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The Path and Effectiveness of Cultivating Talents for International Commercial Arbitration

Release time：2024-07-16 09:36:49

Introduction

As the global governance system becomes more refined and the international order rapidly evolves, international commercial arbitration is playing an increasingly crucial role in resolving international commercial disputes. The successful resolution of these disputes depends on legal professionals who are well-versed in international rules and commercial practices. Enhancing the development of talent in the field of international commercial arbitration will help this method of dispute resolution to continuously showcase its unique advantages and characteristics amidst a variety of current dispute resolution mechanisms.

I. Strong Demand for Talents in International Commercial Arbitration

A high level of openness to the outside world is embodied in a market-oriented, rule-of-law, internationalized, and business-friendly environment. "The rule of law is the best business environment," serving as a cornerstone for economic development. Arbitration, compared to court litigation and other alternative dispute resolution methods, possesses unique advantages such as confidentiality, specialization, flexibility, procedural simplicity and speed, finality, and international recognition and enforceability. Moreover, arbitration provides parties with the opportunity to select arbitrators who possess specialized knowledge and come from diverse cultural backgrounds, offering greater autonomy to the parties, facilitating efficient dispute resolution, and ensuring that arbitral awards are widely recognized and enforceable globally.

China first proposed the establishment of the Silk Road Economic Belt in 2013, and later proposed the establishment of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (The Belt and Road Initiative) at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Bali, Indonesia. The Belt and Road Initiative. Countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific are important targets for cooperation in the realization of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Furthermore, when presiding over the 10th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of "cultivating at an early date a batch of foreign-related rule of law talents with firm political stance, excellent professional qualities, good knowledge of international rules, and proficiency in foreign-related legal practice". Therefore, in the context of high-level opening up, it is urgent to cultivate a group of international arbitration talents who have international vision, know international arbitration rules, understand different cultural backgrounds, communicate across cultures, and actually participate in the whole process of international commercial dispute resolution.

Ⅱ. The Current Situation of Cultivating International Commercial Arbitration Talents

According to the research results of the Arbitration Research Institute of China University of Political Science and Law on more than one hundred large-scale state-owned enterprises recommended by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) to "go global," over 90% of the enterprises choose arbitration for resolving their foreign-related commercial disputes. However, Chinese arbitration institutions are rarely favored when entering into contracts with foreign parties, and most contracts stipulate overseas arbitration institutions for dispute resolution. The surveyed enterprises indicated that it is challenging to select Chinese arbitrators or those knowledgeable in Chinese law during foreign arbitration proceedings.

Overseas acting lawyers and arbitrators possess rich practical experience and natural language advantages in the resolution of international commercial disputes. Chinese lawyers and arbitrators struggle to showcase their skills in the international commercial disputes arena. Although lawyers engaged in international arbitration have excellent foreign language skills, they face certain shortcomings in deep theoretical research and practical operations of international commerce and often highly rely on foreign lawyers and teams. Given the complexity of international commercial arbitration cases due to their multilingual and multi-legal backgrounds, Chinese lawyers encounter three major obstacles in international commercial arbitration: language, institutions, and rules. Regarding language, there are fewer than 10,000 arbitrators or lawyers in China who are proficient in and can utilize legal English and minor languages. Data released by the Information Office of the State Council in March 2021 indicates that there are currently 520,000 lawyers in China, but only about 12,000 are foreign-related lawyers, revealing a significant gap in the foreign-related lawyer workforce. In terms of institutions, a few international arbitration institutions monopolize many international arbitration cases. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Institute, the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC), and the American Arbitration Association (AAA) each accepted 59, 73, and 44 cases involving Chinese elements in 2018, respectively [See: the official website of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Institute: "ICC Arbitration figures reveal new record for awards in 2018. The primary reason is the significant shortage of domestic arbitration talent, leading to the outflow of many cases with Chinese elements. In terms of rules, for a long time, the rule-makers in international arbitration have often been legal elites from Europe and the United States, making it difficult for Chinese industry talents in the field of arbitration to demonstrate their abilities.

To cultivate a pool of young foreign-related rule of law talents, China's Ministry of Education issued the Circular on the Implementation of the Postgraduate Training Program for the Professional Degree of Master of Laws (Foreign-Related Lawyers) and the Circular on the Implementation of the Postgraduate Training Program for the Professional Degree of Master of Laws (International Arbitration) on February 2, 2021, and August 3, 2022, respectively. These programs aim to cultivate high-level, international, and applied foreign-related lawyer and arbitration talents.

Ⅲ. Cultivation Path of International Commercial Arbitration Talents by Asia Pacific International Arbitration Chamber (APIAC)

1.Strict Selection of Arbitrators and Mediators and Rigorous Examination Standards

APIAC conducts Commercial Arbitration Training Program and organizes selection examinations for arbitrators and mediators, choosing the best of the best to form a team of professional, efficient arbitrators and mediators who are proficient in foreign languages and have an international outlook. Currently, the arbitrators on APIAC's roster possess excellent legal skills and specialize in areas such as intellectual property rights, international investment, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, construction and engineering, and the energy industry.

2.Focusing on the Young Team and Cultivating Foreign-Related Talents

APIAC is also injecting fresh blood into the field of arbitration and is always committed to cultivating young talents in international arbitration. In Southeast Asian countries and regions, young legal professionals with "law + foreign language" backgrounds are incorporated into the arbitration secretarial team, and professional training covering the entire process of case handling is provided. A regular assessment system ensures the professionalism and rigor of the secretarial team. APIAC also actively collaborates with universities in Mainland China to conduct theoretical research on international arbitration, partnering with universities to build training bases for foreign-related rule of law talents and attract outstanding young legal professionals.

3. Leveraging APIAC’s Own Advantages

Southeast Asia presents numerous market opportunities, attracting investments from around the globe. Business entities in Southeast Asia have a significant demand for arbitration as a means of dispute resolution. APIAC's arbitration languages include Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, and Cantonese. As Chinese enterprises expand globally, the Chinese language should confidently participate in international arbitration. APIAC provides full Chinese language services to reduce the resistance and concerns of Chinese parties in international dispute resolution.

Conclusion

International commercial arbitration talents are one of the crucial driving forces for the continuous optimization of international commercial dispute resolution. Attracting and cultivating legal professionals with an international outlook will help China enter the global rule of law arena, participate in handling international commercial disputes more confidently, and promote mutual appreciation of the world's rule of law and civilization. This is key to APIAC's goal of building a pattern of "based in the Asia-Pacific and looking out to the world". APIAC will leverage its own advantages and positioning to provide an efficient dispute resolution platform for parties to international commercial disputes through high-quality legal services, promoting the effective resolution of commercial disputes in the region.

Note：

1.Luo Ying and Ge Youshan: Strengthening the Training of International Commercial Arbitration Talents [J]. Beijing Observer, 2023 (07): 46-47

2.ICC Arbitration figures reveal new record for awards in 2018，see https: / /iccwbo. org /media － wall/news －speeches/icc － arbitration － figures － reveal － new － record － cases － awards － 2018 /.

3.Singapore International Arbitration Centre, see https://www.siac org. sg /images/stories/ articles/ annual _ report/SIAC _ AR2018 － Complete －Web. Pdf.

4.The official website of the American Arbitration Association, see https: //adr.org/research.

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