The time spent reviewing arbitration cases in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone will be cut in half in an effort to facilitate the efficiency of trade and legal services in the FTZ, Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court said on May 4.

In any case heard in the court of arbitration for the FTZ, a ruling must be given no more than 30 days after a party applies to the court to make an arbitral decision effective or withdrawn, the court said.

The allotted time is half of what is set in the country's Arbitration Law.

In a case that the companies involved have commercial disputes relating to less than 100,000 yuan ($16,000), a ruling will be given within 20 days.

"The court will have a collegiate bench with a presiding judge of commercial cases taking the lead to review the cases," court President Wang Xinfang said.

The effort will make businesses in the FTZ more confident of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Arbitration Rules, and help the city become an international arbitration center, said Guo Junxiu, a general counsel of China Eastern Airlines.