On December 17, 2020, the fifth session of 2020 Jinling Forum on “Diversified Dispute Resolution Mechanism for Cross-border Bankruptcy and Reorganization” (“Forum”) was successfully held. This Forum was co-hosted by CIETAC Jiangsu Arbitration Center (“CIETAC Jiangsu Center”), Jiangsu Chamber of International Commerce, and Benchmark Chambers International & Benchmark International Mediation Center (“BCI & BIMC”) and sponsored by Yangtze River Delta Corporate Counsels Association and P.C. Woo & Zhonglun W.D. LLP. Gu Yan, Vice President of the CIETAC Arbitration Court & Secretary General of CIETAC Jiangsu Arbitration Center, and Chen Weibao, President of Jiangsu Enterprise Legal Affairs Association, attended the Forum and delivered opening speeches. Sun Tao, Senior Partner of P.C. Woo & Zhonglun W.D. LLP, presided over the opening session.
(Sun Tao presiding over the opening session)
Gu Yan pointed out in his speech that with the continuous advancement of economic globalization, cross-border flows of investment and trade are frequent, competition in the world market is becoming increasingly fierce, and cross-border bankruptcy and reorganization have become the new normal in transnational economic activities. Therefore, it is imperative to resolve cross-border bankruptcy disputes through diversified dispute resolutions. As one of the diversified dispute resolution methods, arbitration has its unique advantages such as fairness, efficiency, professionality, confidentiality, and cross-border enforceability. With more than 60 years of development, CIETAC has accumulated rich experience in international and domestic arbitration. CIETAC, for its international and professional arbitration services, has also been included by the Supreme People’s Court in its list of the first batch of international commercial arbitration and mediation institutions under the “one-stop” dispute resolution platform for international commercial disputes. Cross-border bankruptcy is of great significance to maintain the rule of survival of the fittest in the market, maximize the interests of creditors, achieve social fairness and justice, and ensure the development of the international economic and trade environment. With the topic of “Diversified Dispute Resolution Mechanism for Cross-border Bankruptcy and Reorganization”, difficult issues of jurisdiction conflicts, application of law, recognition and enforcement of judgments or awards among different jurisdictions involved in cross-border bankruptcy were discussed in the Forum, which is expected to be beneficial to enterprises and legal practitioners.
(Vice President Gu Yan delivering an opening speech)
President Chen Weibao said that bankruptcy and reorganization of enterprises are, in essence, the judicial path to the resolution of the debt. Seeking new solutions and exploring diversified bankruptcy and reorganization dispute resolution mechanisms can not only help enterprises get out of troubles, but also better protect and guarantee the interests of investors and creditors. Under the current macro-economic situation, more attention shall be paid to the development trend of bankruptcy and reorganization at home and abroad, so as to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises in the process of international trade and international investment. Yangtze River Delta Corporate Counsels Association looks forward to further deepening the cooperation with diversified dispute resolution institutions such as CIETAC, in order to provide member companies with more opportunities and access to high-quality legal resources.
(President Chen Weibao giving an opening speech)
The Forum consisted of three sessions. The first session was topical speech. The second session was case sharing, and the third session was panel discussion.
During the first session, Xiao Jingyi, Executive President of Council and Director of BCI & BIMC, gave a speech on “Coordination between Foreign Law Ascertainment, Commercial Mediation and Arbitration of Cross-border Bankruptcy and Reorganization Cases”, which analyzed the problems of foreign law ascertainment in cross-border bankruptcy from both procedural and substantive aspects, and pointed out the necessity of advancing bankruptcy mediation based on specific practical cases.
(Director Xiao Jingyi giving a topical speech)
He Wangxiang, Associate Professor of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics and Secretary-General of the International Law Institute of Jiangsu Law Society , briefed on the historical development and the legislation history of bankruptcy and reorganization under the topic of “Cross-border Bankruptcy and Reorganization From the Perspective of Business Environment Optimization”. He also detailed on cross-border bankruptcy and optimization of business environment from the four aspects: judicial system, judicial practice, trustee and judicial cooperation.
(Associate Professor He Wangxiang giving a topical speech)
Vicky Lord, managing partner of Harneys Shanghai Office, delivered a speech on the topic “The latest trend of Cross-Border Bankruptcy and Reorganization in Offshore Jurisdictions-From the Perspective of Chinese Enterprises and Investors”. From the perspective of Chinese enterprises and investors, she analyzed the latest trend of cross-border bankruptcy and reorganization in offshore jurisdictions by taking the bankruptcy cases of companies registered in Cayman Islands and Bermuda as examples.
(Vicky Lord giving a topical speech)
Teng Yun, senior partner of Zhonglun W&D Law Firm Shanghai Office, took “Case Sharing of Cross-border Bankruptcy and Reorganization with Arbitration” as the topic of his speech, and gave suggestions on foreign law ascertainment, methods of obtaining judicial confirmation in domestic arbitration and cross-border parallel bankruptcy procedures based on two representative bankruptcy cases.
(Teng Yun giving a topical speech)
In the case sharing session of “Recent Development in the Field of Bankruptcy and Reorganization in Various Countries (Regions)”, Michael Siebold and Dr. Falk von Craushaar, senior partners from ARNECKE SIBETH DABELSTEIN (“ASD”), Shuichi Namba and Hirotoshi Kakumoto, managing partners of Momo-o Matsuo & Namba Law Firm, Robert Foote, partner of the Singapore office of Walkers Law Firm, and Tang Shu Pui, managing partner of P.C. Woo, were invited to share cross-border cases regarding bankruptcy and reorganization handled by the law firms through videos. They also summarized the recent development of bankruptcy and reorganization in various countries (regions) during the epidemic.
(From top to bottom, Michael Siebold and Dr. Falk von Craushaar from Germany, Shuichi Namba and Hirotoshi Kakumoto from Japan, Robert Foote from Singapore, and Tang Shu Pui from Hong Kong, China)
The panel discussion was presided over by Lin Wei, Director of P.C. Woo & Zhonglun W.D. LLP. Vicky Lord, Yao Bin (CIETAC arbitrator and Senior Partner of Jiangsu Boomstar Law Firm), Zhang Lijun (Senior Partner of Jiangsu Fadedongheng Law Firm) and Jack Song (Partner in the forensic practice of PWC) analyzed the new trend of cross-border bankruptcy and reorganization in the post-epidemic era from their professional fields respectively, and launched a discussion in the form of question and answer.
(scene of the discussion, from right to left in the order from Lin Wei, Yao Bin, Zhang Lijun, Jack Song and Vicky Lord)
In recent years, the uncertainty of the global economic and trade environment and the potential risks of the financial system have increased. The escalation of Sino-US trade frictions have brought downward pressure on Chinese economy and in particular, on Chinese enterprises engaged in cross-border investment, financing and trade. In this context, the cross-border bankruptcy and reorganization business has also encountered unprecedented development opportunities. Experts and senior partners from well-known law firms in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Germany, Japan and Singapore were invited to discuss on how to make full and reasonable use of the diversified domestic and foreign dispute resolution mechanisms to effectively resolve the cross-border bankruptcy and reorganization difficulties of enterprises caused by various debt issues. The session was so splendid that attracted more than 800 participants online and offline. CIETAC Jiangsu Center will also continue to provide enterprises with high-quality and efficient arbitration legal services through CIETAC Jinling Forum. At the same time, CIETAC Jiangsu Center welcomes people from all walks of life to participate in the series activities of CIETAC Jinling Forum through the official website of CIETAC Jiangsu Center, WeChat official account and other online platforms.
