General

At present, the accelerated innovation of intelligent Internet information technology and the rapid development of digital economy have put forward new requirements for China's arbitration legal system. Internet arbitration based on intelligent Internet information technology is becoming an important driving force to promote the development of China's international arbitration system, enhance the credibility of arbitration and international competitiveness, Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

At the 2022 China Arbitration Summit Forum and the Second Trade Arbitration Global Arbitrators Conference held on September 6, Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that in order to better serve the development of international economy and trade and promote the construction of the international arbitration governance system, commercial arbitration should adhere to integrity and innovation, promote the wider application of international arbitration, and play a leading and exemplary role in diversified dispute resolution; Adhere to digital empowerment, enhance the new impetus for the development of international arbitration, and promote the deep integration of science and technology with international arbitration.

The best arbitration is innovative arbitration

According to the observation report of Huacheng Import and Export Data, with the vigorous development of a new generation of artificial intelligence in the world and the advent of the Internet era, intelligent interconnection has been deeply integrated into various fields of the economy and society, which not only profoundly changes and affects people's production and lifestyle, but also profoundly affects legal practice.

"In the face of new opportunities for global development brought about by the digital economy, we should adhere to the empowerment of science and technology, promote the deep integration of science and technology with international arbitration, strengthen the sharing of innovative achievements, constantly improve the level of digital, networked and intelligent arbitration, promote the realization of high efficiency and low cost of international arbitration, enhance the transparency of arbitration, and move towards a new era of more intelligent interconnection." Ren Hongbin said.

Wang Shengming, vice chairman of the NPC's supervisory and judicial committee, said that the best arbitration is innovative arbitration. Innovation is an eternal theme. Innovation is to keep pace with the times, eliminate the old and replace the new, and strive for the best. We should actively use modern information technology to build smart arbitration, constantly improve the fairness and efficiency of arbitration, and constantly improve the international status of China's arbitration institutions.

In December 2021, the State Council issued the "Fourteenth Five Year Plan" for the Development of Digital Economy, making it clear that effectively expanding digital international cooperation, accelerating the development of digital cross-border trade, and building a digital silk road are important aspects of China's development of digital economy. In May this year, the Supreme People's Court held a forum on the rule of law in the digital economy, which was attended by representatives from 15 countries and regions and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. It conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges around the theme of "promoting the standardized development of the digital economy through rule of law innovation", widely gathered to build a community of shared future in cyberspace and promote the rule of law in global digital economy governance.

Liu Guixiang, a full-time vice ministerial member of the Examination and Approval Commission of the Supreme People's Court and a second level judge, said that this forum, with the theme of "moving towards intelligent and interconnected global arbitration", worked with international arbitration legal experts to focus on the cutting-edge hot issues of international arbitration development in the intelligent and interconnected era, explore the future development direction of international arbitration, look forward to the bright future of international arbitration, and have a good grasp of the pulse of the times, which is of far-reaching significance.

Lucy Reid, President of the International Commercial Arbitration Council, believes that the intelligence of arbitration means that the provision of information is more efficient, safer, and widely accessible, which can promote the consistency and predictability of global arbitration practice. The interconnection of international arbitration means that we can make good use of new technologies to work across multiple jurisdictions and time zones, so as to connect with more global and diverse dispute resolution colleagues through the Internet, so that people can arbitrate anywhere in the world outside the traditional arbitration center.

Liu Guixiang believes that the rapid development of intelligent Internet technology has changed the original social and economic structure, and has also brought new opportunities and challenges to arbitration. Arbitration needs to follow the trend, accelerate the enabling of science and technology, explore and improve new arbitration rules with the characteristics of the Internet era, explore new ideas and new models of digital governance, adhere to reform and innovation, and guide by norms, and form an online centered arbitration, Electronic arbitration system supported by Internet technology. Continuously improve the service level of dispute resolution to meet people's new expectations and requirements for timely dispute resolution. He said that the healthy and orderly development of arbitration cannot be separated from judicial support and supervision. In the next step, the Chinese courts will improve their standing, respond to new situations with new ideas and adapt to changes, support the reform and innovation of the arbitration system, explore the standards of adjudication that meet the characteristics of the times, and ensure the efficient and fair operation of the arbitration judicial review system.

