The New Conflict Rules of Arbitration Agreements in China: The Old Wine in the New Bottle

Abstract

Before the enactment of the CPIL and issuance of Interpretation I of the CPIL, the conflict rules of arbitration agreements were contained in the Interpretation 2006 in China. But the new conflict rules are almost the same as those under the old legal regime and will also result in the wide application of the lex fori, which accordingly leads to many arbitration agreements being held invalid by the Chinese courts. Therefore, the author argues that the new conflict rules are nothing but the old wine in the new bottle. For the sound development of arbitration in China, the author suggests that in future the conflict rules of arbitration agreements be amended to keep consistent with those in the New York Convention and the application of the lex fori be restricted due to the strict requirement of a valid arbitration agreement in China. Of course, the best option is to repeal the strict requirement of a valid arbitration agreement in the CAL.