3rd Qianhai Legal Intelligence Forum held

Themed “International Commercial Litigation and ADR,” the third Qianhai Legal Intelligence Forum was held at Kylin Villa on Saturday, gathering experts of the field from home and abroad.

The forum includes five sessions named “The Latest Developments in International Commercial Adjudication,” “Supporting Legal Service of International Commercial Adjudication and Talent Cultivation,” “Announcement of Work Achievements,” “Building an Effective Link between International Commercial Litigation and ADR” and “Concluding Remarks by Officials from the SPC.”

Supported by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), China Law Society, and the Collaborative Innovation Center of Judicial Civilization, the forum was organized by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, Shenzhen Law Society, Shenzhen’s justice bureau, Shenzhen’s municipal legislative affairs office, Qianhai Cooperation Zone People’s Court, Authority of Qianhai and Benchmark Chambers International.

“Reform and opening up in the new era has put forward new requirements regarding the establishment of a world-class business environment based on market principles and the rule of law. Building an international commercial dispute resolution mechanism is indispensable to the creation of a business environment based on the rule of law,” said Luo Dongchuan, vice president of the SPC.

Luo said that the establishment of the China International Commercial Court (CICC) is a response to the new trends of the reform and opening up. It supports and guarantees the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. He also introduced that the SPC is building up a one-stop alternative dispute resolution platform.

“President Xi Jinping inspected Guangdong upon the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up and the important construction period of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Guangdong is the bellwether and test field of the reform and opening up as well as an important hub for the Maritime Silk Road. Besides, it is also a province with a large number of trials of foreign-related cases and commercial arbitration cases,” said Zhong Jianping, executive vice president of the Guangdong Higher People’s Court.

According to Wan Guoying, president of the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, after 30 years of exploration and experimentation, Shenzhen’s trial of foreign-related commercial cases has gradually adopted a systematic and professional path. By establishing a complete set of mechanisms for the ascertainment and application of foreign laws to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, it will facilitate the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Greater Bay Area.

“The first CICC was established in Shenzhen and I believe the SPC had taken a full consideration about choosing Shenzhen as the location. The city is the first special economic zone established in the reform and opening up initiated by Deng Xiaoping and has always taken lead in this cause nationwide. It also occupies a leading position in foreign-related commercial and maritime affairs and is home to a large number of talents in these fields,” Liu Jingdong, a member of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the SPC, told the Shenzhen Daily.

Ms. Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, secretary for the justice of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, gave an introduction to the contributions of the “one country, two systems” to the sustainable development of international commercial dispute settlement during the second session.

“Sustainable international commercial dispute settlement should be formed by collaboration. It should be based on credibility and should be sensitive to cultural diversity, not only social culture but also legal culture which includes common law system and civil law system. And Hong Kong may help enhance the three elements under the principle of ‘one country, two systems,’” concluded Cheng.

In addition, Long Guangwei, vice president of the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, talked about his experience over the past 30 years in the trial of foreign-related commercial cases in Shenzhen courts.

Cao Hailei, director of the Rule of Law and Social Development Promotion Office of Qianhai Authority, introduced the achievements of the first China’s “Belt and Road” Legal Map Project, which aims to create the first national public legal mega-database in Chinese and international public legal service platform serving the Belt and Road Initiative.