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China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center

Guidelines on the Procedures of Guangzhou International Arbitration Model

These Guidelines on the Procedures of Guangzhou International Arbitration Model of China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center (these "Guidelines") are developed for the purpose of conducting arbitration in the Guangzhou International Arbitration Model under these Guidelines upon consent between or among the parties and by applying the General Arbitration Rules of China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center. For a party applying the General Arbitration Rules of China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center, any consent to arbitration in the Guangzhou International Commercial Arbitration Model or in accordance with the Guangzhou International Arbitration Model Flow Chart or to similar expressions shall be deemed as a consent to arbitration in the Guangzhou International Arbitration Model under these Guidelines.

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or designated by the Chairman of the Center, the Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China shall apply to the arbitration, the place of arbitration shall be Guangzhou, and the hearing may be held in Nansha, Guangzhou or another place within the People’s Republic of China.

Matters uncovered in these Guidelines shall be governed by the Arbitration Rules of China’s Guangzhou Arbitration Commission. In the event of other supplements, they shall be made by an agreement reached by the parties through negotiation and are subject to confirmation of the Chairman of the Center. If the parties do not negotiate or fail to reach a consensus upon negotiation, the matters are up to the Chairman of the Center.

Chapter I Composition of Tribunal 

Article 1 The tribunal shall be composed of one or three arbitrators. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or for the cases to which the summary proceedings shall apply, the tribunal shall be composed of three arbitrators.

Article 2 If the tribunal is composed of three arbitrators, the parties shall each select or entrust the Chairman of China’s Guangzhou Arbitration Commission to appoint one arbitrator. The third arbitrator, namely the presiding arbitrator, shall be jointly selected by the parties or be appointed by the Chairman of China’s Guangzhou Arbitration Commission as jointly entrusted by the parties. Where the tribunal is composed of one arbitrator, the arbitrator shall be jointly selected by the parties or be appointed by the Chairman of China’s Guangzhou Arbitration Commission as jointly entrusted by the parties.

If the parties do not agree on or fail to reach a consensus on the composition of tribunal and the selection of arbitrators within 20 days from the date of receiving the notice of acceptance, the arbitrators shall be appointed by the Chairman of China’s Guangzhou Arbitration Commission.

Article 3 The Center shall notify the parties and the arbitrators in writing of the composition of tribunal within 5 days from the date of the formation of tribunal.

Chapter II Pre-hearing Procedures

Article 4 Determine the mode of hearing. The tribunal shall hear the case. If the parties agree not to hold any hearing, or if the tribunal considers hearing unnecessary upon consent of both parties, no hearing will be held, and the tribunal shall make an award based on the statement of claim, statement of defense, relevant evidence, and other materials.

Regardless of the mode of hearing, the tribunal shall treat the parties fairly and impartially and give each party reasonable opportunities for statement and argument.

Article 5 Arbitration shall be conducted in camera. Arbitration may be conducted in public upon mutual agreement between the parties, except where national secrets are involved.

For cases heard in camera, none of the parties or their arbitration representatives, witnesses, arbitrators, experts consulted or appraisers designated by the tribunal, or relevant staff members from the Center may disclose any information related to the case to any person other than arbitration participants.

Article 6 Notice on time of hearing. The Center shall notify the parties of the date of the first hearing 30 days before such hearing after the tribunal decides such date.

The hearing may be held early if the parties so request and upon consent of the tribunal. 15 days before the hearing, a party may make a written request for hearing postponement with a justifiable reason, which is subject to the decision by the tribunal.

Subsequent hearings are not subject to the 30-day notice period.

Chapter III Formal Hearing

Article 7 Identity verification. During a hearing, the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator shall ascertain or authorize the case manager to ascertain whether the parties and their representatives and other arbitration participants are present and verify their identities.

If a party objects to the identity of any of the other party’s individuals appearing in the hearing, the other party shall present relevant identity certificates during the hearing.

Article 8 Absence of a party. If upon a written notice, the claimant fails to appear in the hearing without justifiable reasons, or withdraws from the ongoing hearing without the permission of the tribunal, the claimant shall be deemed to have withdrawn its statement of claim.

If upon a written notice, the respondent fails to appear in the hearing without justifiable reasons or withdraws from the ongoing hearing without the permission of the tribunal, a default award may be made.

Article 9 Hearing investigation. The hearing investigation includes the following aspects:

(1) The claimant’s claim as well as facts and causes, the respondent’s defense, and the claimant’s defense against counterclaim if the respondent files a counterclaim.

(2) A party produces its own evidence, and the other party cross-examines the authenticity, legality, and relevance of the evidence;

(3) The tribunal inquires the parties and understands the facts of the case;

(4) The parties may conduct a cross examination under the direction of the tribunal.

Article 10 Argument and closing statement. The parties have the right to argue during the hearing. At the end of the argument, the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator shall seek the final opinions of the parties.

Article 11 Hearing records. The tribunal shall make records of the hearing.

If the parties and other arbitration participants believe that there are omissions or errors in the records of their statements, they have the right to request modifications or corrections, and such request shall be recorded if the tribunal refuse to make such modifications or corrections.  

The records shall be signed or sealed by the arbitrators, the recorder, the parties, and other arbitration participants.

