ICC Court President Visited SCIA and Signed MoU with SCIA

On 17 October 2017, Alexis Mourre, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration (hereinafter the “ICC Court”) and Fan Mingchao, Director of the ICC Arbitration & ADR, North Asia visited the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (also known as the "South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission", hereinafter the “SCIA”). The SCIA President, Dr. Liu Xiaochun briefed the guests on the introduction, the innovation mechanism of diversified dispute resolution, and the development of international cooperation of SCIA.

Subsequently, the SCIA and the ICC Court signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" (hereinafter the "MoU") which provides the framework and lays the foundation for the future cooperation between the two institutions. According to the MoU, the ICC will recommend the SCIA to its users as a suitable hearing venue for ICC arbitration where Shenzhen would be a suitable hearing venue, and the SCIA will provide the ICC and the ICC Court with hearing facilities, which means that ICC Court cases involving Chinese and Asian parties can be heard at the SCIA. President Mourre of the ICC Court also welcomed future cooperation that SCIA's cases in Europe can also be heard at the ICC Court in Paris, France. In addition, under the terms of the MoU, the SCIA and the ICC will jointly host conferences and seminars at the SCIA on a regular basis to promote the use and benefits of international arbitration, the application of arbitration rules and the typical cases of both institutions.

A foreseeable long-term cooperation between the SCIA and the ICC has been set upon the signing of the MoU.