Over one-half members of the new Council of the SCIA are from abroad

     On the 7th South China In-house Counsel Forum held recently, Mr. Li Huanan, Deputy-Secretary of Shenzhen Municipal Commission of the Communist Party of China, and Mr. Chen Biao, Deputy Mayor of Shenzhen, awarded the letters of appointment to Members of the new Council of the SCIA on behalf of the municipal commission and government of Shenzhen respectively. It was the first time the Members of the new Council showed themselves to the public together, and it was also a new achievement of the SCIA’s internationalization.

      In 2012, Shenzhen became the first city in the world to adopt a special legislation for the arbitration institution. According to the legislation of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, in the Council of the SCIA, there shall be at least one third members that are from Hong Kong or abroad. In this May, Shenzhen government engaged members for the second Council of the SCIA. Among the 13 Council Members, there are 7 members from overseas organizations, thus further enhance the level of internationalization: Ms. Elsie LEUNG (Deputy Director of the Hong Kong SAR Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the first Secretary of Justice of Hong Kong SAR), Mr. Anthony Neoh (QC, SC, former president of Hong Kong SFC, former chief counsel of CSRC), Mr. Wang Zhenming (Head of the Law Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong), Mr. Wong Kwai Huen (former Chairman of the Hong Kong Law Society, President of the Inter Pacific Bar Association), Mr. João Ribeiro (Director of the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific), Ms. Zhao Hong (Member (Judge) of the WTO’s Appellate Body), Mr. Peter Malanczuk (professor of Hong Kong University, former Dean of Rotterdam University Law School). Council Members from Mainland China include: Mr. Shen Sibao (President of China Society of International Economy and Trade Law, the Chairman of ICC China Commission on Arbitration and ADR), Mr. Liu Xiaochun (President of the SCIA), Mr. Hu Jiannong (Director of the Legal Affairs Office of the Government of Shenzhen Municipality), Mr. Guo Xiaowen (former Chairman of the Council and Director of SCIA Expert Consultation Committee), Ms. Guo Xiaohui (Chief Executive Officer of Shenzhen Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment), and Mr. Huang Yaying (Member of Standing Committee of Shenzhen Municipal Congress, Dean of Shenzhen University Law School).

     International organizations are fully confident in China and Shenzhen. The new Council of the SCIA attracts representatives from World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and other international organizations; it not only indicates the tolerance and commitment to internationalization of Shenzhen, but also represents the international organizations’ confidence in in-depth participation in the law-based construction and internationalization of Shenzhen.

    Hong Kong resident holds the post of Deputy Chairman of the SCIA. Mr. Anthony Neoh, QC, SC, former President of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and former chief counsel of CSRC, is engaged by Shenzhen Municipal Government as Deputy Chairman of the SCIA. This is the first time for a Hong Kong resident to hold the post of Deputy Chairman of the SCIA. It indicates that the Qianhai-based Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau cooperation is further enhanced and it will facilitate the construction of highland for resolution of commercial disputes in the background of the “One Belt One Road” and “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area” strategies.

     Mr. Shen Sibao, Chairman of the SCIA and President of China Society of International Economy and Trade Law, points out that the SCIA’s international governance structure as provided in the legislation of Shenzhen SEZ will enhance the confidence of both domestic and foreign enterprises in the legal environment and business environment of Shenzhen SEZ as well as the whole China. The arbitrators of the SCIA are from 50 countries and/or regions, and the parties to disputes are from 112 countries and/or regions up to May, 2007.