China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) held the Fourth Seminar of its International Commercial Expert Committee on Sept 25, bringing together experts and guests from more than 20 countries for discussions on the theme of "cooperation, dialogue, greater integration and peaceful development". 

The symposium commenced with a focus on the global experience and Chinese practices of international commercial courts. Speakers presented and compared the features of international commercial courts in China, Singapore and the UK, offering fresh perspectives and methodologies for resolving complex cross-border commercial disputes.

In recent years, there has been a notable increase in litigants actively choosing Chinese courts to adjudicate their cases of cross-border commercial disputes. From 2013 to the first half of this year, Chinese courts concluded nearly 500,000 first-instance civil and commercial cases related to foreign litigants or those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, spanning more than 100 countries and regions. 

Wang Shumei, a grand justice of the second rank and a standing member of the SPC's adjudication committee, shared the experience of Chinese courts in promoting the development of international commercial courts and cross-border commercial litigation.

Wang highlighted the country’s efforts in advancing the modernization and internationalization of the mechanism for cross-border commercial disputes resolution as well as in building the one-stop service platform for resolving international commercial disputes.

Huang Jin, vice-president of the China Law Society and former president of China University of Political Science and Law, said that the establishment and operation of the SPC’s International Commercial Court represent a significant development in China's judicial system and a major innovation in the country's international commercial adjudication system. 

Participants at the seminar discussed cross-border commercial transactions from the perspective of comparative law. Experts highlighted the understanding of the interplay between public and private laws as well as the integration of international law with domestic law as essential legal knowledge for handling cross-border commercial transactions.

"Arbitration has become the most preferred approach to dispute resolution in international commercial transactions," said Chen Lei, deputy dean of the Durham Law School and director of the International Dispute Resolution Institute at Durham University in the UK. 

He said that enforcing arbitral awards across jurisdictions presents unique challenges, and differences between common law and civil law systems in areas such as judicial review, public policy, and arbitrability can significantly affect the outcomes of international commercial disputes resolution.

In terms of international cooperation among commercial courts on cross-border cases, speakers presented diverse perspectives such as  strengthening rule-based judicial cooperation systems, and examining legal norms and judicial practices for mutual recognition and enforcement of court judgments between countries. 

Some focused on judicial cooperation in cross-border bankruptcy cases, and the opportunities and challenges brought about by the development of digital courts for cross-border judicial cooperation.

Liu Jingdong, director of the International Economic Law Department at the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, shared data on China's judicial cooperation efforts. 

According to him, China has signed 178 bilateral judicial assistance treaties with 83 countries and joined nearly 30 international conventions containing provisions on judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters. Chinese courts handle an average of over 4,000 civil and commercial judicial assistance cases annually, accumulating valuable experience in optimizing international judicial assistance work, he said.

Hamid Sharif, director general of the Compliance, Effectiveness and Integrity Unit at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, emphasized that BRICS countries should incorporate judicial cooperation into the "BRICS Initiative" agenda to ensure that Belt and Road cooperation will not only achieve success economically, but also facilitate the establishment of a more just and stable international legal order.

The use of digital technology is expected to be a major future trend in the resolution of international commercial disputes. Liu Xiaohong, president of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law and president of the Shanghai Arbitration Commission, offered insights that virtualization, datafication and intelligence are key factors shaping the development of commercial courts and cross-border judicial cooperation.

On the topic of "Mechanism Innovation in the Digital Era: The Application of Artificial Intelligence in Dispute Resolution and Its Prospects", speakers discussed the profound changes brought about by AI, emphasizing the imperative need to regulate and harness AI effectively in dispute resolution processes.

They underscored the importance of combining technology with legal frameworks to ensure the fair and just application of AI in dispute resolution. The integration of technology and law, along with the establishment of corresponding norms and regulations, is crucial to safeguarding the reasonable and equitable application of AI in legal proceedings, they said.

The event concluded with a day of lively and productive exchanges and discussions, providing valuable insights and intellectual support for China's legal development and the advancement of global rule of law. 

Participants expressed high expectations for deepened cooperation among judicial authorities and legal professionals worldwide to contribute further wisdom and strength to the global rule of law.