On 7 September 2023, the German Arbitration Day, jointly hosted by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), German Arbitration Institute (DIS) China Committee and the German Embassy in China, was successfully held in Beijing. Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIETAC, attended and addressed the event.

（Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIETAC,  delivering a welcome speech）

Secretary General Wang Chengjie pointed out in his speech that with the development of globalization, international arbitration plays an increasingly important role in resolving international commercial disputes. In the past five years, CIETAC has accepted a total of 133 cases involving Germany, with the disputed amount of nearly RMB 5 billion yuan. China and Germany have a long-term friendly and cooperative relationship in the field of arbitration, and CIETAC and DIS have carried out many exchanges and discussions on international commercial arbitration over the past years. He said that in the future, CIETAC and DIS can strengthen in-depth cooperation, learn from each other, and jointly promote the integration and development of international arbitration, so as to safeguard Sino-German and Sino-European economic and trade relations, as well as facilitate the stability and prosperity of the global landscape.

(Dr. Rouven F. Bodenheimer, Vice-President of the Board of DIS/ Partner of BODENHEIMER GbR)

Dr. Bodenheimer introduced the history and current situation of DIS, pointing out that in order to establish an efficient ADR system and the effective judicial system, Germany is currently carrying out judicial reforms to strengthen the judicial status and deepen the project reform, and DIS is also undertaking reforms in respect of the written arbitration agreement, etc. He expected that DIS would further develop friendly and cooperative relations with CIETAC.

(Heiko Heppner, Head of DIS China Committee/Co-Head of Dentons (Europe) International Arbitration Practice)

Heiko Heppner, Head of DIS China Committee, delivered a speech on the topic of A Recent German Supreme Court Ruling on Investment Arbitration and its Impact on Chinese Outbound Investment. He explained in detail the recent German Supreme Court ruling on investment arbitration and the controversy of this ruling over the international and domestic law, and further elaborated possible impacts of the ruling on Chinese investors’ investments in Europe and the countermeasures.

The German Arbitration Day also featured two panel discussions, chaired by Dr. Joachim Glatter, member of DIS China Committee, and by Lin Miao, Independent Arbitrator and Managing Director of ACT Applied Carbon Technology GmbH. They invited renowned arbitrators and lawyers from China and Germany to have an in-depth discussion on the reform of Chinese and German arbitration laws as well as the differences and commonalities in arbitration proceedings before DIS and CIETAC.

(From left to right, top to bottom: Dr. Joachim Glatter, Independent Arbitrator; Dr. Rouven F. Bodenheimer, Vice-President of the Board of DIS/ Partner of BODENHEIMER GbR; Dr. Dong Xiao, Partner of JunHe LLP; Hu Ke, Partner of Jingtian & Gongcheng Law Firm.)

(From left to right, top to bottom: Lin Miao, Independent Arbitrator and Managing Director of ACT Applied Carbon Technology GmbH; Heiko Heppner, Head of DIS China Committee; Wang Jie, CIETAC Arbitrator; Qin Tao, Managing Partner of DeHeng Shanghai Office.)

As one of the key events of the China Arbitration Week, the German Arbitration Day provided an important platform for exchanges and cooperation between the China and German arbitration communities. During this event, participants actively joined in the interactive sessions and shared valuable experience and insights. The success of this event will undoubtedly add new vigour to the cooperation and exchange between China and Germany in the field of international arbitration.