Arbitration Rule of Guangzhou Arbitration Commission

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 The Rules

The Rules of Guangzhou Arbitration Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “GZAC”) are formulated in accordance with the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China and the provisions of other relevant laws (hereinafter referred to as the “Arbitration Law”), in order to arbitrate the civil and commercial dispute between the parties impartially and timely.

Article 2 Name and Structure

1. The GZAC is an arbitration body, constituted in accordance with the laws, for solving the contractual disputes or other disputes involving the rights of property between subjects with equal status, that is between natural persons, legal persons and/or other organizations.

2. The GZAC concurrently uses the "Court of Arbitration of Guangzhou Arbitration Commission" as its name.

3. The GZAC has a Dongguan Sub-Commission in the City of Dongguan of Guangdong Province and a Zhongshan Sub-Commission in the City of Zhongshan of Guangdong Province. These Sub-Commissions are integral parts of the GZAC.

Article 3 Jurisdiction

1. The contractual disputes or other disputes involving the rights of property between subjects with equal status, that is between natural persons, legal persons and/or other organizations, shall

2. The Arbitration Commission shall not take cognizance of the following disputes:

a. labor disputes;

b. contract disputes for undertaking agricultural projects within agricultural collective economics organizations.

c. marital, adoption, guardianship, support and succession disputes;
d. administrative disputes that laws require to be handled by the administrative departments.

Article 4 Scope of Application

1. These Rules uniformly apply to the GZAC and its Sub-Commissions.

2. The parties shall be deemed to have agreed to arbitrate in accordance with these Rules whenever they have provided for arbitration by the GZAC and its Sub-Commissions. However, if the parties have agreed on the otherwise, and subject to consent by the Arbitration Commission, the parties' agreement will prevail[page]

Article 5 Duties and Obligations of Chairman

The Chairman of the GZAC (the “Chairman”) or, with the authorization of the Chairman, one of the Vice-Chairmen or Secretary-General of the GZAC, shall perform the duties and obligations stipulated by the Arbitration Rules.

Article 6 Panel of Arbitrators

1. The parties shall appoint arbitrators from the Panel of Arbitrators provided by the GZAC.

2. Where the parties have agreed to appoint arbitrators from outside of the GZAC’s Panel of Arbitrators, the arbitrators so appointed by the parties or nominated according to the agreement of the parties may act as co-arbitrator, presiding arbitrator or sole arbitrator after the appointment has been confirmed by the Chairman of the GZAC in accordance with the law.

Article 7 Waiver of Right to Object

The party who knows or should have known that any provision of any circumstance of the Arbitration Rules or of the arbitration agreement has not been complied with and yet proceeds with the arbitration proceedings and has not raised any challenge thereto before the award is made shall be deemed as having waived his right of raising challenge.

Chapter 2 Arbitration Agreement

Article 8 Form of Arbitration Agreement

1. An arbitration agreement shall include the arbitration clauses provided in the contract and any other written form of agreement concluded before or after the disputes providing for submission to arbitration.

2. The arbitration agreement shall be in writing. An arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in a tangible form of a document such as a contract, letter and electronic data messages (telegram, telex, facsimile, EDI, and Email).

Article 9 Separability of Arbitration Agreement

1. An arbitration agreement shall be independent of and separate from the principal contract in which it is contained. The validity of an arbitration agreement shall not be affected by any modification, rescission, transfer, termination, invalidity, ineffectiveness, revocation or non-existence of the contract.

2. An arbitration tribunal has the right to rule on the validity of a contract.

Article 10 Cognizance on the Validity of the Arbitration Agreement

1. Where an arbitration agreement or an arbitration clause contained in a contract provides for arbitration under the following terms, the parties shall be deemed to have unanimously agreed that the arbitration shall be administered by the Guangzhou Arbitration Committee or one of its Sub-Commission at Dongguan or Zhongshan:

a. By Guangzhou Arbitration Institutiion;[page]

b. By Guangzhou (Dongguan \ Zhongshan) Arbitration Commission;

c. By Guangzhou (Dongguan or Zhongshan) Business Contracts Institution;

d. By the local arbitration institution where the contract is performed. at Guangzhou \ Dongguan \ Zhongshan;

e. Any other relative terms and expressions may be inferred as above..

2. Should one party apply for arbitration without any arbitration agreement, the other party’s consent to sign the agreement after acknowledged by the Arbitration Commission shall be deemed to have unanimously agreed to have their disputes arbitrated by the Arbitration Committee.

3. Where there is vague expression in arbitration items or ambiguous agreement on arbitration commission in the arbitration agreement, both parties may confirm the arbitration items or the arbitration commission in the notes with signature, which shall be presided by the Arbitration Commission.

4. Where the parties agreed to refer their dispute or arbitration under GZAC’s arbitration rules without providing the name of an arbitration institution, they shall be deemed to have agreed to refer the dispute to arbitration by the GZAC.

Article 11 Objection to an Arbitration Agreement

1. An objection to an arbitration agreement or jurisdiction over an arbitration case shall be raised in writing before the first oral hearing is held by the arbitral tribunal. For a case agreed not to held the oral hearing, the written objection shall be raised prior to the expiry of the time limit for the submission of defense.

2. If a party has not raised any objections to an arbitration agreement or jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of Clause 1 of this article, it shall be deemed to have accepted that the arbitration agreement is valid and that the BAC has jurisdiction over the arbitration.

