On 21 January 2013, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) Shanghai Commission and the South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (SCIA) (previously the CIETAC South China sub-commission) issued a Joint Announcement of CIETAC Shanghai Commission and SCIA.

As previously reported, the introduction of the new CIETAC Arbitration Rules in May 2012 resulted in an open dispute, and then a split, between the CIETAC Beijing headquarters and the Shanghai and South China sub-commissions. Both sub-commissions declared themselves independent arbitral institutions with separate arbitration rules. On 31 December 2012, the CIETAC Beijing headquarters advised parties who had already agreed to arbitrate their disputes with the Shanghai or South China sub-commissions to submit their requests for arbitration to CIETAC in Beijing (see Legal update, CIETAC announcement regarding sub-commissions).

In this announcement, the CIETAC Shanghai Commission and SCIA declare themselves as independent arbitration institutions, approved and established by the Shanghai Municipal Government and Shenzhen Municipal Government respectively. Both declare that, according to the law, they will accept and administer any arbitration cases where parties have designated them in their agreement.

The uncertainty surrounding CIETAC arbitration clauses that fail to specify Beijing as the seat, or that provide for CIETAC Shanghai or South China, looks set to continue for the time being.

Source: Joint Announcement of CIETAC Shanghai Commission and SCIA