Chapter III Arbitration Agreement

Article 16 An arbitration agreement shall include arbitration clauses stipulated in the contract and agreements of submission to arbitration that are concluded in other written forms before or after disputes arise.

An arbitration agreement shall contain the following particulars:

(1) an expression of intention to apply for arbitration;

(2) matters for arbitration; and

(3) a designated arbitration commission.

Article 17 An arbitration agreement shall be null and void under one of the following circumstances:

(1) The agreed matters for arbitration exceed the range of arbitrable matters as specified by law; (2) One party that concluded the arbitration agreement has no capacity for civil conducts or has limited capacity for civil conducts; or

(3) One party coerced the other party into concluding the arbitration agreement.

Article 18 If an arbitration agreement contains no or unclear provisions concerning the matters for arbitration or the arbitration commission, the parties may reach a supplementary agreement. If no such supplementary agreement can be reached, the arbitration agreement shall be null and void.

Article 19 An arbitration agreement shall exist independently. The amendment, rescission, termination or invalidity of a contract shall not affect the validity of the arbitration agreement.

The arbitration tribunal shall have the power to affirm the validity of a contract.

Article 20 If a party challenges the validity of the arbitration agreement, he may request the arbitration commission to make a decision or apply to the people's court for a ruling. If one party requests the arbitration commission to make a decision and the other party applies to the people's court for a ruling, the people's court shall give a ruling.

A party's challenge of the validity of the arbitration agreement shall be raised prior to the arbitration tribunal's first hearing.

Chapter IV Arbitration Proceedings

Section 1 Application and Acceptance

Article 21 A party's application for arbitration shall meet the following requirements:

(1) There is an arbitration agreement;

(2) There is a specific arbitration claim and there are facts and reasons therefore; and

(3) The application is within the scope of the arbitration commission's acceptability.

Article 22 To apply for arbitration, a party shall submit to the arbitration commission the written arbitration agreement and a written application for arbitration together with copies thereof.

Article 23 A written application for arbitration shall specify the following particulars:

(1) the name, sex, age, occupation, work unit and domicile of each party, or the name and domicile of legal persons or other organizations and the names and positions of their legal representatives or chief responsible persons;

(2) the arbitration claim and the facts and reasons on which it is based; and

(3) the evidence, the source of the evidence and the names and domiciles of witnesses.

Article 24 When an arbitration commission receives a written application for arbitration and considers that the application complies with the conditions for acceptance, it shall accept the application and notify the party within five days from the date of receipt. If the arbitration commission considers that the application does not comply with the conditions for acceptance, it shall inform the party in writing of its rejection of the application and explain the reasons for rejection within five days from the date of receipt.

Article 25 After an arbitration commission accepts an application for arbitration, it shall, within the time limit specified in the rules of arbitration, deliver a copy of the rules of arbitration and the register of arbitrators to the claimant, and serve one copy of the application for arbitration together with the rules of arbitration and the register of arbitrators on the respondent.

After receiving the copy of the application for arbitration, the respondent shall submit a written defense to the arbitration commission within the time limit specified in the rules of arbitration. After receiving the written defense, the arbitration commission shall serve a copy thereof on the claimant within the time limit specified in the rules of arbitration. Failure on the part of the respondent to submit a written defense shall not affect the progress of the arbitration proceedings.

Article 26 If the parties have concluded an arbitration agreement and one party has instituted an action in a people's court without declaring the existence of the arbitration agreement and, after the people's court has accepted the case, the other party submits the arbitration agreement prior to the first hearing, the people's court shall dismiss the case unless the arbitration agreement is null and void. If, prior to the first hearing, the other party has not raised an objection to the people's court's acceptance of the case, he shall be deemed to have renounced the arbitration agreement and the people's court shall continue to try the case.