积极参与国际仲裁，维护自身海外利益

1. 背景 Background
随着经济的全球化以及我国改革开放的程度不断深入，我国企业参与的跨境金融、跨境贸易以及跨境投资等经济活动日趋频繁，在对外经济活动中如发生跨境纠纷，该如何维护企业的自身利益便是需要重点关注的问题。在跨境争议解决方式中，国际商事仲裁是国际上广泛使用的救济方式。
With the deepening of economic globalization and the reform and opening-up policy of China, Chinese enterprises are increasingly involved in cross-border financial, cross-border trade, cross-border investment and other economic activities. In case of cross-border disputes in foreign economic activities, how to safeguard the interests of enterprises is a key issue that needs to be paid close attention to. International commercial arbitration is a widely used remedy in the field of cross-border dispute settlement.
2. 企业的顾虑 Enterprise concerns
我国企业在遇到跨境争议时，还是倾向于在本地解决，对于是否主动提起或者被动参加国际商事仲裁，通常会因如下原因而有所顾虑：
When encountering cross-border disputes, Chinese enterprises still prefer to settle them locally. As for whether to initiate or passively participate in international commercial arbitration, they usually have some concerns for the following reasons:
2.1 对国际商事仲裁制度不熟悉 因国际商事仲裁受到英美法系的影响较大而形成了独特的审理流程，与国内的诉讼、仲裁程序存在较大差异，例如国际商事仲裁中特有的证据开示、证人交叉询问等；又如国际商事仲裁以律师为主导，需要律师主动推进，而国内诉讼一般以法庭为主导。
2.1 Chinese enterprises are not familiar with the international commercial arbitration system. Due to the great influence of Common law, international commercial arbitration has formed a unique trial process, which is quite different from domestic litigation and arbitration procedures, such as the disclosure of evidence and cross-examination of witnesses in international commercial arbitration; international commercial arbitration is led by lawyers, which requires lawyers to take the initiative to promote the procedure, while domestic litigation are generally led by courts.
2.2 花费的费用高 参加国际商事仲裁，企业需要承担仲裁机构的管理费、仲裁庭的费用、律师费以及其他服务的费用，其中境外仲裁员、律师、专家证人等一般按照小时收费，如果不认真进行仲裁案件管理、筹划费用成本，会对企业产生高昂的费用。
2.2 The high costs If the enterprises participates in international commercial arbitration, the enterprise needs to undertake the arbitration fees, the cost of the arbitration tribunal, the cost of legal fees and other services, as the foreign arbitrator, lawyer, expert witnesses usually charges according to the hours, if not manage or plan the arbitration procedure thoughtfully, the cost will be high for the enterprise.
2.3 文化与语言差异，因国际商事仲裁中申请人与被申请人、仲裁员大多数来自不同地区、国家、法域，这也导致了当事人、仲裁员之间有着不同的人生观、价值观，不同的语言，因此这些文化差异、语言差异也会对仲裁过程与结果产生影响。
2.3 Cultural and language differences In international commercial arbitration, most of the applicants, the respondents and the arbitrators come from different regions, countries, which also leads to different outlook on life, values and languages among the parties and arbitrators. Therefore, these cultural and language differences will also have an impact on the arbitration process and results.
大成作为全球最大的律师事务所，在76个国家、超过184个地区设有办公室，并与多家律师事务所有着战略合作，因此针对企业上述顾虑，我们结合自身专业知识以及相关的经验，能为企业提供有效代理方案、匹配适合的境外律师、控制代理成本、解决语言沟通问题、克服文化障碍等。
Dentons, as the world's largest law firms, has more than 184 regional offices in 76 countries, and has a strategic cooperation with a number of law firms, so for the enterprise concerns above, combining with our professional knowledge and related experience, we can provide enterprises with effective agent solutions, matching the suitable foreign lawyers, controlling the agency cost, solving the problem of language, overcoming cultural barriers, etc.
3. 国际商事仲裁的优势 Advantages of international commercial arbitration
国际商事仲裁作为最主要的国际商事争议解决途径，具有明显的优势以及便利。
As the main way to settle international commercial disputes, International commercial arbitration has obvious advantages and convenience.
3.1 意思自治，仲裁以充分的当事人的意思自治为基础，因此企业在缔结仲裁条款时可以自主选择仲裁机构、仲裁员、仲裁地和仲裁语言、法律适用等，在仲裁程序中可以自主确定仲裁程序、提交仲裁的争议范围等等，仲裁程序较为灵活。
3.1 Party autonomy. Arbitration is based on the full autonomy of the will of the parties. So when concluding arbitration clause, the enterprise can independently choose arbitration institution, arbitrator, arbitration place, arbitration language and application of law, etc. In the arbitration procedure, they can independently determine the arbitration procedure, the scope of dispute submitted for arbitration and so on, so the arbitration procedure is more flexible.
3.2国际商事仲裁机构的中立性，在发生国际商事争议的情形下，任何一方当事人均不愿意到对方所在国法院解决，因为担心是否会受到公正对待、是否存在当地司法保护等，因此企业可以选择国际上知名高、信誉好的仲裁机构。
3.2 Neutrality of international commercial arbitration institutions. In the case of an international commercial dispute, either party is unwilling to go to the court of the other party's country for settlement, for fear of suffering from unfair treatment and local judicial protection. Therefore, enterprises can choose a well-known and reputable arbitration institution in the world.
