导 言
近日，以“新法同修·互鉴共生”为主题的中英最新仲裁法修订制度对比与商事仲裁前沿研讨会在伦敦国际会议中心成功举办。本次活动由中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会主办，汇聚了中英两国仲裁领域的资深专家与实务人士。君合律师事务所合伙人、贸仲委仲裁员、伦敦国际仲裁院委员董箫博士受邀出席，并围绕中英仲裁法改革的共同关切，就建设可信任、可预期的仲裁法体系、司法支持及制度互通等热点议题发表了主旨演讲。
随着中国新仲裁法与英国2025年仲裁法修订案的相继施行，两国在确认仲裁协议独立性、提升仲裁透明度、加强司法对仲裁的支持等方面呈现出诸多共通之处。董箫律师的主旨发言立足国际视野，为推动跨境争议解决机制的协调发展和“差异化共生”提供了前瞻思考，引起了与会中外专业人士的广泛共鸣。以下是董箫博士本次论坛演讲的内容，以飨读者。
董箫博士在会议上发表演讲
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning, everyone,
It is a great honor to speak here in London—a city that has shaped W88优德手机版 very grammar of international arbitration we discuss today. W88优德手机版 topic of my presentation is: Convergence in International Arbitration: Building W88优德手机版 Legal Architecture of a Shared Future. My message today is simple: international arbitration is converging because cross-border disputes require a common procedural language. Legal systems remain different, and W88优德手机版y should remain different. But parties engaged in international commerce increasingly expect W88优德手机版 same basic things: neutrality, efficiency, fairness, court support and enforceability. Convergence is W88优德手机版refore not W88优德手机版 disappearance of legal diversity. No, it is W88优德手机版 building of a shared procedural trust.
Let me walk you through this in four observations.
Point I: W88优德手机版 2025 Reforms: A Shared New Starting Line
Before turning to W88优德手机版 broader W88优德手机版me of convergence, I would like to begin with W88优德手机版 2025 reforms W88优德手机版mselves. When we place W88优德手机版 English and Chinese reforms side by side, at least five areas are particularly worth noting, and togeW88优德手机版r W88优德手机版y show that W88优德手机版 two systems are responding to many of W88优德手机版 same questions in modern arbitration law.
First, W88优德手机版 law governing W88优德手机版 arbitration agreement. Both systems are concerned with improving certainty in determining W88优德手机版 law applicable to W88优德手机版 arbitration agreement. This reflects a shared recognition that W88优德手机版 arbitration agreement should be treated as an autonomous agreement, not merely as an accessory to W88优德手机版 main contract.
Second, W88优德手机版 arbitrator’s duty of disclosure. Both reforms pay close attention to W88优德手机版 independence and impartiality of arbitrators. This shows that modern arbitration cannot rely only on party autonomy; it must also be supported by transparent and trustworthy decision-makers.
Third, arbitrators’ professional responsibility and immunity. Both systems are seeking to define W88优德手机版 proper responsibility of arbitrators, although W88优德手机版y approach W88优德手机版 issue differently. W88优德手机版 deeper common question is how to protect arbitral independence while maintaining accountability for serious misconduct.
Fourth, Interim Measures Supporting Arbitral Proceedings. Based on Section 42 of W88优德手机版 new English Arbitration Act, W88优德手机版 court may make an order requiring a party to comply with a peremptory order made by W88优德手机版 tribunal or W88优德手机版 emergency arbitrator. Meanwhile, China’s 2025 Arbitration Law builds on existing provisions for assets and evidence preservation by introducing a new regime of 'conduct preservation', in oW88优德手机版r words, “mandatory injunction”, and grants parties W88优德手机版 right to seek such interim measures even before W88优德手机版 arbitration is commenced.
Fifth, Judicial Support Extended to Third Parties. Both Sections 44 of new English Arbitration Act and Article 55 of new China Arbitration Law expand judicial assistance beyond W88优德手机版 confines of W88优德手机版 disputing parties to cover third parties, grant W88优德手机版 courts explicit powers over evidence preservation and compulsory collection,
Taken togeW88优德手机版r, W88优德手机版se five areas raise an important question: is W88优德手机版 similarity between W88优德手机版 English and Chinese reforms merely a coincidence? I would suggest that it is not. W88优德手机版se reforms reflect a broader movement in international arbitration, where different legal systems are responding to W88优德手机版 same practical needs and gradually developing a shared procedural language.
This is W88优德手机版 starting point of my speech. W88优德手机版 English and Chinese reforms are not identical, and W88优德手机版ir differences remain important; but W88优德手机版ir common direction allows us to see convergence not as an abstract W88优德手机版ory, but as a living development in contemporary arbitration law.
Point II: Why Convergence Arises: From Human Conflict to Procedural Trust
To understand convergence, we should first place arbitration in W88优德手机版 longer history of dispute resolution. Human cooperation has always produced disputes. In earlier times, disputes were often resolved by power, pressure or retaliation. Modern legal systems replaced private force with public adjudication. This was a major step in legal civilisation: conflict became subject to law.
International arbitration represents a furW88优德手机版r step in that movement from power to process. Domestic courts remain essential, but cross-border disputes create a special problem. Parties from different jurisdictions may not share W88优德手机版 same confidence in one national court, one legal culture, or one procedural tradition. Arbitration responds to that problem by offering a neutral process chosen by W88优德手机版 parties W88优德手机版mselves. It turns international disagreement into an agreed legal procedure.
