Wang Hongsong, Secretary-General
I. Purpose and Significance of the Criteria for Appointment (Reappointment) of Arbitrators (the “Criteria”).
The quality of arbitrators is the foundation for the impartiality of arbitration and the guarantee for the quality of arbitration. Beijing Arbitration Commission (“BAC”) has always been committed to building an impartial, clean, efficient and credible top arbitration institution since its founding. Building a high-quality team of arbitrators has always been an important part of its work. The key to this is to do a good job in the appointment and reappointment of arbitrators. The mechanism for the appointment of arbitrators in the arbitration system and the unique advantage of Beijing in human resources make it possible for Beijing Arbitration Commission to recruit excellent talents in arbitration from the whole city and country. Therefore, it is both necessary and feasible to make Criteria in compliance with the spirit of the Arbitration Law and the actual situation of Beijing.
The Criteria will help improve the transparency and standardization of BAC’s appointment and reappointment of arbitrators and set a target for those that hope to become arbitrators.
II. Basic Conditions for Arbitrators in the Criteria.
In accordance with the Article 13 of the Arbitration Law and the nature, characteristics and requirements of the arbitration work, Articles 1 to 8 of the Criteria provide on the basic conditions for the appointment of arbitrators. Article 5 of the Criteria requires that an arbitrator should “have a keen intellect, with good analytical skills and powers of judgment. He/she should also have strong oral and written language skills, and should be able to evaluate evidence, conduct investigations, render judgments, and handle cases effectively.” This is a requirement on the level of thinking and case handling capabilities of an arbitrator. An arbitrator needs to settle the disputes between the parties and make a judgment on the merits of the case with his/her own wisdom, expertise and experience. The complexity of the case and the conflict between the parties require that an arbitrator should have strong skills of organization and coordination, analysis and judgment, logical thinking and written and oral expression, and have good psychological competence and endurance.
An arbitrator should have the ability to handle a case and be able to organize hearings, organize the parties and their authorized representatives to produce and challenge evidence, review and judge the evidence and find the facts of the case in accordance with the requirements of the Arbitration Law and the Arbitration Rules. Meanwhile, an arbitrator should be able to mediate in effective ways and according to the wishes of the parties, so as to achieve the best results protecting the legitimate rights and interests of both parties. An arbitrator shall be able to make arbitration awards in accordance with the requirements of BAC. In short, to meet these standards, an arbitrator needs to have not only a strong and solid professional foundation but also a strong entrepreneurial spirit and professionalism. These criteria are relatively high. But this is the only way for BAC to achieve its objectives and promote the healthy development of the cause of arbitration. Of course, it is difficult for BAC to tell if an arbitrator meets the abovementioned standards upon his/her appointment. It is necessary to examine the arbitrator during case handling and help him/her to improve through trainings.
Article 8 of the Criteria sets forth the requirements on the legal knowledge and professional skills of arbitrators from different industries and areas. With the development of the legal system, the legal knowledge and ability to participate in arbitration of the parties and their authorized representatives have been constantly improved. This sets higher requirements on the legal knowledge of arbitrators. Arbitration is mainly to find out the legal relations between the parties and determine the applicable laws through reviewing evidence and facts. Therefore, arbitrators should have a strong professional background, be familiar with the laws, regulations and industry norms of their own professions, know well legal procedures and practices and constantly update their knowledge with the development of the situation. Arbitrators can accurately make a decision on the basis of logistic thinking of law only when they have a deep understanding of the true spirit of law.
Articles 6 and 7 of the Criteria provide the requirements on the health, available time and age of arbitrators. This is because arbitration as a complex and arduous mental work and a part-time job requires that arbitrators should be healthy and energetic and have sufficient available time. Such requirements are not only to meet the needs of the arbitration, but also to care for the arbitrators.
III. Provisions on not Being Re-engaged and Dismissing Arbitrators
Article 9 of the Criteria sets forth the circumstance for non-reappointment and dismissal of arbitrators in eight paragraphs. It also contains some contents in the Ethical Standards for Arbitrators of Beijing Arbitration Commission (the “Ethical Standards”), but is different from the Ethical Standards in the following aspects: The Ethical Standards are mainly about the disciplinary requirements related to the impartiality and integrity of arbitrations, while this article is mainly about the requirements on the sense of responsibility and case handling competence of arbitrators. In particular, the article has the most content and more detailed descriptions on the problem of “slacking off in work”. We believe that the “slacking off in work” of an arbitrator shows the lack of respect for the parties and the irresponsibility to the law and BAC, and is against the professional ethic of arbitrators. This conduct directly affects the quality and efficiency of arbitration. Its damage to the credibility of BAC is no less than that of “accepting gifts or an invitation to dinner”. When arbitrators are too occupied with work to spare any time or energy for case handling, they may refuse to accept the nomination of the parties and the appointment of the Chairman of BAC, but must not slack off in the work of arbitration. Now, in a time when both the new system of arbitration and BAC are in the stage of development, the recognition of the parties and their authorized representatives on the system and BAC mainly depends on the quality and efficiency of arbitration and the good image of arbitrators as being impartial and professional built during their case handling. Serious and responsible work in arbitration will help to improve the quality and ability of arbitrators. Therefore, from the perspective of the requirements of the community on BAC and the needs for the development of arbitrators, these provisions are quite necessary. Our arbitrators are excellent talents that are fair and honest and love the work of arbitration. They will understand and abide by these provisions.
Paragraph 2 of Article 9 specifies several circumstances of “lacking skills and competence of case handling”. Arbitration is a highly professional work. It requires case handling competence of arbitrators, as much as requiring medical skills of doctors, because the skills and competence of case handling are also an important guarantee for the quality and efficiency of arbitration.
December 30, 1999