Shenzhen is establishing itself as a favored choice for international commercial entities to resolve disputes by taking the lead in judicial reform, establishing systems and rules for an open economy and constructing an international legal service pinnacle, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.
Earlier this year, Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People’s Court set up the ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) International Commercial Dispute Resolution Center, offering services in eight languages, namely English, French, Korean, Russian, German, Spanish, Japanese and Kazakh.
The center aims to diversify ADR for commercial cases involving overseas elements, foster an internationally competitive ADR talents system and help Qianhai build a world-class business environment.
In one case, a Japanese import and export worker in China, who was only identified as Yamada, took his Chinese business partner surnamed Yi to the Qianhai court, as Yi didn’t return the 80,000 yuan (US$11,885) he owed Yamada, despite repeated reminders.
Yamada requested the court to order Yi to repay the loan’s principal and interest. The court’s ADR center invited You Wujun, a mediator fluent in Japanese, to preside over the case.
Via an online system called “深圳移动微法院” (Shenzhen Mobile Micro-court), You assisted the two parties in Japan and Fujian Province to work towards a negotiated settlement of their dispute and they finally reached an agreement.
It is also noteworthy that Shenzhen’s innovation in handling cross-border bankruptcy cases has facilitated the mutual recognition of and assistance to insolvency in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
On March 18, 2019, five Hong Kong special vehicle license plates were auctioned online by Hong Kong’s liquidators via a Chinese mainland’s auction website. It is seen as a successful case for Shenzhen’s courts to assist insolvency proceedings in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
On Dec. 15 last year, for the first time in China, Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court recognized a Hong Kong court’s verdict on a bankruptcy case and the court’s appointment of bankruptcy administrators.
Shenzhen’s bankruptcy system reform was selected as a winner of the People’s Court Reform Innovation Award, China’s top honor in the area, this year.
Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration is playing a key role in enhancing global recognition of Shenzhen’s arbitration services by promoting the establishment of the Greater Bay Area International Arbitration Center in the city.
The Chinese mainland and Macao Special Administrative Region’s arrangement concerning mutual assistance in court-ordered interim measures in aid of arbitral proceedings came into force March 25 this year. The two regions’ arbitration institutions are expected to provide better dispute resolution services for commercial entities in the GBA and the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, as well as countries and regions along the Belt and Road.