3. If a party objects to the validity of an arbitration agreement, it may make an application to either the GZAC or the competent People’s Court for a decision on the issue. If one party makes an application to the GZAC while the other party to the People’s Court, then the objection shall be decided upon by the People’s Court. But if the GZAC accept the application prior to the court and makes the decision, the decision is effective. The parties should submit the copies of the statement of complaint and the summons to the GZAC or the arbitral tribunal concurrently once they apply to the court to decide on the effectiveness of the award.

4. If a party puts an objection to an arbitration agreement or the jurisdiction over an arbitration case, the GZAC could authorize the Arbitral Tribunal to rule on them if the GZAC it could only decide through oral hearing.

Chapter 3 Application and Acceptance[page]

Article 12 Application for Arbitration

1. A party applying for arbitration under these Rules shall submit:

a. the arbitration agreement;

b. its Statement of Claim, containing the following information:

ⅰ the parties name, age, gender, domicile and any other effective means of communication, including the zip code, telephone, telex, fax and telegraph numbers, Email addresses or any other means of electronic telecommunications, where a party concerned is a legal person or organization, the name, position of the legal representative or the person in charge should be listed;

ⅱ the claims and the facts and grounds on which the claims are based;

ⅲ evidence and the source of those evidence , the names, addresses and the brief introduction of its witnesses;

c. proof of the Claimant’s identity.

2. the claimant should ensure that the documents he submit to the GZAC are genuineness, accuracy and integrity.

3. make payment of the arbitration fee in advance to the GZAC according to the relative regulations of our country.

Article 13 Acceptance

1. The GZAC shall accept the Application for Arbitration and inform the claimant within 5 days of its receipt if it finds that the requisite requirements for acceptance are met. Otherwise it should notify the parties of its rejection and explains the reasons.

2. The Arbitration Commission may request the Claimant to amend his arbitration application within a definite time if the arbitration application is not in conformity with the requirements specified in Item 2, Clause 1, Article 12. No arbitration application shall be regarded as if the amendment has not been made within a definite time.

Article 14 Notice of Arbitration

When a case is accepted, the secretariat shall send the notice of arbitration, the Arbitration Rules, the Panel of arbitrators, arbitral appointment sheet to the claimant within five (5) days. The Notice of Arbitration, the Arbitration Rule, the Panel of arbitrators and the copy of the Request for Arbitration, shall be send to the Respondent under the same cover.

Article 15 Statement of Defense

1. Within fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt of the Notice of Arbitration, the Respondent shall file a Statement of Defense in writing with the GZAC. The Arbitration Commission shall send the copy of the defense to the Claimant within 5 days from the date of receiving the defense statement. The Statement of Defense shall include:

a. the respondent’s name, age, sex, domicile and any other effective means of communication, including the zip code, telephone, telex, fax and telegraph numbers, Email addresses or any other means of electronic telecommunications, where a party concerned is a legal person or organization, the name, position of the legal representative or the person in charge should be listed;[page]

b. the key points of its defense and the facts and grounds on which the defense is based;

c. evidence and the source of the evidence, and the names, addresses and the brief introduction of its witnesses.

2. Proof of the Respondent’s identity.

3. Failure of the Respondent to file a Statement of Defense shall not operate to affect the arbitral proceedings.

Article 16 Counterclaim

1. The respondent has the right to file the counterclaim according to the same arbitration agreement. Within 15 days of the receipt of the Request for Submission of Defense, the Respondent shall submit to the GZAC its Counterclaim, if any, in writing. The provisions of Article 12 shall apply to the submission of the Counterclaim.

2. Within 5 days of the acceptance of the Counterclaim, the GZAC shall send to the Claimant the copy of the Counterclaim. The Claimant shall, within fifty (15) days from the date of receipt of the Statement of Counterclaim, submit in writing its Statement of Defense to the Respondent’s counterclaim; failure of the Claimant to file a Statement of Defense to the Respondent’s counterclaim shall not operate to affect the arbitral proceedings.

3. The arbitral tribunal should examine the claim and counterclaim related to the same dispute in combination. If the Counterclaim is submitted after the expiration of the above time limit, the respondent should apply separately. Whether to examine the claim and the counterclaim in combination should be decided by the GZAC or the tribunal with the GZAC’s authorization.

Article 17 Amendments to the Claim or Counterclaim

An application to amend the claim or Counterclaim shall be made in writing within fifteen days from the date of the receipt of the notice of arbitration. The application shall be decided by the Arbitral Tribunal, or if the Arbitral Tribunal has not been constituted, by the GZAC.

Article 18 Submissions of Arbitral documents

1. When the parties submit the Request for Arbitration, the Statement of Defense, the Statement of Counterclaim, evidence and other documents, the number of copies shall correspond to that of the arbitrators and parties besides the original one that is submitted to the GZAC.

2. All the documents submitted to the GZAC in writing, should be submitted in presence or mailed by registered mail. The date of the submission should be the time of

Article 19 Preservation of Property

1. A party may apply for an order for the preservation of property if the enforcement of any award that it may obtain subsequently is likely to be impossible or difficult, as a result of the conduct of the other party or other factors.[page]

2. If a party applies for an order for the preservation of property, the GZAC shall submit the application to the competent People’s Court within five days of from the receipt of the application.

Article 20 Representation

1. The party, or the legal representative may appoint one or two persons to act as his agents. If the parties believe it is necessary and the arbitral tribunal agrees, the number of the representatives can increase.

