On the morning of 7 December 2018, co-organized by CIETAC, Beijing Lawyers Association and China University of Political Science and Law, a Commercial Arbitration Moot for the 76th Beijing Qualified Lawyers Training Course was held at CIETAC. Approximately 150 apprentice lawyers from Beijing participated in the training.

The moot was composed of three senior CIETAC arbitrators. Mr. Li Yang, Director of Legal Affairs of China North Industries Corporation, served as the Presiding Arbitrator. Professor Xu Junke, Director of International Law of China Foreign Affairs University, and Mr. Cen Zhaoqi, a partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm, acted as the arbitrators chosen by the claimant and the respondent respectively.

The moot selected an international dispute case on the sale of goods based on a real case of CIETAC. This type of case represents the largest number of cases administered by CIETAC. The law applicable to the case was the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The dispute focused on the formation and validity of the contract, whether the delivered goods were defective and whether the claimant had taken effective measures to control its loss, etc. The arbitral tribunal first presented to the audience the pre-hearing deliberation which is not disclosed to the parties in a real hearing, showing the arbitrators’ clear grasp of the context and main issues of the case. During the hearing, following the guidance of the arbitral tribunal, the agents of the two parties presented the claims and the defense, and debated on the key facts and legal issues of the case combined with cross-examination of the evidence. 

After the hearing, the arbitral tribunal also analyzed the issues of the case in the form of post-hearing deliberation, reached tentative conclusions based on the current submissions and oral statements. This was to help the apprentice lawyers to better understand the approach of case hearing and  the unique rules of arbitration.

After the hearing, three arbitrators, based on their experience in arbitration practice and related work, combining with the moot case, commented on the performance of the agents of the two parties in the Moot, gave tips from the perspectives of work attitude, professional preparation and experience accumulation, and also on how to grasp the issues of dispute in a case, how to allocate the burden of proof, and how to prepare arbitration documents, etc.

Li Bing, Director of the Research Institute of CIETAC, commented on the Moot. She said that during the hearing, the arbitral tribunal had a clear, standardized and wonderful arrangement of the hearing and grasp of the rhythm, representing the professionality and prudence of CIETAC arbitrators, and the agents of the two parties prepared the case fully and played well. She pointed out that the development of lawyers was closely related to their professionalism and sense of responsibility, and only by effectively raising professional standards and taking each case seriously can lawyers provide high-quality legal services to the parties.

The apprentice lawyers who participated in the event were also given the opportunity to ask questions and interacted actively with the arbitral tribunal.

The apprentice lawyers responded enthusiastically to the Moot, expressing that by participating in the training, they not only had an intuitive understanding and feeling about foreign-related commercial arbitration, but also gained preliminary practical experience on how to do a good job as an agent in an arbitration.