China International Commercial Court: Architecture, Pitfalls and Promises

In early 2018, China announced the establishment of a special court system to resolve disputes arising out of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, the China International Commercial Court (CICC). This chapter contributes to the emerging literature on hybrid courts by providing the first comprehensive analysis of the China International Commercial Court. The chapter submits that the CICC corresponds to a new stage of regulatory (and economic) development reached by China which demonstrates the country’s ambition to strengthen the rule of law for a number of economic transactions which are key for the country’s future economic development. This chapter critically reviews the genesis of the CICC, its anatomy and problematic features. The analysis places the CICC in the broader context of China’s economic and regulatory development, in particular with respect to the existing domestic courts (in China and other BRI countries) as well as with respect to many arbitration centres already in place (in China and other BRI countries).