5月7日，英国伦敦玛丽女王大学（Queen Mary University of London）和伟凯律师事务所（White & Case）联合发布《2021年国际仲裁调查》。新加坡首次跃升为与伦敦持平的全球最受欢迎仲裁地，香港紧随其后，北京、上海同样榜上有名。中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会（CIETAC）则首登全球排名前五最受欢迎仲裁机构名单。
受全球疫情、仲裁发展等因素影响，同往年一样，国际仲裁再次成为最受欢迎的跨境争议解决办法，且其被接受程度出现巨大跃升。今年，共有90%的受访者更青睐利用仲裁解决纠纷：其中31%的人只选择仲裁，59%的人则欢迎综合使用仲裁和替代性纠纷解决机制（ADR）。
最受欢迎仲裁地
在仲裁地方面，考虑到国际仲裁的国际化特质，受访者共列出了90余个仲裁地，今年排名前五的为：伦敦（54%）、新加坡（54%）、香港（50%）、巴黎（35%）和日内瓦（13%）。此外，纽约和北京并列第六（有12%的人选择），上海位列第七（有8%的人选择），还有少部分人（2-4%）提到了深圳。
《调查》分析道，今年最受欢迎仲裁地“出现了有趣的位移”。“虽然伦敦再次位列榜首，但它第一次和新加坡共享了这一名额。”
“与往年调查相比，新加坡和香港的跃升可谓惊人。”《调查》继续说道，“2018年新加坡排名第三，只被39%的受访者选择；香港2018年排名第四，只被28%的受访者选择。”
《调查》指出，上述变化可能反映了“在当地拥有商业利益的当事人更希望‘本地化地’解决纠纷……对于大型商业项目——例如一带一路项目——是否会继续强化这一趋势，我们拭目以待”。
谈到其他仲裁地如何进一步提高吸引力，被访者排名前三的建议为：“当地法院及司法系统为仲裁提供更多支持”，“提高当地法律体系的中立性和公平性”，以及“在实施仲裁协议及仲裁公约方面具备更好的纪录”。
最佳仲裁机构
在最受欢迎仲裁机构方面，排名前五的分别为：国际商会国际仲裁院（ICC，57%），新加坡国际仲裁中心（SIAC，49%），香港国际仲裁中心（HKIAC，44%），伦敦国际仲裁院（LCIA，39%），以及CIETAC（17%）。其中CIETAC是首次登上前五榜单。
《调查》指出，其2015及2018年的调查已显示出了新仲和港仲的发展，今年两者排名的再次提升“或许显示了LCIA和ICC的相对势弱……LCIA从之前的第二名跌落至第四，ICC的受欢迎程度则从往年的77%下降到了如今的57%”。
当被问及哪些措施可以使仲裁机构更具备吸引力，受访者的选择显然受到了疫情影响：38%的人选择了“对于虚拟庭审的行政/流程支持”，32%选择了“承诺提升仲裁员的多元性”，29%则提出了“行政流程及决议的透明度，例如仲裁员的选择及对仲裁员的挑战”。
您可在此处阅读完整报告。
HK, Beijing and Shanghai ranked among top arbitral seats, says Queen Mary-White & Case
The Queen Mary University of London and White & Case have co-launched the 2021 International Arbitration Survey recently, showing Singapore rising to be the most favourable arbitration destination globally, followed by Hong Kong SAR. Beijing and Shanghai are also among the top ten favourite arbitration seats and Beijing-headquartered CIETAC has for the first time ranked as the top five favourite arbitration centres.
Under the impact of the pandemic and the growth of arbitration itself, as in previous years, international arbitration again is the most favourable method of resolving cross-border disputes with 90 percent of respondents choosing it as their preferred method, either on a stand-alone basis (31%) or in conjunction with ADR (59%).
MOST PREFERRED ARBITRATION SEATS
Reflecting the global nature of international arbitration, respondents cited more than 90 different seats from a range of jurisdictions around the world and the top five seats this year are London (54%), Singapore (54%), Hong Kong SAR (50%), Paris (35%) and Geneva (13%).
Beijing joins New York as a joint sixth most popular seat, with each chosen by 12% of respondents. Shanghai comes in eighth (8%), and Shenzhen is also chosen by 2-4% of respondents.
“There has been an interesting movement within the top-five rankings,” the survey says. “While London once again stands at the top of the charts, for the first time it shares this position with Singapore.”
“What is more striking, however, is the significant percentage gains made by Singapore and Hong Kong, as compared to previous surveys,” it continues, “Singapore was the third most frequently chosen seat in 2018, selected by 39% of respondents. Hong Kong took fourth place in 2018, chosen by 28% of respondents.”
“The growth in popularity of seats in this region may reflect an increasing willingness by parties with commercial interests linked to that locale to also resolve disputes ‘locally’. It will be interesting to see whether large-scale commercial projects, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, will continue to impact this in the future,” the survey analyzes.
Meanwhile, when asked about the key adaptations that would make other arbitral seats more attractive, the top three answers are “Greater support for arbitration by local courts and judiciary”, “increased neutrality and impartiality of the local legal system” and “better track record in enforcing agreements to arbitrate and arbitral awards”.
FAVORITE ARBIRATION CENTRES
On the other hand, the five most preferred arbitral institutions this year are the ICC (57%), SIAC (49%), HKIAC (44%), LCIA (39%) and CIETAC (17%). Among them, CIETAC made it to the top-five most preferred choices for the first time.
Although their 2015 and 2018 surveys highlighted a noticeable growth in the percentage of respondents selecting SIAC, “this trend was clearly confirmed in this survey, with SIAC taking second place overall. There was also a significant increase of HKIAC, which took third place,” the survey says.
“The increases enjoyed by SIAC and HKIAC may correlate with a relative reduction in the percentages of the LCIA and the ICC. The LCIA, although it remains amongst the most popular institutions, dropped to fourth place from second place in 2018. The ICC’s overall percentage dropped considerably from 77% in 2018 to 57% today.”
When asked about the adaptations that would make other institutions more attractive to users, the top choices are “administrative/logistical support for virtual hearings”, which is obviously an outcome of the travel restrictions under the pandemic, followed by “commitment to a more diverse pool of arbitrators” and “transparency of administrative processes and decisions, such as selection of and challenges to arbitrators”.
Click here to check out the full survey.
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