The Chinese Approach to Dispute Settlement under the BRI

Abstract

In 2018 the Chinese Supreme People’s Court has established two International Commercial Courts (CICC), which will act as “One Stop” platform and will have jurisdiction over commercial disputes related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since such jurisdiction is not compulsory for BRI contracting parties, this paper aims at investigating how the CICC will fit in the International Dispute Resolution arena by analyzing first what are the types of disputes that may arise within the BRI and what are the options already in place for the parties to choose; it will then describe the characteristics of such International Commercial Courts and the “One-Stop” working mechanism, tracing the potential issues that may prevent non-Chinese parties from selecting the CICC. Finally, the paper suggests some adjustments for the Courts to be perceived as truly “international” and draws some conclusions on the role that the CICC may play in the future.