2. If the number of the representatives has surpassed two, they should make one as the main speaker.

3. In such a case, a Power of Attorney and the proof of the representative(s)’ identity shall be forwarded to the GZAC by the party. The power of attorney should specify the matters specifically entrusted and the scope of the authorized representatives’ authority. The party shall inform the arbitral tribunal in writing if he changes or revokes the powers of his representative. The previous proceedings will not be affected owing to this.

Chapter Four Formation of arbitral tribunal

Article 21 Number of Arbitrators

1. The arbitral tribunal shall be composed of one or three arbitrators.

2. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or provided by these Rules, the arbitral tribunal shall be composed of three arbitrators.

Article 22 Panel of Arbitrators

1. The parties shall each select or authorize the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission to appoint one arbitrator if the arbitration tribunal is composed of three arbitrators. The third arbitrator shall be the presiding arbitrator, the parties shall jointly select or jointly authorize the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission to appoint the third arbitrator.

2. The parties shall jointly select or jointly authorize the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission to appoint the arbitrator if the arbitral tribunal is composed of one arbitrator.

3. The party who comprise more than two persons shall jointly select or jointly authorize the Chairman of the Arbitration Commission to appoint the arbitrator.

4. If the parties each either fail to agree on the formation method of the arbitral tribunal or appoint the arbitrator and fail to jointly select the arbitrator within 15 days from the date of receiving the Notice of Arbitration, the Chairman of the GZAC shall appoint the arbitrators.

Article 23 Notice of Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal

The GZAC shall notify the parties in writing of the formation of the arbitration tribunal within 5 days from the date of forming the arbitration tribunal.

Article 24 Disclosure of arbitrators[page]

1. An arbitrator appointed by the parties or by the Chairman of the GZAC shall sign a Declaration and disclose to the GZAC in writing any facts or circumstances likely to give rise to justifiable doubts as to his/her impartiality or independence.

2. The GZAC shall communicate the Declaration and/or the disclosure of the arbitrator to the parties If the arbitrator disclose any facts or circumstances through the GZAC.

Article 25 Challenge of Arbitrators

1. In one of the following circumstances, the arbitrator shall apply the Arbitration Commission for a withdrawal, the parties shall also have the right to challenge the arbitrator for a withdrawal.

a. The arbitrator is a party in the case or a close relative of a party or of an agent in the case;

b. The arbitrator has a personal interest in the case;
c. The arbitrator has other relationship with a party or his agent in the case which may affect the impartiality of arbitrator.
d. The arbitrator has privately met with a party or agent or accepted invitation to entertainment or gift from a party or agent.
2. “other relationship” stipulated in paragraph 3 of Article 25 is not exclusively include the following circumstances:

a. The arbitrator has provided the consultation to a party in advace.

b. The arbitrator is the current legal adviser or other adviser of a party, or once held the post of legal adviser or other adviser of a party, such relationship has not expired for two years.

c. The arbitrator has been a party’s agent not beyond two years after termination of the case.

d. The arbitrator had been the colleague of a party or an agent.

3. A challenge shall be made in writing to GZAC and accompanied by grounds of the challenge and supporting evidence.

4. A party who intends to challenge the arbitrator on the grounds of the facts or circumstances disclosed by the arbitrator shall forward the challenge in writing to the GZAC within five (5) days from the date of knowing the Declaration and/or written disclosure of an arbitrator. If a party fails to file a challenge within the above time limit, it shall not challenge an arbitrator later on the basis of matters disclosed by the arbitrator.

5. A challenge shall be raised before the first hearing. A challenge based on circumstances known after the first hearing can be raised prior to the close of the final hearing, except for the situation referred to in paragraph 4, Article 24.

6. GZAC should transmit the notice of challenge to the other party and each member of the Arbitral Tribunal within five(5) days from the date of receiving challenge.[page]

7. Where an arbitrator is challenged by one party and the other party agrees to the challenge, or the arbitrator being challenged withdraws from his/her office, such arbitrator shall no longer be on the arbitral tribunal. Neither case implies that the challenge made by the party is sustainable.

8. The Chairman of the GZAC shall decide on the challenge, the GZAC commissioners meeting shall decide on the challenge in the case of the Chairman of the GZAC being the arbitrator.

9. An arbitrator who has been challenged shall continue to fulfill the functions of arbitrator until a decision on the challenge has been made.

10. The above provisions shall also apply to secretary of the Arbitral Tribunal，interpreters, expert witnesses and inspectors. The withdrawal of interpreters, expert witnesses and inspectors shall be decided by The Chairman of the GZAC. The withdrawal of secretary of the Arbitral Tribunal shall be decided by the Secretary General of the GZAC.

Article 26 Replacement of Arbitrator

1. In the circumstances set out below, the arbitrator shall be replaced:

a. An arbitrator shall be replaced if he becomes unable to conduct the arbitration as a result of death or illness;

c. An arbitrator shall be replaced if he withdraws from the arbitration on his own accord or is requested by both parties to withdraw from the arbitration.

d. Challenge of arbitrator.

e. An arbitrator may also be replaced if the GZAC decides that he is prevented de jure or de facto from fulfilling his functions as an arbitrator, or that he is not fulfilling his functions in accordance with the Rules.

2. The Chairman of the GZAC shall make a decision on whether an arbitrator should be replaced.

3. If the arbitrator to be replaced was nominated by a party, that party shall re-nominate another arbitrator within 5 days of its receipt of the notice of replacement. If the arbitrator to be replaced was appointed by the Chairman, the Chairman shall appoint another arbitrator and, within 5 days of such appointment, notify the parties of the appointment.

