Arbitration Law - Request and Acceptance

(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.)

Article 21 A disputing party may file a request for arbitration if:

(1) both disputing parties have entered into an arbitration agreement;

(2) the request for arbitration includes specific claims, the facts alleged, and the grounds on which the claims are based; and

(3) the dispute falls within the jurisdiction of the arbitration commission.

Article 22 A claimant shall submit an arbitration agreement and a request for arbitration and the copies thereof to the arbitration commission.

Article 23 A request for arbitration shall contain:

(1) the name, sex, age, occupation, employer, and domicile of each party in the case of an individual, and the name, domicile, and legal representative's or principal's name and title of each party in the case of a legal entity or other organization;

(2) the claims and the facts and grounds on which the claims are based; and

(3) evidence, sources of evidence, and names and domiciles of witnesses.

Article 24 Within five days of receipt of a request for arbitration, the arbitration commission shall accept it and notify the claimant of the acceptance if it considers that the filing requirements have been satisfied or reject it and notify the claimant in writing of the rejection, stating the reasons for rejection, if it considers that the filing requirements have not been satisfied.

Article 25 After accepting a request for arbitration, the arbitration commission shall serve a copy of the arbitration rules and roster of arbitrators on the claimant and a copy of the request for arbitration, arbitration rules, and roster of arbitrators on the respondent within the time period specified in the arbitration rules.

After receiving a copy of the request for arbitration, the respondent shall submit an answer to the arbitration commission within the time period specified in the arbitration rules. After receiving an answer, the arbitration commission shall serve a copy of the answer on the claimant within the time period specified in the arbitration rules. Failure by the respondent to submit an answer shall not prevent the arbitration from proceeding.

Article 26 Where a people's court has admitted a case filed by either party without declaring the existence of an arbitration agreement between the parties, the people's court shall dismiss the case if the other party submits the arbitration agreement before the first hearing unless the arbitration agreement is invalid, or proceed with the hearing if the other party fails to challenge the admission of the case before the first hearing, which shall be deemed as an abandonment of the arbitration agreement.

Article 27 A claimant may waive or amend his claims in arbitration. A respondent may admit or rebut the claims of the claimant or file a counterclaim.

Article 28 Where an award may become unenforceable or difficult to enforce due to the acts of either party or for other reasons, the other party may file a petition for preservation of property.

An arbitration commission that receives a petition for preservation of property shall refer the petition to a people's court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Civil Procedure Law.

Where a petition for preservation of property is filed at fault, the petitioner shall compensate the owner of the property for the losses incurred thereby.

Article 29 The parties and their legal representatives may engage lawyers or other persons as their representatives in arbitration. Where a lawyer or other representative is engaged to participate in arbitration, a power of attorney shall be submitted to the arbitration commission.