The Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) (Chinese: 北京仲裁委员会; pinyin: Běijīng zhòngcái wěiyuánhuì) is an independent non-profit organization based in Beijing offering services in arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution mechanisms.
The BAC was established in 1995 following the passage of the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China.
In accordance with the theories of other ADR channels, the BAC encourages arbitration and mediation forums as "win-win" alternatives to litigation.
The Arbitration Law delegated the establishment of the BAC to the Office of Legislative Affairs of the Beijing Municipal Government (BMG).
Ms. Hongsong Wang, then a research fellow in the Legal Affairs Office of the BMG and current Secretary-General of the BAC, took charge of this task.
BAC's annual caseload continues to increase rapidly, as does its compilation of international arbitration cases.
[1] BAC headquarters is located in the Central Business District (CBD) of Beijing.
Many of the previous and current Vice-Chairpersons and Members are experienced specialists in law, economics, and trade.
The Commission's involvement only occurs when an arbitral tribunal makes technical and major substantive errors.
The majority of the Secretariat hold master's degrees from renowned universities and many are multilingual, offering convenient services for parties who speak Chinese, English, Korean, or Japanese.
[1] The Secretariat oversees arbitral tribunals in the case of technical or typographical errors, miscalculations, failures to include matters decided during the arbitration in the award, or decisions inconsistent with how the same dispute was decided in a previous case.
In cases where the amount in dispute is one million Yuan or less, the parties may jointly select to follow the Common Procedure and the added financial cost it entails.
[1] Second, the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman by designation may hold meetings of the Commission only if two-thirds of the Members are present.
Third, the BAC achieved financial independence from the government in 1998 and currently operates as a public institution "managed as an enterprise.
The BAC was the first in China to require its arbitrators to sign a statement declaring their ability to maintain fairness and independence.
In addition, upon concluding a hearing, arbitrators must sign a declaration affirming their impartiality and their diligence in conducting the proceedings.