4. After the nomination or appointment of a new arbitrator, the Arbitral Tribunal may on its own accord decide if prior arbitral proceedings shall be repeated.

Chapter Five Evidence

Article 27 Production of Evidence

1. Each party shall bear the burden of proving the facts relied upon to support its case, except as otherwise stipulated by law.

2. The parties shall produce the evidence within fifteen (15)days from the date of receipt of the Notice of Arbitration and a copy of a Request for Arbitration. The arbitral tribunal may refuse to admit any evidence produced beyond the period. If a party has difficulties to produce evidence within the specified time period, it may apply for an extension before the expiration of the period. The arbitral tribunal shall decide whether or not to extend the time period.[page]

3. The time period stipulated in the paragraph 2 of Article 27 shall be applied to the parties to produce evidence for counterclaim.

4. If a party having the burden of proof fails to produce evidence within the specified time period, or the produced evidence is not sufficient to support its claim or counterclaim, it shall bear the consequences of such failure.

5. Each party shall properly categorize and compile the evidence it produces, state the page number and contents of the evidence and what the evidence is sought to prove, affix its signature and seal on the evidence list, and indicate the date on which the evidence is produced.

6. If The evidence and documentation produced by the parties in a foreign language, the Arbitral Tribunal may, if necessary, require the parties to provide a translation of the evidence and documentation into Chinese or other languages.

Article 28 Exchange of Evidence

1. In the event of a hearing, evidence exchanged between the parties prior to the hearing shall be presented for examination during the hearing. Evidence may be used as proof of the facts relied upon without being produced at the hearing if the Arbitral Tribunal affirms during the hearing that the evidence has been exchanged, admitted as authentic and put on record.

2. Where evidence is produced by any party during or after the hearing and the Arbitral Tribunal decides to admit the evidence without holding further hearings, the Arbitral Tribunal may require the parties to submit in writing any challenge to the authenticity, admissibility and relevance of those evidence within a specified period of time.

Article 29 Investigation by the Arbitral Tribunal

1. The arbitral tribunal may, on its own initiative, undertake investigations and collect evidence as it considers necessary.

2. When investigating and collecting evidence by itself, the arbitral tribunal shall promptly notify the parties to be present at such investigation if it considers it necessary. In the event that one or both parties fail to be present, the investigation and collection shall proceed without being affected.

3. The arbitral tribunal shall transmit the evidence collected by itself to the parties and afford them an opportunity to comment.

Article 30 Supplement of Evidence

1. Evidence shall be submitted to the arbitration tribunal prior to the hearing. With regard to unable_to_be_submitted evidence prior to the hearing, the arbitration tribunal may permit the party to submit it within a certain period after the hearing if there are justified reasons from the party.
2. If the party, who holds the evidence, is proved that he has no justified reason to refuse presenting evidence and the other party alleges that the said evidenceis unfavorable to the evidence holder, the allegation of the other party may bepresumed tenable.[page]

Article 31 Appraisal

1. If the Arbitral Tribunal considers specific issue of a case necessarily for an appraisal, it can be

2. The arbitral tribunal has the power to request the parties to deliver or produce to the expert or appraiser any relevant materials, documents, or property and goods for checking, inspection and/or appraisal. The parties shall be obliged to comply.

3. A copy of the appraiser’s report shall be sent by the arbitral tribunal to each party. The parties may submit their comments on the report. If the Arbitral Tribunal considers it necessary or if the parties so request, the Arbitral Tribunal shall notify the appraiser to attend the hearing. The parties may, with the permission of the Arbitral Tribunal, question the appraiser on the report. The appraiser shall give the explanation based on report.

Article 32 Investigation by Arbitral Tribunal

1. The arbitral tribunal may, on its own initiative, undertake investigations and collect evidence as it considers necessary.

2. When investigating and collecting evidence by itself, the arbitral tribunal shall promptly notify the parties to be present at such investigation if it considers it necessary. In the event that one or both parties fail to be present, the investigation and collection shall proceed without being affected.

3. The arbitral tribunal shall transmit the evidence collected by itself to the parties and afford them an opportunity to comment.

Article 33 Testimony of Witnesses

If the witnesses attend in the oral hearing, the arbitral tribunal and both parties shall put question to witnesses, the witnesses answer it honestly

Article 34 Examination of Evidence

1. In the event of a hearing, evidence exchanged between the parties prior to the hearing shall be presented for examination during the hearing.

3. In the event that evidence is submitted after the hearing and the arbitral tribunal decides to admit the evidence without holding further hearings, the arbitral tribunal may require the parties to submit their opinions thereon in writing within a specified time period.

4. If a party has neither admitted nor denied facts alleged by the other party, and refuses to express any opinion on those facts despite explanation and inquiry by the Arbitral Tribunal, it shall be deemed to have admitted those facts.

5. If a party has admitted to adverse facts or evidence, whether in the Application for Arbitration, Statement of Defence, its statements or other written opinions, those facts or evidence shall be confirmed by the Arbitral Tribunal, unless the party subsequently withdraws the admissions and produces evidence to rebut those facts or evidence.[page]

6. If a party can prove that the other party possesses evidence that it refuses to disclose without any justifiable reason, and the other party alleges that the said evidences unfavorable to the evidence holder, adverse inferences may be drawn by arbitral tribunal from such refusal to disclose.

