Guangzhou Arbitration Commission (GZAC) is the earliest arbitration institution established after the promulgation of the Arbitration Law in 1995. In order to better serve the economic development in the Pearl River Delta, GZAC set up Dongguan Sub-commission and Zhongshan Sub-commission in Dongguan City and Zhongshan City in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Moreover, since 2011, GZAC has started the construction of specialized arbitration courts, and has set up Guangzhou Court of Financial Arbitration, Guangzhou Arbitration Court of Intellectual Property, Guangzhou Arbitration Court of International Shipping, and Guangzhou Arbitration Court of Construction.

Since its establishment, GZAC has been resolving civil and commercial disputes fairly and efficiently by adhering to the principles of independence and professionalism. With the continuous improvement of its credibility, GZAC’s amount of service provided has grown by more than 30% annually in recent years, and GZAC ranks first in the country in terms of the number of cases accepted, covering various industries such as finance, construction engineering, real estate, investment, shipping, and the Internet, and involving parties from many countries and regions, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Moreover, in sync with the pulse of the times (the Internet), being pioneering and innovative, GZAC was the first to launch an online arbitration platform in China to run online the entire arbitration processes.

GZAC actively serves the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the “Belt and Road Initiative”. In 2012, GZAC established China Nansha International Arbitration Center (NSIAC), and promoted the international commercial arbitration system jointly with the Hong Kong and Macau arbitration communities by taking NSIAC as a platform. NSIAC applies the most international arbitration rules and the most open roster of arbitrators, simultaneously runs the hearing modes under the civil law system, the common law system, and the legal system of Chinese mainland, and has an expert advisory committee composed of the most senior Hong Kong and Macao experts. On September 3, 2018, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Arbitration Alliance was formally established, with its Secretariat set up in Nansha, as promoted by the arbitration institutions in the Greater Bay Area urban agglomeration, including leading promoter GZAC. On September 27, 2019, GZAC officially established the Cyprus Arbitration and Mediation Center.

On September 29, 2018, at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the 15th Guangzhou Municipal People’s Congress, participants voted to pass the Decision of the Standing Committee of the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Congress on Promoting the Development of Arbitration Undertaking in Guangzhou, which provides institutional support and guarantee for building an international arbitration center in Guangzhou.

Scope of Jurisdiction：

According to the Arbitration Law, the parties may submit the following disputes to arbitration institutions for arbitration: disputes over sales contract, loan contract, partnership cooperation, construction engineering contract, real estate development, housing sales, lease, financing, contract for work, financial lease, work-for-hire contract, technology contract, financial securities, insurance contract, custody contract, etc.

The following disputes cannot be submitted to the Arbitration Commission for settlement through arbitration:

1. Arbitration applications submitted with respect to labor disputes and agricultural contract disputes within agricultural collective economic organizations;

2. Dispute over marriage, adoption, guardianship, custody, inheritance;

3. Administrative disputes.

Office Hours of Guangzhou Arbitration Commission: Monday to Friday 9:00-12:00; 14:00-18:00