Intelligent interconnection improves arbitration efficiency

The opportunities and challenges brought by the intelligent interconnection technology are the era topics that arbitration needs to face. In recent years, the "the Belt and Road" international arbitration cooperation has continued to deepen and become more practical. As the most representative permanent arbitration institution and the earliest foreign-related arbitration institution in China, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) has built the credibility of China's arbitration with its independent, fair, professional, efficient and honest arbitration services, and has set a model for providing institutional arbitration services to global parties. Wang Chengjie, deputy director and secretary-general of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, said that in today's complex international political and economic environment, the advantages and role of international arbitration in dispute resolution are becoming increasingly prominent. Technology empowerment will further improve the efficiency of international arbitration, reduce costs, enhance transparency and enhance credibility.

According to the observation report of Huacheng Import and Export Data, at present, hot issues of cross-border commercial disputes keep coming up one after another, and legal issues in new fields such as cross-border data flow and virtual transactions are emerging. Mutual exchange, absorption and integration between international litigation, arbitration and mediation systems have become a trend. Liu Guixiang said that in July last year, the International Commercial Court of the Supreme People's Court opened a "one-stop" online platform for diversified settlement of international commercial disputes, opened all systems of the platform, and realized online mediation, online arbitration and online litigation. In the next step, the Chinese court will also take measures to further support arbitration in resolving international commercial disputes.

"We believe that intelligent Internet technology can give full play to the advantages of sharing and socialization of online dispute resolution mechanisms, achieve the gathering of multiple dispute resources, promote the fair, efficient, convenient and low-cost operation of cross-border dispute resolution mechanisms, and make digital achievements more and better benefit the public." Liu Guixiang said.

Gao Zicheng, president of the All China Lawyers Association, said that in the context of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 to the development of arbitration, electronic delivery, remote video hearings, cloud arbitration platforms and many other new forms have emerged, allowing modern technology to be integrated into arbitration. In the process of globalization, "smart interconnection" will continue to promote mutual reference and common innovation of case management methods of domestic and international arbitration institutions, drive the improvement of domestic and international arbitration legal norms and institutional rules, accelerate the process of globalization of international arbitration, and promote the development of global diversified dispute resolution mechanisms.

The opportunities and challenges brought by intelligent Internet technology are also the era topics faced by the judiciary. Wang Shumei, member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court and president of the Fourth People's Court, said that in recent years, Chinese courts have followed the trend of the Internet era, seized the opportunity of AI development, and promoted the in-depth application of modern technology in the judicial field. Today, more than 30000 science and technology courts have been built nationwide, China Mobile's micro court and other electronic litigation platforms have been launched, Internet courts have been established in Hangzhou, Beijing, Guangzhou and other places, an intelligent court information system has been built to support the national four level courts in "full business online handling, full process disclosure according to law, and full range of intelligent services", and "three rules" have been introduced for online litigation, online mediation, and online operation. During the epidemic, the achievements of China's smart court construction withstood the test, providing the society with fair, efficient, safe, convenient, intelligent and accurate judicial services, and meeting the judicial needs of the parties to seek relief, resolve disputes, and safeguard their rights and interests to the maximum extent.

The development of intelligent Internet technology has not only promoted the development and reform of arbitration system, but also brought challenges to the judicial review of arbitration by courts. Speaking of how to explore the yardstick of discretion and grasp the balance point in handling judicial review cases in the era of intelligent interconnection, Wang Shumei said that first, we should promote the intelligence of arbitration and protect party autonomy. The first principle of commercial arbitration is party autonomy. In the process of "intelligent" arbitration operation and management, there will inevitably be conflicts with the parties' expression of will. The judicial review of arbitration should ensure that the parties' will be fully reflected while supporting the efficient promotion of arbitration. Second, we should promote the informatization of arbitration and ensure the fairness of arbitration procedures. Intelligent Internet technology brings about a qualitative change in the mode of information dissemination, which will greatly change the traditional arbitration procedures, including filing a case, selecting an arbitrator, holding a hearing, showing evidence, serving, and so on. These procedural management and case trial methods will also change dramatically. The judicial review of arbitration should support the innovation of arbitration rules and at the same time ensure the legitimacy and fairness of the procedure. Third, promote the use of big data and personal privacy protection. With the arrival of the big data era, although the collection, analysis and sharing of data is conducive to improving the efficiency and convenience of arbitration, it may also involve personal privacy issues to a certain extent. Therefore, the state pays more attention to the protection of personal privacy, and relevant policies and laws are gradually introduced, putting forward higher requirements for data security and data sharing, Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.