Nansha International Arbitration Center was established on October 23, 2012. It is an international commercial arbitration platform jointly organized and established by Guangzhou Arbitration Commission (GZAC), Hong Kong and Macau Circle, as well as legal experts under the strong support of The People’s Government of Guangzhou Municipality and The People's Government of Nansha District. Since its establishment, it has always committed to leverage the function of arbitration legal services as bond to promote international trade, for building better investment and business environment in the Nansha Free Trade Zone. Nansha International Arbitration Center applies the most international general arbitration rules and the most open roster of arbitrators. Moreover, by taking full advantage of the characteristics of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau cooperation, on the basis of the existing three hearing models, namely Guangzhou International Arbitration Model, Hong Kong International Arbitration Model and Macau International Arbitration Model, by drawing on the arbitration models of advanced countries and regions in the world, Nansha International Arbitration Center has formed a new “3+N” hearing model for arbitration, in order to provide domestic and foreign parties with the most appropriate hearing model for disputes resolution through arbitration. The exploration and innovation by Nansha International Arbitration Center in the legal service cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau has been recognized as a typical example of institutional innovation in Guangzhou, and its three major hearing models, namely Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau hearing models, have been promoted throughout the city as good practices formed in the reform and innovation in the Nansha Free Trade Zone. At the 2018 Boao Forum · Guangzhou City Branding and International Communication Seminar, Nansha District took Nansha International Arbitration Center as one of its five business cards to be introduced to the world. In 2019, Nansha International Arbitration Center was rated as an Advanced Unit in Guangdong Province Law-based Governance.

In the future, Nansha Center will continue to support the construction of the Nansha Free Trade Zone, closely follow the strategic pace of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, deepen the legal service cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, further drive the arbitration service cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, and continue to widely promote the three major hearing models, namely Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau hearing models, striving to provide better arbitration services to domestic and foreign civil and commercial subjects, and create a better international law-based business environment for the Nansha Free Trade Zone.

The most international general arbitration rules

The General Arbitration Rules of Nansha International Arbitration Center are developed in accordance with the Arbitration Law of the Republic of Chinese China, the Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance, and the Specific Regime for International Commercial Arbitration, with reference to the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, which fully embody the spirit of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau cooperation, are highly open and inclusive, and fully demonstrate the principles of freedom and equality.

The most open roster of arbitrators

The arbitrators of Nansha International Arbitration Center adhere to international standards. In addition to the arbitrators of the Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou Arbitration Commissions, any domestic and foreign legal, economic and trade professionals who meet the requirements provided in the Arbitration Law of China may become the arbitrators of the Center.

The most flexible form of arbitration

According to the General Arbitration Rules of Nansha International Arbitration Center, the parties are free to choose the applicable law; the parties may choose the arbitration institution and form.

Featured Service: "3+N" hearing model

On the basis of the existing three hearing models of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, by continuously drawing on the hearing models of advanced countries and regions in the world, Nansha International Arbitration Center has formed a new “3+N” hearing model, so that parties around the world may choose a familiar hearing model for disputes resolution through arbitration.

Featured Service: Online remote video hearing

In the general trend of Internet economy, in line with the needs of the times, Guangzhou Arbitration Commission has been actively promoting the deep integration of arbitration and new Internet technologies, by relying on advanced Internet technologies and professional R&D team. As a branch of Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, Nansha International Arbitration Center took the lead in applying the online remote video hearing technology to the hearing of transnational commercial arbitration cases, setting a precedent for remote hearing of international commercial arbitration cases. During the critical period of COVID-19 prevention and control, it once again, by using Internet technologies and giving full play to the advantages of the “cloud arbitration” platform, conducted online remote video hearings to overcame time and space barriers, reduce travel expenses, and resolve disputes efficiently and rapidly.

Representative case: On November 20, 2019, Nansha International Arbitration Center completed the world’s first online remote video arbitration hearing in virtue of advanced 5G video transmission technology. According to relevant contract, a party to the case, which was located in Cambodia, submit a dispute with a Chinese enterprise to the jurisdiction of Nansha International Arbitration Center. As chosen by the parties, the Arbitration Rules of Guangzhou Arbitration Commission would apply to the hearing. With full respect for the autonomy of will, the case took only 15 days from acceptance to conclusion. During the two-hour cross-border remote hearing, the parties to the case negotiated “face-to-face” by video under the direction of the tribunal and finally reached a settlement. ANG Vong Vathana, Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Xing Bo, Consul General of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Guangzhou, spoke highly of the case, which was reported in depth by People’s Daily, Legal Daily, www.cnr.cn, China National Radio, GDTV and www.wenweipo.com. The cross-border remote hearing has saved the parties’ arbitration costs, and more effectively improved the efficiency of award-making and mediation while providing more convenient international arbitration services to both domestic and foreign parties.