The China Maritime Arbitration Commission, the administrative committee of the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Xiamen Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and Xiamen Lawyers Association have jointly released a guideline for interim arbitration in the Fujian Pilot FTZ.

Released on Aug 31, the guideline is the first of its kind in China to provide guidance on how to carry out interim arbitration.

The document provides rules and operational guidelines for business entities such as enterprises to choose interim arbitration to resolve disputes in the FTZ and will promote the development of interim arbitration practices that are in line with China’s national conditions, advanced concepts, international standards, and flexible norms. 

The aim is to create the "Fujian (Xiamen) Model" of foreign-related maritime and commercial dispute resolution and provide reference for the practice of interim arbitration in China's free trade zones and free trade ports.

Lu Hailin, deputy director of Xiamen FTZ's administrative committee, said the release of the guidelines relies on the "pioneer and trial" policy advantages of the Xiamen FTZ to create a market-oriented, legal and international first-class business environment. 

The Xiamen FTZ's administrative committee said it will deepen cooperation with the China Maritime Arbitration Commission and actively support the implementation and application of interim arbitration rules in the FTZ to create a higher-level Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District and serve Xiamen to create a node city for high quality development, Lu said.

According to local authorities, the third Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District Forum will take place from Sept 7 to 8 in Xiamen. 

More than 150 guests from around the world, including government officials, experts and scholars will attend the event, which will also be livestreamed.

Themed "Innovation, Cooperation, Openness, and Sharing – Deeply Integrating the Construction of the Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District into the Belt and Road Initiative", this year's event will include an opening ceremony, a main forum, three sub-forums, and a parallel sub-forum.

The attendees will discuss topics like improving legal service guarantee for cross-border investment and trade, and enhancing the protection mechanism of intellectual property rights.

Since its establishment in 2021, the Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District has achieved fruitful results in helping Xiamen create a complete industrial ecosystem for the legal service industry, and build a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment for global investors.

The Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District is located in the coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]