Interpretations of the Arbitration Law

(The following clauses are selected from China Arbitration Law and Its Interpretations authored by Robert Zhang and Steve Li, international arbitration lawyers registered in Shanghai, China, and published by Kindle Unlimited.)

Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court on Issues Pertaining to the Application of the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the 1375th Session of the Supreme People's Court Judicial Committee on December 26, 2005) 
Fa Shi [2006] No. 7

In accordance with the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Arbitration Law") and the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Civil Procedure Law"), the following Interpretations are made on issues pertaining to the application of law in the trial of cases involving arbitration by people's courts: 

Article 1 An arbitration agreement in "any other written form" specified in Article 16 of the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China may be an agreement to refer to arbitration reached in the form of a contract, letter, or data message (including but not limited to telegram, telex, fax, electronic data interchange, and e-mail). 

Article 2 Where the parties summarily agree that any dispute arising from or relating to a contract shall be referred to arbitration, any dispute arising from or relating to the conclusion, validity, alteration, transfer, performance, liability for breach, interpretation, or termination of the contract shall be referred to arbitration. 

Article 3 Where the name of an arbitration institution specified in an arbitration agreement is inaccurate but is sufficient to determine a specific arbitration institution, it shall be deemed that the arbitration institution has been selected. 

Article 4 Where an arbitration agreement only specifies the arbitration rules applicable to arbitration of the disputes, it shall be deemed that no arbitration institution has been specified unless the parties reach a supplementary agreement or an arbitration institution can be determined according to the arbitration rules specified in the arbitration agreement. 

Article 5 Where two or more arbitration institutions are specified in an arbitration agreement, the parties may agree to choose one of them for arbitration, and the arbitration agreement shall become invalid if the parties fail to reach an agreement on the choice of an arbitration institution. 

Article 6 Where an arbitration agreement specifies that arbitration shall be conducted by an arbitration institution in a certain place and there is only one arbitration institution in the place, the arbitration institution shall be deemed as selected by the parties. Where there are two or more arbitration institutions in the place, the parties may agree to choose one of them for arbitration, and the arbitration agreement shall become invalid if the parties fail to reach an agreement on the choice of an arbitration institution. 

Article 7Where an arbitration agreement specifies that either party may file a request for arbitration with an arbitration institution or a lawsuit with a people's court, the arbitration agreement shall be invalid.Provided, however, that the arbitration agreement shall be deemed valid if either party files a request for arbitration with an arbitration institution and the other party fails to challenge the validity of the arbitration agreement within the time period specified in the second paragraph of Article 20 of the Arbitration Law. 

Article 8 Where either party is merged or divided after the conclusion of an arbitration agreement, the arbitration agreement shall be binding on the successor of such party's rights and obligations. 
Where either party dies after the conclusion of an arbitration agreement, the arbitration agreement shall be binding on the successor of such party's rights and obligations relating to the issues to be arbitrated. 
Where the parties agree otherwise in the arbitration agreement in respect of the circumstances specified in the preceding two paragraphs, such agreement shall prevail. 

Article 9 Where the rights and obligations are transferred, whether in whole or in part, the arbitration agreement shall be binding on the transferee, unless otherwise agreed by the parties or the transferee explicitly objects to the transfer or is unaware of the existence of a separate arbitration agreement. 

Article 10 Where a contract fails to take effect or is revoked after its conclusion, the validity of the arbitration agreement applicable to the contract shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 19 of the Arbitration Law. 
Where the parties reach an arbitration agreement for a contract, their failure to conclude the contract shall be without prejudice to the validity of the arbitration agreement.