SHEN Sibao: The Spirit of Rules and the Spirit of Multilateralism in the New York Convention

Closing Remarks on the 60^th Anniversary of New York Convention and

“One Belt and One Road” Conference

 Prof. SHEN Sibao

Chairman of SCIA

Today’s conference is of great significance. I think the New York Convention has become one of the most important rules for the world’s arbitration with its 60-year history and endeavor. It now has 159 member states and regions which has demonstrated its credibility and influence in the international arbitration. This is obvious to all. Its member states and regions are more than that of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and it is still expanding.

Can anyone imagine that if there were no New York Convention, could the world’s arbitration be so vigorous and orderly? I think the answer is obvious and this is what the New York Convention means. It is fair to say that the New York Convention is the cornerstone of the international arbitration and is also the cornerstone of the dispute resolution mechanism in the context of economic globalization. What is the basic spirit of the New York Convention? I think it is mainly in the following two aspects. The first is the spirit of rules. The second is the spirit of multilateralism, or the spirit of globalization.

When we talk about its spirit of rules, the core of its basic spirit is to harmonize the standards of recognizing and enforcing foreign arbitral awards throughout the world, at least in 159 countries and regions. When it comes to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards, there is global rule to follow.

I think the second basic spirit of the New York Convention, namely, the spirit of globalization and multilateralism, means that foreign arbitral awards can be recognized and enforced all over the world. Through the New York Convention, foreign arbitral awards can be linked to the judicial process of a country and therefore be enforced. Hence, international arbitration can develop in an orderly manner due to the New York Convention.

I feel that these two spirits of the rule of law are worth advocating and implementing in China and the world, in particular, in the process of implementing the “One Belt and One Road Initiative”. For the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China has always been a supporter, player, and defender of the economic globalization. In 1999 when I was doing research at Colombia University, I saw a book which said that China would be the last defender of the WTO, but at that time, China was not a party to the WTO. The actual situation was that China had been arduously negotiating with the Western countries headed by the United States for 13 years to join the WTO and it was the most difficult time. I felt very shocked by what the author said. After that we came back to speed up our negotiation process. The author of this book predicted that China will be the last defender of the WTO, the last defender of economic globalization when China had not yet entered the WTO. I think that the author's prediction is remarkable. Now more than one decade has passed, and the history has shown that this prediction is correct. Advocates are not necessarily executants, nor are they defenders.

I think the courts of all levels represented by the Supreme People’s Court in China have been devoting themselves to the interpretation and application the New York Convention for many years and have been taking effective measures to this end. In fact, I’ve also specifically mentioned the Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.4 of the Supreme People’s Court. The judges there are mainly responsible for the final review of the implementation of the New York Convention in China. And I know several judges of them who are actually talented and are rising stars in this field. Their doctoral researches are all related to international commercial law with a focus on international arbitration. In particular, Judge Gao Xiaoli’s PhD thesis is about the “public policy” of the New York Convention. She reviewed a lot of literature and did in-depth research, which is very helpful for her work.

In fact, a considerable number of judges at all levels of China’s courts have a high level of professionalism. I think that China, as an upcoming large state for arbitration, is on its way to economic globalization, and has always attached great importance to the credibility of its own international arbitration. To this end, various measures have been taken to increase the degree of internationalization of Chinese arbitration, and to highlight the Chinese characteristics of international arbitration, so that the Chinese arbitration can develop in a smooth and sustainable manner. In the process of “One Belt and One Road”, Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) will closely cooperate with the Supreme People’s Court and courts at all levels to promote and advocate the basic spirits of the New York Convention. Thank you!