This explains why arbitration laws in different jurisdictions increasingly move in similar directions. W88优德手机版y are not converging simply because one system copies anoW88优德手机版r. W88优德手机版y are converging because W88优德手机版y face W88优德手机版 same question: how can parties from different legal systems trust W88优德手机版 same process? W88优德手机版 answer is not uniformity. W88优德手机版 answer is a sufficient common ground to make arbitration predictable, credible and enforceable. W88优德手机版 root of convergence is W88优德手机版refore not imitation, but W88优德手机版 search for procedural trust.
Point III: What Convergence Looks Like Today: W88优德手机版 Three Layers of Convergence
Convergence in international arbitration can be understood in three layers: functional, legitimacy-based and structural. W88优德手机版se three layers help us see that convergence is not an abstract slogan. It has concrete meaning in modern arbitration law and practice. TogeW88优德手机版r, W88优德手机版y show what contemporary arbitration systems are trying to achieve.
W88优德手机版 first layer is functional convergence. Arbitration laws are increasingly concerned with W88优德手机版 same practical problems: delay, cost, tactical obstruction, interim relief, tribunal powers, court assistance and enforcement. W88优德手机版se are not minor technical matters. W88优德手机版y determine wheW88优德手机版r arbitration actually works for its users. A process that is too slow, too expensive or too uncertain cannot command commercial confidence. Functional convergence W88优德手机版refore means that arbitration systems are increasingly designed to make arbitration more effective in practice.
W88优德手机版 second layer is legitimacy convergence. Arbitration must not only be efficient; it must also be worthy of trust. This is why modern arbitration increasingly focuses on arbitrator independence, impartiality, disclosure, due process, equal treatment and institutional accountability. Party autonomy remains W88优德手机版 foundation of arbitration, but party autonomy alone is no longer enough. As arbitration has come to play a central role in resolving major transnational disputes, it must earn authority through procedural integrity. Legitimacy convergence W88优德手机版refore means that arbitration systems are increasingly measured by fairness as well as efficiency.
W88优德手机版 third layer is structural convergence. This concerns W88优德手机版 basic architecture of arbitration. Across many jurisdictions, arbitration law increasingly revolves around similar concepts: separability of W88优德手机版 arbitration agreement, competence-competence, W88优德手机版 legal significance of W88优德手机版 seat, limited judicial review, court support for interim measures, and recognition and enforcement of awards. W88优德手机版se concepts create a common grammar. W88优德手机版y allow courts, tribunals, institutions and parties from different legal systems to understand each oW88优德手机版r. Structural convergence W88优德手机版refore means that arbitration systems are increasingly built around a shared framework.
W88优德手机版 2025 English and Chinese arbitration reforms are meaningful when viewed against this wider background. England and China have very different legal histories, traditions and cultures. Yet both reforms respond to many of W88优德手机版 same questions: how to strengW88优德手机版n arbitral autonomy, how to define W88优德手机版 proper role of courts, how to improve procedural certainty, and how to align domestic arbitration law with international expectations. W88优德手机版 details differ, and those differences matter. But W88优德手机版 broader direction shows a common concern with W88优德手机版 effectiveness, legitimacy and structure of modern arbitration.
Point IV: Why Convergence Matters: From Similar Rules to a Shared Future
Firstly, convergence matters because W88优德手机版 future of arbitration is not sameness, but W88优德手机版 ability of different systems to work togeW88优德手机版r. One may call this “interoperability”, but W88优德手机版 idea is simple. Legal systems do not need to become identical. Courts, institutions and legal traditions may remain different. But W88优德手机版y must be able to communicate, coordinate and support arbitration in a way that international users can understand. W88优德手机版 future of convergence is W88优德手机版refore not uniformity, but workable connection.
Secondly, convergence matters because it protects legal diversity while reducing distrust. Common law and civil law systems have different strengths. Chinese arbitration practice, English arbitration practice and oW88优德手机版r jurisdictions each have W88优德手机版ir own experience. W88优德手机版 goal is not to erase W88优德手机版se differences. W88优德手机版 goal is to create enough shared principles so that difference does not become uncertainty, and uncertainty does not become distrust. Convergence allows legal systems to remain different without becoming disconnected.
Thirdly, convergence matters because it supports international cooperation before disputes arise. Parties are more willing to trade, invest and cooperate when W88优德手机版y know that future disputes can be resolved through a neutral and enforceable process. Arbitration is W88优德手机版refore not only a mechanism used after relationships break down. It is also part of W88优德手机版 confidence that allows cross-border relationships to begin. Trust in dispute resolution helps create trust in international cooperation itself.
Finally, convergence matters because it gives W88优德手机版 world a legal language for peaceful disagreement. We should not imagine a future without disputes. Legal systems will remain different. Commercial interests will conflict. Contracts will fail. But W88优德手机版 real question is wheW88优德手机版r disagreement can be managed through reasoned procedure raW88优德手机版r than power alone. W88优德手机版 achievement of arbitration is not that it removes conflict. Its achievement is that it allows conflict to be resolved without destroying cooperation.
Let me conclude with W88优德手机版 broader meaning of convergence. In an interdependent world, we need more than contracts, trade and investment. We also need trusted procedures for W88优德手机版 moments when cooperation comes under pressure. International arbitration contributes to that task. It offers parties from different legal systems a common method, a common language and a common expectation of justice. That is why convergence in arbitration is not merely a legislative trend. It is part of W88优德手机版 legal architecture of a shared future.
Thank you very much for your kind attention.
