Combination of Mediation and Arbitration: The Case of China

Abstract

Med-arb is a form of hybrid dispute resolution that combines an adjudicative approach (arbitration) with a non-adjudicative approach (mediation). Most recent reforms on med-arb by leading Chinese arbitration institutions, such as the CIETAC, BAC and SCIA, evidence a trend towards bifurcating the two processes when facing international clients. The recent establishment of the China International Commercial Court, and its creation of the ‘One-Stop’ Dispute Resolution Platform shows China’s heightened awareness of the procedural justice issue in med-arb, the need to attract foreign parties in addition to merely Chinese ones, and the pressure to compete in the hybrid dispute resolution market in the context of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative.