The Zibo City Intermediate People's Court – together with the Justice Bureau of Zibo Municipality and the Zibo Arbitration Commission – on May 20 announced guidelines for the settlement of foreign commercial disputes, local media reported.
A special agency called the foreign-related commercial disputes mediation center was established in Zibo, located in East China's Shandong province, to support the initiative.
The guidelines aim to establish a one-stop settlement mechanism for foreign commercial disputes that can effectively link litigation in trials with mediation and arbitration.
Zibo will form a joint operations procedure to integrate the three dispute resolution methods.
A foundation plaque marks the new foreign commercial disputes mediation center. [Photo/WeChat ID: zibofabu2014]
Apart from establishing the settlement mechanism, the center will standardize a litigation and mediation process.
It will clarify the duties of foreign-related, full-time mediators and arbitrators and optimize the judicial confirmation of mediation agreements.
It is expected this will provide a broad range of convenient and efficient legal services to the parties involved in the disputes.
