reported on the dispute between the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission in Beijing ("CIETAC") and its Shanghai and South China (Shenzhen) Sub-Commissions.

Background

To recap, the dispute came about because CIETAC's amended 2012 Arbitration Rules contain a requirement that all cases submitted to CIETAC should be administered in Beijing, unless the parties have expressly submitted them to a sub-commission in their arbitration agreement. This was a departure from past practice, which saw disputes allocated based on regional connection, party convenience, or cost. In other words, if an arbitration agreement simply refers to CIETAC and states that the hearing should be held in Shanghai, for example, the past practice was that the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission would administer the case. However, the amended 2012 Arbitration Rules now suggest that such an arbitration agreement would require the case to be