'How Long Have You Got?' : Towards a Transparent and Streamlined System for Enforcing Foreign Arbitral Awards in China

Arbitration of China-related commercial disputes has become important because of the growth in trade and investment between China and the rest of the world. Lessons derived from a particular case of recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award in China are of interest to those who are interested in the Chinese reception of arbitral awards. This article will examine the process of enforcing commercial awards in China under the New York Convention (1958). The study will use the concrete experience of the two Australian awards in the Castel v. TCL case to illustrate some deficiencies in the so-called Report System under the current Mainland Chinese law and judicial practice. It will be argued that this Report System needs to be reformed and streamlined. In particular, first, the lower courts should be required to engage the system promptly and without undue delay; secondly, a clear time limit and the consequence of exceeding that time limit should be explicitly provided for each of the stages in the system; and thirdly, the operation of the system should be transparent so that parties can track the progress of their cases once the Report System is engaged. Suggestions will also be made concerning steps which foreign award- holders should take to improve their chances of gaining swift enforcement in Mainland China.