Recently, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) jointly released a Circular on the Establishment of an Online Mediation and Litigation Coordination Mechanism for Commercial Dispute Resolution, making clear requirements for putting in place a sound mechanism for the prevention and settlement of commercial disputes. This effort aims to thoroughly follow the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, fully implement the decisions and plans the CPC Central Committee on strengthening the rule of law in foreign affairs, advance the prevention and resolution of commercial conflicts and disputes across the board, raise the awareness of people and market entities for settling disputes by way of mediation, protect relevant right holders’ legitimate rights and interests, ensure an open, fair and just commercial and trade order, and foster a market-oriented and law-based business environment in keeping with international standards.
The Circular requires that an active approach should be adopted to integrate such work into the social governance system based on collaboration, participation, and shared benefits under the leadership of the Party Committee. It is necessary to improve a diverse settlement mechanism for commercial conflicts and disputes to fully leverage its unique role in commercial dispute prevention and resolution and deepen and substantiate work in this regard.
The SPC will leverage the mediation platform of the people’s courts while the CCPIT will make use of the online mediation platform of its Mediation Center to keep the coordination channels open for mediation and litigation, both online and in-person, according to the Circular. Online dispute resolution services throughout the whole process will be provided to clients, including delegated mediation, mediation via audio and video means, mediation agreement drafting, and application for judicial confirmation of a mediation agreement and the issuance of a mediation statement.
The Circular makes clear the specific work in relation to the online mediation and litigation coordination mechanism for commercial dispute resolution, ranging from the responsibilities to workflow and mediation team staffing. It also outlines specific requirements for the selection, management, training, and guidance of mediation organizations and mediators.
The Circular emphasizes the need to see that Party leadership is exercised in all processes of diversified dispute resolution, bringing about a work pattern under the Party leadership that features internal and external coordination, collaboration across government levels, and orderly connection. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of enhancing communication and consultation to facilitate the establishment of mechanisms for work coordination and information sharing in various regions. The performance evaluation and incentive system for mediation teams will see improvement and efforts to build a diverse dispute resolution case library need intensifying. In addition, steps are required to give full play to the demonstration and guidance role of typical cases of commercial dispute mediation, thereby creating an enabling atmosphere for the implementation of the online mediation and litigation coordination mechanism for commercial dispute resolution.
