(Adopted on 4 April 2003 by the China Council
for the Promotion of International Trade / China Chamber of
International Commerce, Effective as from 8 May 2003)
Chapter I General
Provisions
Article
1
These Rules are formulated for the purpose of
impartial and prompt resolution of disputes arising from financial
transactions between parties.
Article
2
The China International Economic and Trade
Arbitration Commission (also known as the Arbitration Court of
China Chamber of International Commerce and hereinafter referred to
as the "Arbitration Commission") offers, by means of arbitration,
independent and impartial resolution of disputes arising from, or
in connection with, any and all financial transactions between
parties.
The term "financial transactions" shall refer
to transactions arising between financial institutions inter se, or
arising between financial institutions and other natural or legal
persons in the currency, capital, foreign exchange, gold and
insurance markets that relate to financing in both domestic and
foreign currencies, and the assignment and sale of any and all
types of financial instruments and documents denominated in both
domestic and foreign currencies, including but not limited
to:
1. Loans;
2. Deposit certificates;
3. Guarantees;
4. Letters of credit;
5. Negotiable instruments;
6. Fund transactions and fund
trusts;
7. Bonds;
8. Collection and remittance of foreign
currencies;
9. Factoring; and
10. Reimbursement agreements between
banks.
Article
3
These Rules shall apply to any financial
dispute accepted by the Arbitration Commission for arbitration
where the parties have agreed upon the application thereof. Failing
such agreement, the Arbitration Rules of the Arbitration Commission
shall apply.
The Arbitration Commission shall make a
ruling on objections with regard to whether the dispute between the
parties arises from, or is in connection with, a financial
transaction, or whether these Rules should be applied to the
dispute between the parties.
Article
4
Where the parties have agreed upon the
arbitration procedure otherwise, the said agreement of the parties
shall prevail subject to the consent of the Arbitration
Commission.
Article
5
The Arbitration Commission has the power to
rule on the existence and validity of an arbitration agreement and
on the jurisdiction over the arbitration case.
Where the validity of the arbitration agreement is challenged and
one party requests the Arbitration Commission to make a decision
thereon, while the other party applies to the People's Court for a
ruling, such a ruling shall be given by the People's
Court.
Any challenge to the arbitration agreement or
to the jurisdiction over the arbitration case shall not affect the
progress of the arbitration proceedings.
Article
6
The parties may appoint arbitrators from
amongst the Panel of Financial Arbitrators of the Arbitration
Commission, or from amongst such Panel of Arbitrators as may be
designated by the Arbitration Commission.
Where the appointment of an arbitrator is to
be made by the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission, the Chairman
may, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties, appoint such
arbitrator from amongst the Panel of Financial Arbitrators of the
Arbitration Commission or from other Panel of
Arbitrators.
Article
7
An arbitrator shall be required to sign a
Statement of Independence. The appointment of each arbitrator by
either party shall be subject to confirmation by the Arbitration
Commission. The Arbitration Commission shall not give the reasons
for confirming or not confirming any such appointment.
Chapter II Arbitration
Proceedings
Article
8
Arbitration proceedings shall commence from
the date on which the Notice of Arbitration is issued by the
Secretariat of the Arbitration Commission.
Article
9
A Claimant applying for arbitration
shall:
(1) Submit an Application for Arbitration in
writing, which shall, inter alia, contain the following
information:
a. The name and address of the Claimant and
the Respondent, and means of communication with each of the
parties, including the zip code, telephone, telex, facsimile, cable
numbers, and e-mail address etc;
b. The arbitration agreement relied upon by
the Claimant;
c. The facts and main issues of the case;
and
d. The claim(s) and the facts and reasons
upon which the claim(s) is/are based.
The Application for Arbitration shall be
signed by and/or affixed with the seal of the Claimant and/or his
authorized agent.
(2) Attach to the Application for Arbitration
relevant evidential documents that support the facts upon which the
claim(s) is/are based.
(3) Pay an arbitration fee in advance to the
Arbitration Commission in accordance with the Arbitration Fee
Schedule for Financial Disputes formulated by the Arbitration
Commission.
Article
10
Where the Secretariat of the Arbitration
Commission finds that an application satisfies the requirements for
arbitration, it shall notify the parties in writing of its
acceptance of the Application for Arbitration within 5 days from
the date of receipt of the Application for Arbitration. Should the
Secretariat of the Arbitration Commission find that the Application
for Arbitration does not satisfy the requirements for arbitration,
it shall notify the parties in writing of its rejection of the
application and the reasons therefor.
Article
11
Together with the Notice of Arbitration for
the acceptance of the Application for Arbitration, the Secretariat
of the Arbitration Commission shall furnish to the Claimant these
Rules, the Arbitration Rules of the Arbitration Commission, the
Panel of Financial Arbitrators and such other Panel of Arbitrators
of the Arbitration Commission as may be designated.
Together with the Notice of Arbitration for
the acceptance of the Application for Arbitration, the Secretariat
of the Arbitration Commission shall furnish to the Respondent a
copy of the Claimant's Application for Arbitration and the
documents annexed thereto, these Rules, the Arbitration Rules of
the Arbitration Commission, the Panel of Financial Arbitrators and
such other Panel of Arbitrators of the Arbitration Commission as
may be designated.
Article
12
The arbitral tribunal shall be composed of a
sole or three arbitrators. Where the parties have not agreed upon
the number of arbitrators, the Chairman of the Arbitration
Commission shall decide whether the arbitral tribunal shall be
composed of a sole or three arbitrators.
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties,
where the arbitral tribunal is composed of a sole arbitrator, the
Claimant and the Respondent shall, within 7 working days from the
date of receipt of the Notice of Arbitration by the party who last
receives it, jointly appoint a sole arbitrator or entrust the
Chairman of the Arbitration Commission to effect such
appointment.
