BAC revises arbitration rules

The Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) has significantly amended its arbitration rules, issuing the Beijing Arbitration Commission Arbitration Rules (2015) on 4 December 2014. The following is an overview of the major features of the revision.

Multi-party and multi-contract

The new rules incorporate provisions on multi-party and multi-contract arbitration.

Joinder of additional parties (articles 13 and 19.6): In arbitral proceedings, the parties may, by submitting a written application, apply to join an additional party under the same arbitration agreement to the arbitration. If the application is made before the arbitral tribunal is constituted, it will be subject to the approval of the BAC. If the application is made after the arbitral tribunal is formed, it will be accepted with the consensus agreement of the claimant, the respondent and the party to be joined. With regard to the appointment of arbitrator, the joined party can nominate the arbitrator jointly with either the claimant or the respondent as appropriate; if no such a nomination has been made, the chairman of BAC willappoint all members of the tribunal.

Multi-party claims (article 14): Where there are two or more claimants or respondents in an arbitration case, or where any additional party has joined the arbitration, the revised rules provide that any party may raise claims against any other party under the same arbitration agreement, which can improve the rules of arbitration and protect the parties’ rights and interests. It is worth noting that, in China, this provision is unique to the revised BAC rules.

Consolidation of arbitrations (article 29): The BAC may decide to consolidate arbitrations where the parties have agreed on the consolidation, or where the BAC considers it necessary to consolidate. The revised BAC rules allow the parties to resolve all disputes in a single arbitration and saves arbitration resources and costs to the maximum extent.

Wang Xuehua is the managing partner of Beijing Huanzhong & Partners; Hu Huizhong is an associate of the firm’s International Trade Department