Article 35 Preservation of Evidence

1. A party may apply for an order for the preservation of evidence if the evidence may be destroyed or lost, or may subsequently be inaccessible.

2. If a party applies for an order for the preservation of evidence, the GZAC shall submit the application to the competent People’s Court of the place where the evidence is located within five (5) days of receiving the application for the preservation of evidence.

Chapter Six Hearing and Arbitral Award

Article 36 Conduct of Hearing

1. The arbitral tribunal shall hold a oral hearing when examining the case.

2. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may adopt an inquisitorial or adversarial approach when examining the case, having regard to the circumstances of the case.

3. The arbitral tribunal shall examine the case in any way that it deems appropriate unless otherwise agreed by the parties. Under any circumstance, the arbitral tribunal shall act impartially and fairly and shall afford reasonable opportunities to all parties for presentations and debates.

Article 37 Place of Hearing

1 The case accepted by the GZAC shall be heard in headquarters, if the arbitral tribunal considers it necessary, at other places with the approval of the Chairman of the GZAC.

2. The case accepted by the GZAC’s sub-commission shall be heard in the sub-commission. if the arbitral tribunal considers it necessary, at other places with the approval of the Chairman of the sub-commission.

3. Where the parties have agreed on the place of oral hearings, the case shall be heard at that agreed place.

Article 38 Confidentiality

1. Hearings shall be held in camera. Where both parties request an open hearing, the arbitral tribunal shall make a decision. Except the case related to the national confidentiality

2. For cases heard in camera, the parties, their representatives, witnesses, interpreters, arbitrators, experts consulted by the arbitral tribunal and appraisers appointed by the arbitral tribunal and the relevant staff-members of the Secretariat of the GZAC shall not disclose to any outsiders any substantive or procedural matters of the case.

Article 39 Notice of Hearings

1. The date of the first hearing shall be fixed by the arbitral tribunal and notified to the parties by the GZAC at least seven (7) days in advance of the oral hearing date.[page]

2. A party having justified reasons may request a postponement of the oral hearing. However, such request must be communicated to the arbitral tribunal at least five (5) days in advance of the oral hearing date. The arbitral tribunal shall decide whether to postpone the oral hearing or not.

3. After the first hearing, the date of the hearing shall not restrict by the item 1 of these article.

Article 40 Identification

1. While conducting the hearing, the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator shall ascertain the presence of the parties, their agents and other arbitration participants and shall verify their identity as well.

2. Should either party challenge the identity of the other party, the other party shall produce the relevant documentary proof of his identity.

Article 41 Default

1. If the Claimant fails to appear at an oral hearing without showing sufficient cause for such failure, or withdraws from an on-going oral hearing without the permission of the arbitral tribunal, the Claimant may be deemed to have withdrawn its Request for Arbitration. In such a case, if the Respondent has filed a counterclaim, the arbitral tribunal shall proceed with the hearing of the counterclaim and make a default award.

2. If the Respondent fails to appear at an oral hearing without showing sufficient cause for such failure, or withdraws from an on-going oral hearing without the permission of the arbitral tribunal, the arbitral tribunal may proceed with the arbitration and make a default award. In such a case, if the Respondent has filed a counterclaim, the Respondent may be deemed to have withdrawn its counterclaim.

Article 42 Investigation

The investigation of arbitration shall be involved the following aspects:

1. The Claimant raises his claims for arbitration and states the facts and reasons. The Respondent produces his defense thereafter;

2. One party presents the evidence and the other party shall verify the evidence with authenticity, relevancy and legality.

Article 43 Debate and Final statement

The parties have a right to debate during the hearing. After the debate, the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator shall ask the parties to state their final comments respectively.

Article 44 Record of Hearing

1. The arbitral tribunal shall take minutes of the hearing.

2. The stenographic and/or audio-visual record of the oral hearing shall be available for the use and reference by the arbitral tribunal.

3. The parties and other participants shall have a right to request a rectification of any error and omission in the minutes of their testimony. The request shall be recorded if the arbitral tribunal does not allow the rectification. [page]

4. The arbitrator, the recorder, the parties, and the other participants shall sign or affix their seals on the minutes

Article 45 Withdrawal

1 If the parties back out of a promise after reaching a settlement agreement or withdrawing the arbitration application, they may apply for arbitration again on the basis of the former arbitration agreement.

2. The parties may reach an amicable settlement by themselves after applying for arbitration. If the parties reach a settlement agreement by themselves, they may either request the arbitration tribunal to render an award in accordance with the settlement agreement or withdraw the arbitration application.

3. The GZAC shall decide on the withdrawal of an arbitration application if the withdrawal is made before the formation of the arbitration tribunal, and the arbitration tribunal shall decide thereon if the withdrawal is made after the formation of the arbitration tribunal.

4. The withdrawing of counterclaim, the party shall apply on item 1, 2, 3 of this article.

Article 46 Conciliation

1. The arbitration tribunal may carry out conciliation before rendering an award. The arbitration tribunal shall conduct conciliation if both parties are willing to seek conciliation on a voluntary basis. If conciliation is unsuccessful, the arbitration tribunal shall make an award in due time.

2. If conciliation leads a settlement agreement, the arbitration tribunal shall make a written conciliation statement or make an arbitration award in accordance with the result of the settlement agreement. A written conciliation and an arbitration award shall have equal legal effect.