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties,
where the arbitral tribunal is composed of three arbitrators, the
Claimant and the Respondent shall, within 7 working days from the
date of receipt of the Notice of Arbitration, respectively appoint
an arbitrator or entrust the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission
to effect such appointment, and shall, within 7 working days from
the date of receipt of the Notice of Arbitration by the party who
last receives it, jointly appoint a third arbitrator, or
alternatively, shall entrust the Chairman of the Arbitration
Commission to effect such appointment. The third arbitrator shall
be the presiding arbitrator.
Where there are two or more Claimants and/or
Respondents in a case, the Claimants' side, and/or the Respondents'
side each shall, through consultation, appoint an arbitrator, or
alternatively, entrust the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission
to effect such appointment.
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties,
where a party fails to appoint an arbitrator or fails to entrust
the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission to effect such
appointment in due course, such arbitrator shall be appointed by
the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission.
Article
13
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties,
the Respondent shall, within 15 working days from the date of
receipt of the Notice of Arbitration, submit its written Statement
of Defense and the relevant evidential documents to the Secretariat
of the Arbitration Commission.
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties,
the Respondent shall, within the foregoing time limit, file its
Counterclaim(s) and relevant supporting documents in writing, if
any, with the Secretariat of the Arbitration Commission.
Article
14
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties,
the Claimant shall, within 15 working days from the date of receipt
of the Counterclaim(s) of the Respondent, file its Answer in
writing, if any, with the Secretariat of the Arbitration
Commission.
Article
15
The arbitral tribunal may conduct the
arbitration in such manner as it considers appropriate. The
arbitral tribunal shall treat the parties with equality and give
each party a reasonable opportunity of presenting his
case.
Article
16
During the arbitral proceedings, the arbitral
tribunal may issue procedural orders, questionnaires, and hold
pre-hearing conferences or preliminary hearings.
Article
17
Where a time limit for presenting evidence
has been agreed upon by the parties or has been set by the arbitral
tribunal, the parties shall present their evidence to the arbitral
tribunal within such time limit.
Where no such time limit for presenting
evidence is agreed upon by the parties or set by the arbitral
tribunal, the parties shall file all written statements and
relevant evidential documents with the Secretariat of the
Arbitration Commission not less than 3 working days prior to the
date of the first oral hearing.
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties
or determined by the arbitral tribunal, the
arbitral tribunal may refuse acceptance of any written submission
or evidential document submitted by any party after the expiration
of the time limit for presenting evidence.
Article
18
Subject to any contrary agreement by the
parties, the arbitral tribunal shall decide whether or not to hold
oral hearings. If an oral hearing is to be held, the Secretariat of
the Arbitration Commission shall serve a Notice of Oral Hearing on
each party at least 10 working days prior to the scheduled hearing
date.
Article
19
With the consent of the Secretary-General of
the Arbitration Commission, the time limit specified in Article 12
may be extended.
With the consent of the arbitral tribunal,
the time limits respectively specified in Articles 13, 14 and 18
may be extended.
Article
20
The parties may agree upon the place of
arbitration. Failing such agreement, the seat of the Arbitration
Commission or its Sub-Commissions shall be deemed to be the place
of the arbitration.
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties,
the arbitral tribunal may hold oral hearings or conduct other
activities relating to the financial dispute between the parties,
at any place that it considers appropriate.
Chapter III Award
Article
21
Subject to mandatory rules of law, the
parties to any case involving a foreign-related element may agree
upon the law to be applied to the merits of the dispute. Failing
such agreement, the arbitral tribunal shall apply the law that it
determines to be appropriate. In all cases, the arbitral tribunal
shall take into account the terms of the contract, the usages and
standard practices of the trade, and abide by the principles of
fairness and reasonableness.
Article
22
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties,
the arbitral tribunal shall render an arbitral award within 45
working days from the date on which the arbitral tribunal is
constituted.
At the request of the arbitral tribunal, the
Secretary-General of the Arbitration Commission may extend the
above time limit provided that he is satisfied that the extension
is both truly necessary and justifiable. Each
such extension may not exceed 15 working days.
Article
23
Before signing an award, the arbitrators
shall submit it in draft form to the Arbitration Commission.
Without affecting the independence of the arbitrators in rendering
the award, the Arbitration Commission may draw the arbitrators'
attention to any matter pertaining to the form of the
award.
Chapter IV
Miscellaneous
Article
24
All documents, notifications or materials
pertaining to the arbitration shall be furnished by the Secretariat
of the Arbitration Commission to the parties or their arbitration
agents in person, or via registered post, express mail, telefax,
telex, cable, e-mail or such other means as the Secretariat of the
Arbitration Commission considers appropriate.
Article
25
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties
or determined by the arbitral tribunal, for the purposes of these
Rules, the term "working day" shall mean a working day at the seat
of the Arbitration Commission.
Article
26
In the event of any inconsistency between
these Rules and the Arbitration Rules of the Arbitration
Commission, these Rules shall prevail.
In respect of any matter not provided for in
these Rules, the Arbitration Rules of the Arbitration Commission
shall apply.
Article 27
These Rules shall apply uniformly to the
Arbitration Commission and its Sub-Commissions. Where arbitration
proceedings are conducted before a Sub-Commission, the functions
and duties arising under these Rules to be performed by the
Chairman, the Secretariat and the Secretary-General of the
Arbitration Commission shall be performed respectively by the
Vice-Chairman authorized by the Chairman of the Arbitration
Commission, the Secretariat and the Secretary-General of the
Sub-Commission.
Article
28
The power to interpret these Rules is vested
in the Arbitration Commission.