Stay up to date with legal developments in China.
What's New
China Issues Draft Administrative Measures for Generative Artificial Intelligence Services
Global interest in Generative AI technologies has increased tremendously in recent months, given the emergence of ChatGPT (followed by similar technologies). While these technologies will no doubt continue to develop and become more sophisticated over time, they have already demonstrated the potential to greatly enhance our efficiency and productivity. However, as with any new technology, there are also concerns about their impact on society and the need for responsible use and regulation.
The proliferation of such Generative AI technologies has therefore attracted the attention of Chinese regulators. On 11 April 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued the Administrative Measures for Generative Artificial Intelligence Services (Draft for Comment) (生成式人工智能服务管理办法(征求意见稿) for public comments. This Update will provide an overview of these Draft Measures and their potential impact on Service Providers providing Generative AI services in China.
Draft Law Makes Substantive Amendments to the Rules in Connection with Interim Measures in Arbitration
Interim measures, also known as "interim relief", refer to temporary measures that are granted prior to the final arbitral award. Examples of common interim measures include freezing orders and anti-suit injunction orders. Many major arbitration rules in the common law world and European countries provide that arbitral tribunals have the power to grant interim measures during the arbitration, while emergency arbitrators have the power to grant pre-arbitration interim measures.
China has thus far adopted a different approach. Under the current law, the power to grant interim measures is vested in the courts rather than tribunals or emergency arbitrators. In addition, with some limited exceptions, the Chinese courts will not grant interim measures to assist arbitrations seated in foreign jurisdictions (known as "foreign arbitrations"), but only arbitrations seated in China, comprising pure domestic arbitrations and foreign-related arbitrations.
On 30 July 2021, the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China published the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended Version) (Draft for Comments) (the "Draft Arbitration Law") for public consultation. The Draft Arbitration Law contains proposals for substantive amendments to the current regime in China concerning interim measures in arbitration and introduces, for the first time, the regime of "emergency arbitrators" in China.
Visit our Arbitration Asia website for insights from our thought leaders across Asia concerning arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, ranging from legal and case law developments to market updates and many more.
Draft Law Potentially Lifts Prohibition on Ad Hoc Arbitrations in China
Arbitrations are by-and-large divided into two categories – those that are administered by an arbitral institution (institutional arbitrations) and those that are not (ad hoc arbitrations). Ad hoc arbitrations are usually cheaper and more flexible, but lack the support and supervision of a well-organised institution. As such, the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China ("Arbitration Law"), first released in 1994 and last updated in 2017, prohibited ad hoc arbitrations in China. This prohibition still remains as a general rule in the current legal system, although judicial authorities have made some small, case-by-case exceptions.
Almost 30 years later, China's arbitration system has undergone significant developments, and more and more scholars are advocating for ad hoc arbitration in China's domestic arbitration system.
On 30 July 2021, the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China ("Ministry of Justice") published the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended Version) (Draft for Comments) (the "Draft Arbitration Law") for public consultation. The Draft Arbitration Law introduces for the first time the rules of ad hoc arbitration into the domestic arbitration regime. In this article, we examine the current position and comment on the three draft Articles that touch on ad hoc arbitration.
Visit our Arbitration Asia website for insights from our thought leaders across Asia concerning arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, ranging from legal and case law developments to market updates and many more.