If the parties or other arbitration participants refuse to sign the records, such refusal shall be recorded, in the presence and with the signature of the arbitrators and the recorder.

Chapter IV Award and Mediation

Article 12 Collegiate meeting. Where the tribunal is composed of three arbitrators, they shall hold a collegiate meeting on the arbitral award and make collegiate records. The collegial records shall cover, among others, fact findings and evidence admission, the basis for the award, the result of the award, and the allocation of the arbitration fee. If the tribunal is composed of one arbitrator, the sole arbitrator shall submit written opinions on the award, which shall cover the foregoing.

Article 13 Arbitral award. The tribunal shall make an award within 6 months after the formation of tribunal. In the event of special circumstances that require an extension of the time limit, the tribunal shall make a written application, and the time limit may be appropriately extended upon approval of the Chairman of the Center.

The award shall be made according to the majority rule, and if the tribunal fails form a majority opinion, the award shall be made based on the opinion of the presiding arbitrator, and the arbitrators’ different opinions shall be recorded in the collegiate records.

In the award, it shall be clearly stated the claims, the arbitration procedures, the main opinions expressed by the parties, the facts ascertained and the evidence admitted by the tribunal, the reasons for the award, the result of the award, the allocation of the arbitration fee, and the date of the award. The disputed facts and the reasons for the award may be omitted if both parties are unwilling to have them stated in the award.

The award shall be signed by the arbitrators, and affixed with the common seal of China’s Guangzhou Arbitration Commission upon its approval. An arbitrator disagreeing to the award may choose to sign on the award or not, and if the arbitrator chooses to not sign on the award, the arbitrator shall issue a written opinion to the Center for filing, and the written opinion may be attached to the award, but shall not constitute an integral part of the award.

When arbitrating a dispute, the tribunal may make an award in respect of certain facts if such facts are already clear, and the award shall be an integral part of the final award with legal effect.

Article 14 Withdrawal of statement of claim. The claimant has the right to withdraw its statement of claim, and if the statement of claim is withdrawn, a new statement of claim may be filed in accordance with the arbitration agreement.

Article 15 If the claimant withdraws its statement of claim before the formation of tribunal, it shall subject to the decision by the Center; If the claimant requests for withdrawal of its statement of claim after the formation of tribunal, it shall subject to the decision by the tribunal.

Article 16 Settlement. If the parties reach a settlement agreement by themselves after the statement of claim is filed, the parties may request the tribunal to make a mediation decision or an award based on the settlement agreement, or the statement of claim may be withdrawn.

Article 17 Mediation. The tribunal may mediate the case before making an award. If the parties voluntarily agree on mediation, the tribunal shall mediate the case. If the mediation fails, the tribunal shall promptly make an award.

If an agreement is reached through mediation, the tribunal shall render a mediation decision, or shall render an award based on the agreement between the parties. The mediation decision and the award shall have the same legal effect.

In the mediation decision, it shall be stated the claims and the result of the agreement between the parties. The content of the mediation decision or the award made based on the settlement agreement or the mediation agreement shall comply with the provisions of the law. The mediation decision shall take legal effect immediately after it is signed for by both the parties.

If the mediation fails, neither party may invoke any statements, opinions, views, or suggestions that the other party or the tribunal has admitted, expressed, put forward, or made, or has been willing to accept or reject, as the basis for its claim, defense, or counterclaim, in any subsequent arbitration proceedings or any other proceedings.

China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center

Guidelines on the Procedures of Guangzhou International Arbitration Model

Charging Measures

Article 1 This fee schedule to these Guidelines on the Procedures of Guangzhou International Arbitration Model is developed in order to regulate the act of charging fees for all arbitration proceedings conducted in accordance with these Guidelines on the Procedures of Guangzhou International Arbitration Model.

Article 2 A party filing a statement of claim with China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center shall pay the Center an arbitration fee in accordance with these charging measures, and the arbitration fee shall include a case acceptance fee and the Center's administration fee.

Article 3 The case acceptance fee shall be used to cover arbitrator’s remunerations, and the Center’s administration fee shall be used to cover the necessary expenses incurred by China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center in handling the case.

Article 4 Within 15 days from the date of receiving a notice of acceptance from Nansha International Arbitration Center, the claimant shall prepay the case acceptance fee in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Case Acceptance Fee Schedule. When filing a counterclaim, the respondent shall prepay the case acceptance fee in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Case Acceptance Fee Schedule.

Article 5 When filing a statement of claim, the claimant shall prepay the Center’s administration fee at the same time as the case acceptance fee, and the Center’s administration fee shall be calculated in accordance with the Administration Fee Schedule of China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center.

Model Arbitration Clauses

Any dispute, controversy, disagreement or claim arising from or in connection with this contract, including the existence, validity, interpretation, performance, breach or termination of this contract, or any non-contractual dispute arising from or in connection with this contract, shall be submitted to China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center for final resolution through arbitration in accordance with the General Arbitration Rules of China’s Nansha International Arbitration Center in effect at the time of submission and by applying these Guidelines on the Procedures of Guangzhou International Arbitration Model.

The tribunal shall be composed of (1 or 3) arbitrator(s). The arbitration shall be conducted in (the language to be selected).