Chinese legislature mulls improving foreign-related arbitration system with draft revision

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature is set to mull a draft revision to the country's Law on Arbitration, which features provisions to further improve the foreign-related arbitration system, at a session next week, a spokesperson said on Friday.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) will convene a session between April 27 and 30, and lawmakers are scheduled to deliberate on the draft revision for the second review, according to Huang Haihua, spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, at a press conference.

The latest draft also includes measures to strengthen supervision over arbitration and enhance the courts' support for arbitration, Huang said, citing stipulations on optimized qualification requirements for an arbitrator and clear stipulation that the people's courts should process applications for the preservation of property or evidence from an arbitration committee in a timely manner.

The draft seeks to better align with international rules, increase the credibility and competitiveness of arbitration, and serve the country's high-quality development and high-standard opening-up, the spokesperson said.

The legislators reviewed the draft at a session in November last year, and it was further improved after the commission extensively solicited opinions from various sectors and conducted research on some key issues with relevant parties, according to Huang. ■