Rules to be issued for arbitration court

Regulations of the Zhuhai International Court of Arbitration will be put in place on May 1 and the court will begin to play an important role in settling international disputes and further improving the business environment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The court's regulations, which will be introduced into international arbitration mechanism, will help build a more open marketing system based on international practices.

Under the regulations, the board of directors will be composed of well-known figures from the legal, industrial and commercial sectors, along with representatives of other industries at home and abroad. No fewer than 30 percent will come from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and offshore countries and regions.

The regulations constitute the second set of legislative acts of the local people's congress, with arbitration being key activity. The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone has taken the lead in introducing the regulations in China. They provide for a series of international arbitration mechanisms to promote Zhuhai's effort to integrate with those mechanisms and will converge with Hong Kong and Macao in arbitration work involving foreign-related and international business activities.

The regulations stipulate that arbitration is conducted independently in accordance with the law and will never be interfered with by administrative units, social organizations or individuals, thus ensuring the independence of the process.

Meanwhile the regulations stipulate friendly arbitration, interim measures, emergency arbitrators and an interim arbitration system. They are the first international arbitration mechanism to be introduced into the domestic legal system. That will have a positive impact on the reform and development of the country's arbitration system.

Zhuhai, located at the mouth of the Pearl River, is one of the cities in Guangdong province that is seeking to expand cooperation and exchanges with Macao.

Zhuhai's Hengqin New Area is one three pilot free trades zones in the prosperous province.