The Shanghai Arbitration Commission (“SHAC”), one of China’s leading independent arbitration centres, has appointed three Withers partners to its new panel of international arbitrators effective January 1, 2022.
The three Withers arbitration specialists on SHAC’s 7th panel of arbitrators are Hussein Haeri, Emma Lindsay and Sherlin Tung, reflecting the SHAC’s focus and expansion into international and cross-border dispute resolution. The SHAC received over 3,000 applications worldwide and following multiple rounds of reviews and evaluations conducted by SHAC’s Advisory Council of Arbitrator Selection, 386 arbitrators from over 110 jurisdictions were chosen and adopted at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Governing Body of the SHAC. Withers is one of the only firms to have three representatives appointed to the SHAC’s panel of arbitrators.
Sherlin Tung, International Arbitration partner based in Hong Kong, opines, “The SHAC, while considered to be one of the younger arbitral institutions, has a rapidly growing reputation as a leading international arbitral institution in Mainland China. It accepts and arbitrates contractual disputes in compliance with Chinese laws whilst referring to international best practices and observing its own rules independently, fairly, and in a timely manner. I am proud to be appointed as one of SHAC’s arbitrators, and I and my colleagues look forward to contributing to SHAC’s growth story as it cements its reputation as a leading global arbitral institution in Mainland China.”
One of the world’s largest markets for alternative dispute resolution, Mainland China’s caseload for international arbitration is rapidly growing on the back of increased cross-border transactions. Shanghai, in particular, has made significant progress in promoting itself as a global arbitration hub.
Located in the economic centre of the Yangtze Delta Region, the SHAC, which was established in 1995, is one of China’s leading and fastest-growing arbitral institutions due to its high quality and professional case management and internationalisation efforts. According to the Shanghai Judicial Bureau, arbitral institutions in the Yangtze Delta Region managed over 115,000 arbitration cases since 2002, with sums in dispute valued at over RMB 130 billion (approximately USD 21 billion), with both caseloads and value of disputes expected to grow in the coming years. Since its inception in 1995, the SHAC itself has administered more than 40,000 cases with a total amount in dispute of around RMB 200 billion (approximately USD 30 billion). In 2020 alone, the SHAC administered 4,617 cases, which represented approximately 73% of the Shanghai arbitration service market’s market share.
Withers has a leading global arbitration practice, with more than 20 arbitration lawyers worldwide based across Hong Kong, London, New York, Milan, Singapore and the British Virgin Islands. With lawyers admitted to practice in multiple jurisdictions and qualified in both common and civil law jurisdictions, we offer clients international experience and versatility to advise in a variety of sectors. Our work covers the entirety of arbitration cases, from initial case analysis through to successful enforcement of arbitral awards, to achieve the best results for our clients.
