On the afternoon of September 24 , the "Women in Arbitration Forum" of 2024 China Arbitration Week series was successfully held in Beijing. The forum was hosted by Women in Arbitration (WIA) of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and HUAMAO&GUIGU Law Firm, and co-organized by China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (hereinafter referred to as "CIETAC") and China Academy of Arbitration Law. Yu Jianlong, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and President of China Academy of Arbitration Law, Gao Zicheng, President of All China Lawyers Association, and Zhang Lixia, Co-Chair of Women in Arbitration (WIA) Committee and Director of HUAMAO&GUIGU Law Firm , attended the forum and delivered speeches.

(Forum site)

Gu Yan, Vice President of CIETAC and Secretary-General of China Academy of Arbitration Law, presided over the opening ceremony. He stated that female arbitration practitioners have both serious and approachable sides. Female arbitration practitioners have long been a part of the legal and arbitration professional community. Using their expertise and wisdom, they are building the temple of law, promoting social progress and enhancing women's representation in the field of arbitration.

(Photo of Gu Yan, Vice President of CIETAC and Secretary-General of China Academy of Arbitration Law, presided over the opening ceremony)

Yu Jianlong, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and President of China Academy of Arbitration Law, expressed in his speech that since its inception, the Women in Arbitration Forum has strived to advocate for increasing diversity in international arbitration, has actively addressed the practical concerns of women in law, has attracted widespread attention from all sectors, and has become an important event of the annual China Arbitration Week. In recent years, the international influence and discourse power of China's foreign-related commercial arbitration have been further enhanced, with many outstanding female arbitration practitioners making positive contributions. The decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee clearly proposed to deepen the reform of the arbitration system, to improve the international commercial arbitration and mediation system, and to cultivate world-class arbitration institutions. This decision represents new tasks and challenges for Chinese arbitration practitioners in this new historical period. Female arbitration practitioners not only possess excellent professional qualities,  their keen insight, delicate judgment, and unique perspectives can also add new dimensions to the fairness and justice of arbitration cases, making the arbitration field more diverse and inclusive. He expressed his hope that more development opportunities can be created for female arbitration practitioners through joint efforts. He looks forward to seeing more participation of female arbitration practitioners in future arbitration theory research and practice.

(Yu Jianlong, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and President of China Academy of Arbitration Law, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony)

Gao Zicheng, President of All China Lawyers Association, stated in his online speech that the management of arbitration procedures can directly affect the quality, efficiency, and credibility of substantive awards. Whether serving as arbitrators or representatives, how to enhance their own professional capabilities, deeply understand and make good use of international arbitration rules to improve the quality and efficiency of international arbitration procedure management, is an important issue that lawyers need to face.

(Gao Zicheng, President, delivered the speech)

Zhang Lixia, Co-Chair of Women in Arbitration (WIA) Committee and Director of HUAMAO&GUIGU Law Firm, expressed her gratitude to all the supporters of Women in Arbitration Forum. She stated that while arbitration has no borders, the service of arbitration has its own warmth. She called upon everyone to contribute their strength to the development of arbitration.

(Zhang Lixia, Co-Chair of WIA Committee and Director of HUAMAO&GUIGU Law Firm, delivered the speech)

At the special report session, Yang Ling, Deputy Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and Chief Representative of the Shanghai Representative Office, and a member of Women in Arbitration (WIA) Committee, delivered a keynote report on "International Arbitration Diversity - A 10-Year Development Observation Report".

(Yang Ling, Deputy Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and Chief Representative of the Shanghai Representative Office, and a member of WIA Committee, gave the special report)

The forum has three sessions. The first session, themed "How International Arbitration Community Deals with Languages and Cultures", was chaired by Cao Lijun, a partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm and a board member of Court of Arbitration of Singapore International Arbitration Centre. Huang Zhijin, Director of Arbitration and ADR services for North Asia of International Chamber of Commerce and Chief Representative of the ICC Shanghai representative Office; Gu Haiyan, General Manager of the Legal Affairs Department of SINA, a member of the Expert Committee of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (hereinafter referred to as UNCITRAL), and a standing director of China Cyber and Information Law Society; Feng Pu, former Director of China Region and the first Chief Representative of the Shanghai Office of Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and an international lawyer at Allen & Gledhill; and Wen Liming, Chairman of the Finance and Administration Committees of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and a partner of Li & Partners, engaged in in-depth discussions from various perspectives, including the choice of language in commercial arbitration, factors considered by clients when selecting arbitrators, and the choice of arbitration language in bilingual environments.

(Session One: From left to right, they are Cao Lijun, Huang Zhijin, Gu Haiyan, Feng Pu, and Wen Liming)

The second session, themed "Localization of Procedural Measures in International Arbitration" was chaired by Yang Yuanqing, a senior partner at HUAMAO&GUIGU Law Firm. Ruan Na, Deputy Secretary-General of Beijing Arbitration Commission; Zhang Ye, Director of the Case Management Department of CIETAC; Wang Meng, Senior Vice President of TUSHOLDINGSand Director of the Legal Affairs Center; Zhu Huafang, a member of Women in Arbitration (WIA) Committee and a senior partner at HUI ZHONG Law Firm, and Jiang Yujuan, a member of the Executive Committee of Women in Arbitration (WIA) and a partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm, engaged in a comprehensive discussion on various aspects such as emergency arbitration, reform of arbitration institution fees, interim measures and preservation in arbitration, procedural orders, and issue lists.

(Session Two: From left to right, they are Yang Yuanqing, Ruan Na, Zhang Ye, Wang Meng, Zhu Huafang, and Jiang Yujuan)

The third session, themed "How to Efficiently Advance International Arbitration Proceedings" was chaired by Wang Xuehua, the founding partner and director of HUANZHONG & PARTNERS; Wang Weijun, Secretary-General of the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center) and Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Arbitration Association; Professor Fei Anling from the Civil and Commercial Law and Comparative Private Law Department of China University of Political Science and Law; Yang Xixi, Vice President and General Counsel of Volvo (China); and Shi Ping, a senior partner of HUAMAO&GUIGU Law Firm, engaged in in-depth discussions on issues such as how arbitration institutions can advance arbitration proceedings, the selection methods for arbitrators, arbitration fee reform, and the delivery methods for arbitration documents.

(Session Three: From left to right, they are Wang Xuehua, Wang Weijun, Fei Anling, Yang Xixi, and Shi Ping)

Shen Sibao, President of the China International Economic Law Society, Chairman of Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, and Director of the International Arbitration Research Center at the University of International Business and Economics, delivered the closing remarks.

(Shen Sibao, Director, delivered the closing speech)

Dozens of female arbitration representatives and industry experts from arbitration institutions, arbitrators, lawyers, enterprises, and universities participated in this forum. As the role of women in the arbitration field becoming increasingly prominent, women’s career in arbitration is bound to embrace an even brighter future. The forum was a complete success.