3. A written conciliation statement shall specify the arbitration claim and the result of the settlement agreed upon between the parties. The conciliation statement or the arbitral award in accordance with the result of the amicable settlement, conciliation settlement shall according to the restriction of law. The written conciliation statement shall become legally effective immediately after both parties have signed for receipt thereof.

4. Where conciliation fails, any opinion, view or statement and any proposal or proposition expressing acceptance or opposition by either party or by the arbitral tribunal in the process of conciliation shall not be invoked as grounds for any claim, defense or counterclaim in the subsequent arbitration proceedings, judicial proceedings or any other proceedings.

Article 47 Time Limits

1. The arbitral tribunal shall render an arbitral award within four (4) months as from the date on which the arbitral tribunal is formed.

2. Upon the request of the arbitral tribunal, the Chairman of the GZAC may extend said time period if he/she considers it truly necessary and the reasons for the extension truly justified.[page]

Article 48 Arbitral Award

1. The arbitral tribunal shall independently and impartially make its arbitral award on the basis of the facts, in accordance with the law and the terms of the contracts, with reference to international practices and in compliance with the principle of fairness and reasonableness.

2. The arbitral tribunal shall state in the award the claims, the facts of the dispute, the reasons on which the award is based, the result of the award, the allocation of the arbitration costs and the date on which and the place at which the award is made. The facts of the dispute and the reasons on which the award is based may not be stated in the award if the parties have agreed so, or if the award is made in accordance with the terms of a settlement agreement between the parties. The arbitral tribunal has the power to determine in the arbitral award the specific time period for the parties to execute the award and the liabilities to be borne by a party failing to execute the award within the specified time.

3. The GZAC's stamp shall be affixed to the award.

4. Where a case is examined by an arbitral tribunal composed of three arbitrators, the award shall be rendered by all three arbitrators or a majority of the arbitrators. A written dissenting opinion shall be docketed into the file and may be attached to the award, but it shall not form a part of the award.

5. Where the arbitral tribunal cannot reach a majority opinion, the award shall be rendered in accordance with the presiding arbitrator's opinion. The written opinion of other arbitrators shall be docketed into the file and may be attached to the award, but it shall not form a part of the award.

6. Unless the award is made in accordance with the opinion of the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator, the arbitral award shall be signed by a majority of arbitrators. An arbitrator who has a dissenting opinion may or may not sign his/her name on the award.

7. The date on which the award is made shall be the date on which the award comes into legal effect.

8. The arbitral award is final and binding upon both parties. Neither party may bring a suit before a law court or make a request to any other organization for revising the award.

Article 50 Correction of Award

1. If there are literal or calculation errors or something omitted in the arbitration award, the arbitration tribunal shall make due corrections or supplementation on its own initiative. Any party may request for the above correction or supplement within 30 days from the date of receiving the arbitration award. The arbitration tribunal shall make the correction or supplementation accordingly.

2. The supplementary award shall be a part of the original award.[page]

Article 51 Execution of Award

1. The parties must automatically execute the arbitral award within the time period specified in the award. If no time limit is specified in the award, the parties shall execute the arbitral award immediately.

2. If a party fails to execute the arbitration award, the other party may apply to the competent People's Court for enforcement.

Article 52

If a party applies for cancellation of an award, an application shall be submitted within 6 mouths after receipt of the award.

Article 53 Re-arbitration

If a party applies for cancellation of an award, the people’s court holds that case may be re-arbitrated by the arbitration tribunal after receipt of the application for cancellation of an award, the case shall be re-arbitrated by the original tribunal. If the Chairman of GZAC deem it necessary or both parties agree the tribunal shall be recomposed, the arbitral tribunal shall be recomposed.

Article 54 Suspension

1. Arbitration proceedings shall be suspended in any of the following circumstances:

a. One of the parties requests the GZAC or applies to the People's Court to challenge the validity of an arbitration agreement.

b. One of the parties dies and it is necessary to wait for the heir or heiress to participate in the arbitration proceedings;

c. One of the parties has lost the capacity to engage in arbitration and his legal representative has not been designated yet;

d. The legal person or any other organization as one of the parties has been dissolved, and the successor to its rights and obligations has not been determined yet;

e. One of the parties is unable to participate in the arbitration for reasons of force majeure;

f. The arbitrament of the case pending is dependent on the results of another case that has not yet been concluded; or

g. Other circumstances that warrant the suspension of the arbitration.

2. The arbitration proceedings shall be resumed after the causes of the suspension have been eliminated.

3. The GZAC shall decide on the suspension reasons of arbitration if the suspension reasons are occurred before the formation of the arbitration tribunal, and the arbitration tribunal shall decide thereon if the suspension reasons are occurred after the formation of the arbitration tribunal.

4. The decision of suspension shall be orally or in writing informed to the parties.

Article 55 Termination

1. Arbitration proceedings shall be terminated in any of the following circumstances:[page]

a. The claimant dies or the claimant which is legal person or any other organization has been dissolved, without a successor, or the successor waives the right to arbitrate;

b. The respondent dies or the respondent which is legal person or any other organization has been dissolved leaves no estate or any other properties, nor anyone to succeed to his obligations;

c. Other circumstances that warrant the termination of the arbitration.

2. The GZAC shall decide on the termination reasons of arbitration if the termination reasons are occurred before the formation of the arbitration tribunal, and the arbitration tribunal shall decide thereon if the termination reasons are occurred after the formation of the arbitration tribunal.

