An international commercial tribunal was officially inaugurated at the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court in South China’s Guangdong province on Feb 4. 

A news conference held after the inauguration ceremony gave a briefing on the background information, main responsibilities and scope of jurisdiction of the tribunal, with three supporting documents released in Chinese, English and Portuguese. 

According to the briefing, the newly established tribunal is a specialized international commercial adjudication body under the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court to handle foreign-related commercial cases. 

Its jurisdiction covers foreign-related commercial cases of first-instance and second-instance, judicial review of arbitration cases, cases involving confirmation of foreign-related mediation agreements and applications for the recognition and enforcement of foreign courts’ civil and commercial judgments and rulings under the jurisdiction of the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court, as well as other cases that may be handled by the Guangzhou international commercial tribunal.

The establishment of the tribunal is expected to provide an important international commercial dispute resolution platform to better serve the high-standard opening-up and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. 

It is a significant step forward in Guangzhou’s efforts to build itself into a preferred venue for international commercial dispute resolution and to foster a world-class, law-based business environment.

The three key supporting documents released at the event, namely the procedural rules and model jurisdiction clauses of the tribunal, as well as mediation rules for international commercial disputes, aim to provide clear guidance on improving international commercial adjudication mechanisms, jurisdictional efficiency and diversified dispute resolution system.