Authored by Arthur Dong (dongxiao@anjielaw.com) at AnJie Law Firm
In China, arbitral tribunals do not have the power to implement interim protection measures, regardless of the institutional rules to be applied to the arbitration. Moreover, the arbitral tribunals are prevented from implementing interim protection measures even if its rules would grant it such a right. In simple terms, the parties to arbitration must first make their applications for property preservation or evidence preservation to the relevant arbitration institution. From there, the arbitration institution then transfers the party’s application to the people’s court. The arbitral institution is prohibited from considering the merits of the motion. Based on the recent amendment to Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China (‘Civil Procedure Law’, the latest version become effective from 1 January 2013), parties are allowed to apply for interim measures directly with the judicial court before initiating arbitration proceedings, which is deemed a sign of pro-arbitration judicial policy.