3. The decision of termination shall be make the determination statement to inform the parties.

Charter Seven Summary Procedure

Article 56 Application

1. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, this Summary Procedure shall apply to any case where the amount in dispute does not exceed RMB 200,000 (including RMB 500,000).

2. This Summary Procedure shall also apply to any case where the amount in dispute exceeds RMB 200,000, yet both parties agree to such application.

3. Where no monetary claim is specified or the amount in dispute is not clear, the GZAC shall determine whether or not to apply the Summary Procedure after a full consideration of such factors as the complexity of the case and the interests involved, etc.

Article 57 Acceptance

Where a Request for Arbitration is submitted to the GZAC and is found to be acceptable for arbitration under the Summary Procedure, the Request shall be accepted.

Article 58 Formation of Arbitral Tribunal

1. An arbitral tribunal of a sole arbitrator shall be formed in accordance with Article 22 of these Rules to hear a case under the Summary Procedure.

2. the GZAC shall send a Notice of Arbitral Tribunal to the parties.

Article 59 Conduct of hearing

The arbitral tribunal may in its full discretion decide to examine the case only on the basis of the written materials and evidence submitted by the parties or to hold oral hearings.

Article 60 Date of Oral Hearing

Where the Arbitral Tribunal is formed, the date of the first hearing shall be fixed by the arbitral tribunal and notified to the parties by the GZAC at least seven (7) days in advance of the oral hearing date

Article 61 Change of Procedure[page]

The application of the Summary Procedure shall not be affected by any amendment to the claim or by the filing of a counterclaim. Where the amount in dispute of the amended claim or that of the counterclaim exceeds RMB 500,000 Yuan, the procedure of the case shall be changed from the Summary Procedure to the general procedure unless the parties have agreed to the continuous application of the Summary Procedure.

Article 62 Time Limits

The arbitral tribunal shall render an arbitral award within two (2) months as from the date on which the arbitral tribunal is formed. Upon the request of the arbitral tribunal, the Chairman of the GZAC may extend said time period if he/she considers it truly necessary and the reasons for the extension truly justified.

Article 63 Context Reference

As to matters not covered in this Chapter, the relevant provisions in the other Chapters of these Rules shall apply.

Chapter 8 Special Provisions for International Arbitration

Article 64 Application

1. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to international arbitration cases. As to matters not covered in this Chapter, the relevant provisions in the other Chapters of these Rules shall apply.

2. cases related to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or the Macao Special Administrative Region or the Taiwan region may be handled by reference to the provisions of this chapter.

3. where a case falls within the scope of Article 56, the relevant provisions on Summary Procedure in Chapter VII shall be applicable.

Article 65 Notice of Arbitration

When a case is accepted, the secretariat shall send the notice of arbitration, the Arbitration Rules, the Panel of arbitrators, arbitral appointment sheet to the claimant within fifteen (15) days. The copy of the Request for Arbitration, the Notice of Arbitration, the Arbitration Rule and the Panel of arbitrators shall be send to the Respondent under the same cover.

Article 66 Composition of the Arbitral Tribunal (Arbitrators)

1. Within twenty (20) days from the date of the receipt of the notice of arbitration, the parties shall , pursuant to the provisions of Article 22, each appoint or entrust the chairman to appoint an arbitrator and jointly appoint or jointly entrust the chairman to appoint a third arbitrator who shall be the presiding arbitrator.

2 Where the parties have failed to jointly appoint the presiding arbitrator according to the above provisions, the presiding arbitrator shall be appointed by the chairman.

Article 67 Statement of Defense and the Counterclaim[page]

1. Within forty-five (45) days from the date of the receipt of the Notice of Arbitration, the Respondent shall submit its statement of Defense, evidence, and relevant documents to the Secretariat.

2. The Respondent shall also submit its statement of counterclaim, evidence and relevant documents, if any, within fifteen days of the receipt of the Notice of Arbitration.

Article 68 Notice of Oral Hearing

1. After the arbitral tribunal has fixed the date for the oral hearing, the secretariat shall notify the parties of the date of oral hearing at least thirty (30) days in advance of the oral hearing date. The arbitral tribunal may hold the oral hearing ahead of the schedule with consent from both parties. A party having justified reasons may request the arbitral tribunal for a postponement of the oral hearing. However, such request must be communicated to the arbitral tribunal fifteen (15) days in advance of the oral hearing date. The arbitral tribunal shall decide whether to postpone the oral hearing or not.

2. Notification of the date of any oral hearing subsequent to the first one shall not be subject to the thirty (30)-day time limit provided in the foregoing Paragraph 1.

Article 69 Time Limits for Rendering Award

The arbitral tribunal shall render an award within six (6) months from the date on which the arbitral tribunal is formed. Upon the request of the presiding arbitrator or the sole arbitrator, the Chairman of the ZGAC may extend this time period if he/she considers it truly necessary and the reasons truly justified.

Article 70 Execution of Award

Where one party fails to execute the award, the other party may apply to a competent Chinese court for enforcement of the award pursuant to Chinese laws, or apply to a competent foreign court for enforcement of the award according to the Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards or other international treaties that China has concluded or acceded to.

Chapter 9 Supplementary Provisions

Article 71 Language

1. Chinese is the official language of the GZAC. If the parties have agreed and the Secretary-General have approved, their agreement shall prevail.

2. At an oral hearing, if a party or its representative(s) or witness requires language interpretation, the Secretariat of the GZAC may provide an interpreter, or the party may bring its own interpreter.

