Arbitration & Litigation

To enforce civil claims in China, it may be necessary to file a lawsuit before a Chinese Court. Or else, a foreign company may also be sued in China.

We are specialized in conducting arbitration proceedings before recognized Chinese arbitration tribunals in international, cross-border commercial disputes. Over the past 25 years, we have won landmark cases for our clients before renowned Chiense arbitration tribunals. As enlisted international arbitrator at the SCIA Dr. Seybold has also experience in rendering arbitration awards in international commercial disputes.

The basic precondition for arbitration proceedings is the existence of an arbitration clause between to disputing parties, hence the agreement to submit to a chosen arbitration tribunal in the event of any dispute arising between the parties. Such an arbitration clause is typically already included in a commercial or transactional contract. However, a Chinese arbitral tribunal may also be agreed on at a later stage when a legal dispute between Contracting Parties arises.

Unless the parties have agreed to an arbitration clause with regard to a recognized Chinese arbitration tribunal, disputes involving China must be brought before the Chinese People’s Courts. However, other Special Courts may also have jurisdiction in certain cases, such as e.g. the Shanghai Maritime Court for matters concerning the storage of containers in China’s seaports.

While Chinese arbitration tribunals also allow foreign attorneys to participate, only Chinese attorneys may represent clients before Chinese People’s Courts. Therefore since many years we are cooperating closely with experienced local Chinese litigation law firms.

In any case, we can represent you before Chinese People’s Courts and Arbitration Tribunals throughout Mainland China, whether as a Plaintiff seeking to enforce your rightful claims, or as Defendant defending you against lawsuits filed by your contractual partners or other third party opponents.

Before entering into legal proceedings any legal matter, be it to be brought before an international arbitration tribunal or a local civil court should first be assessed under the applicable laws and regulations in order to determine its specific prospect of success. This allows our clients to identify and mitigate the risks associated with the intended litigation case, and finally to decide whether further legal proceedings shall be pursued or not.

In the event an arbitral, or court claim in China is “won” this does not necessarily mean that the "losing party" will comply with the verdict. It is not uncommon in China that an arbitral award or a court ruling must be enforced through official enforcement proceedings.

In the case of foreign verdicts and foreign arbitral awards, as a first step a formal recognition proceeding in China is required before entering into further enforcement proceedings.

In all these situations, we can provide you with our expert advice based on our many years of experience and represent you in China before Chinese Courts and Arbitration Tribunals - where required in cooperation with our long-standing and experienced Chinese partner law firms.