3. The GZAC may, if it considers necessary, request the parties to submit a corresponding version of the documents and evidence by the parties in Chinese or in other languages.

Article 72 Calculating Time Limits[page]

1. A Period of time shall be calculated by hour, day, month and year. The hour and the day on which such period commence do not form part of the period of time. If the last day of the relevant period of times falls on an official holiday, the period of time shall expired on the first following business day.

2. Time for delivery shall not be included in the period of time. Any arbitral document, material or notice that has been mailed or dispatched prior to expiry of the period of time shall not be regarded as overdue.

3. If a party breaches a time limit because of force majeure events or other justifiable reasons, it may apply for an extension of time within 10 days of the removal of the obstacle. The Arbitral Tribunal or the GZAC shall decide on the request.

Article 73 Service

1. Unless the parties have otherwise agreed or the Arbitral Tribunal has requested, document, notice and written materials shall be served on the parties or their representatives in person or by mail, facsimile, cable, substitution, lien, E-mail or public announcement.

2. After reasonable inquiries by the GZAC and one party, the addressee’s place of business, place of habitual residence, or other mailing address cannot be found, service shall be deemed to have been effected if the document, notice or material is delivered to the addressee’s last known place of business, registered address, domicile, habitual residence or mailing address by registered mail or by any other means that provides a record of the attempt of delivery.

3. Arbitral documents shall be served directly on the recipient of the service. If the recipient of the service is a natural person, the documents shall, in the case of his absence, be receipted by an adult member of his family living with him. If the recipient of the service is a legal person or any other organization, the document shall be receipted by the legal representatives of the legal person or the principle leading personnel of any other organization or the personnel of the legal person or any other organization in charge of receiving such documents; The date of receipt as signed by the adult family member living with the recipient of service, or persons in charge of receiving documents of legal persons or other organizations, or agents , or agents designated to receive his documents shall be regarded as the date the document is served.

4. Documents served by registered mail or express mail shall be delivered to the parties or their representatives’ address of the place of business, domicile, registered permanent residence or mailing address. The date of receipt as expressed in the inquiry receipt shall be regarded as the date the document is served.

5. If the addressee refuses to sign the document, service shall be deemed to have been effected from the day the document is turned down.[page]

6. Documents served by facsimile, telex, cable shall be delivered according to the address or the numbers which is supplied by the addressee. The date of receipt shall be regarded as the date when the document is delivered.

7. If documents are served by E-mail, and the recipient appoints a specific system to receive the data-telex, the time when the data-telex enters the system shall be the time of receipts; if no specific system is appointed, the time when the data-telex first enters any of the recipient's systems shall be regarded as the time of receipts.

8. Documents served by lien shall be deemed to have been effected since the witness or the addressee have signed or sealed on the receipt. The date of receipt as signed by the addressee of the service shall be regarded as the date the document is served.

9. The witnesses in clause 8 of this article refer to representatives from the relevant grassroots organization or the unit to which the addressees of the service belongs to or the notaries.

10 If the whereabouts of a recipient of the service is unknown, or if a document cannot be served by the other methods mentioned in this article, the document shall be served by public announcement. Sixty days after the date of the public announcement, the document shall be deemed to have been served. This method does not apply to international arbitration cases and the case in which the addressee is the legal person. Service by public announcement should not apply to cases where the arbitral documents are successfully served by mail for the first time while no one receipt or refuse to receipt in the following procedure.

Article 74 Arbitration Fees

1. The parties should pay the arbitral fees in accordance with the relevant regulations of our country in advance if they file a claim or a counterclaim.

2. Apart from charging arbitration fees to the parties according to the relevant regulations, the GZAC may collect from the parties other extra, reasonable and actual expenses including arbitrators' special remuneration and their travel and accommodation expenses incurred in dealing with the case, as well as the costs and expenses of experts, appraisers and interpreters appointed by the arbitral tribunal, etc.

3. The parties should pay the arbitral fees according to the relevant regulations if their amendment of the claim or the counterclaim goes beyond the original ones.

4. If the party withdraw its claim or counterclaim, or the parties reached a settlement agreement by themselves through conciliation and therefore withdraw the claim or counterclaim after the acceptance of the claim but before the oral hearing, the GZAC shall return part of the arbitration fees paied in advance in accordance with the Beijing Arbitration Commission's Schedule of Case Acceptance Fees Case Withdrawal Fees.[page]

5. The arbitral fees and other actual fees the parties finally pay to the GZAC should be decided by the arbitral tribunal in the award.

6. The arbitral tribunal may decide in the award that the losing party shall compensate the winning party for the expenses reasonably incurred by it in pursuing its case. But the amount of compensation should not surpass 10 percent of the winning amount.

Article 75 The Formulation of the Special Rules

The GZAC may formulate special rules if it considers it is necessary. These rules are equally effective as these Arbitration Rules.

Article 76 Interpretation

1. The headings of the articles in these Rules are only directive, it shall not serve as interpretations of the contents of the provisions contained herein.

2. These Rules shall be interpreted by the GZAC.

Article 77 Coming into Force

These Rules shall be effective as from January 1st, 2007s. For cases accepted by the GZAC or by its Sub-Commissions before these Rules become effective, the Arbitration Rules shall apply. For cases where procedures have already started, the arbitral tribunal should decide whether these Rules shall apply. For cases which are concluded, the Former Rules should applied.