3.3仲裁裁决较容易得到外国法院的承认与执行 这得益于联合国1958年《承认及执行外国仲裁裁决公约》(以下简称《纽约公约》)。截至2020年4月2日，已有163个国家成为《纽约公约》的缔约国, 我国于1987年1月22日加入《纽约公约》。《纽约公约》为企业在获得胜诉裁决后最终实现权益提供了法律保障机制。
3.3 Arbitral awards are more easily recognized and enforced by foreign courts. This is due to the 1958 United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (hereinafter referred to as New York Convention).As of April 2, 2020, 163 countries have become parties to New York Convention. China acceded to New York Convention on January 22, 1987. New York Convention provides an effective legal mechanism to realize the rights and interests of enterprises finally after winning the judgment.
4. 提起国际商事仲裁，掌握争议主动权Initiate international commercial arbitration to seize the initiative in disputes
本人曾代理深圳某公司一起国际仲裁案件，该公司（以下简称A公司）作为买方与卖方B公司等签订了印度尼西亚散装动力煤（混煤）买卖合同（以下简称买卖合同）以及补充协议。买卖合同约定了“按照国际商会仲裁和调解规则进行仲裁。”合同签订后，卖方B公司分五批向买方A公司交付煤炭，经A公司授权，卸港的检测机构检测出B公司交付的五批煤炭均存在品质问题，煤炭热值、硫份与装港检测机构检测的结果有较大出入，且运输的船舶产生了滞期费，因此A公司与B公司就煤炭品质以及滞期费产生了争议。
I once represented a Shenzhen company in an international arbitration case. As the buyer, this Shenzhen company (Hereinafter referred to as Company A) signed the agreement for sale and purchase about Indonesia bulk thermal coal(blended-coal) (Hereinafter referred to as the Sale and Purchase Agreement) and the supplementary agreement with the seller Company B. The Sale and Purchase Agreement provides for "arbitration in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration and Conciliation of the International Chamber of Commerce". After signing the Sale and Purchase Agreement, the seller Company B delivered the coal to the buyer Company A in five shipments. According to the inspection conducted by inspection institution at the unloading port authorized by Company A, the five shipments of coal delivered by Company B had quality problems, the coal caloricity value and sulfur content were quite different from the results of the inspection institution at the loading port, and demurrage charges was generated for the ships transported. Therefore, Company A and Company B had a dispute over the coal quality and demurrage charges.
经A公司与B公司沟通，B公司仅向A公司支付第一批煤炭的热值损失与滞期费，其余四批煤炭的品质损失、相关滞期费便不再支付。经A公司与B公司严正交涉，且向B公司发出律师函，B公司仍不予理会。在此情形下，A公司果断作出提起国际商事仲裁的决定。
After negotiating with Company B, Company B only paid Company A the caloricity value loss and demurrage for the first shipment of coal, and the quality loss and demurrage of the remaining four shipments of coal was not paid. Company A made solemn statement against Company B and sent a lawyer's letter to Company B, but Company B still ignored it. In this situation, Company A made a decision to initiate international commercial arbitration affirmatively.
该案中的仲裁条款并未明确争议提交国际商会仲裁院，但根据国际商会仲裁规则第六条第二款的规定，即“当事人同意按照仲裁规则进行仲裁，即接受由仲裁院对该仲裁实施管理。”因此确定了本案的受理仲裁机构为国际商会仲裁院。
The arbitration clause in this case did not specify that the dispute was referred to the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, but according to article 6 (2) of the ICC Rules, “By agreeing to arbitration under the Rules, the parties have accepted that the arbitration shall be administered by the Court.”Therefore, the court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce had the jurisdiction over the case.
在确定管辖的仲裁机构后，我们便在全面、充分地了解案件事实，准确掌握案情的基础上，立即起草仲裁申请书等法律文书，准备相关证据，并前往ICC香港办事处提交仲裁申请等材料。启动仲裁程序后，我们代理A公司指定仲裁员、设立仲裁时间表、草拟各类法律文书等系列工作。随着仲裁程序的推进，B公司终于作出妥协并向A公司发出和解方案，同意向A公司赔偿煤炭品质损失以及滞期费，最后该案以双方和解结案。
After confirming the jurisdiction of the arbitration institution, we immediately drafted the arbitration application and other legal documents on the basis of a comprehensive and full understanding of the facts of the case, prepared relevant evidence, and went to the ICC Hong Kong office to submit the arbitration application. After starting the arbitration procedure, we appointed arbitrators, set up arbitration schedules and drafted various legal documents on behalf of Company A. With the progress of the arbitration process, Company B finally made a compromise and sent a settlement plan to Company A, agreeing to compensate for the loss of coal quality and demurrage to Company A，then the case was finally settled by reconciliation between the two parties.
A公司通过提起国际商事仲裁获得了同B公司谈判的筹码，既促成了纠纷的和解，维护了自身利益，也避免了旷日持久的拉锯战。
By initiating international commercial arbitration, Company A gained bargaining chips with Company B, which not only facilitated the settlement of disputes, protected its own interests, but also avoided the protracted tug of war.
5. 结语 Conclusion
在全球化浪潮中，企业应在日程经营过程中做好合规风险管控，这是建立有效的防火墙，但若不可避免发生了争议，也可以选择积极参与国际商事仲裁等争议解决方式来维护自身利益。
With the trend of globalization, enterprises should take measures to control operation risk like through compliance management, this is to establish effective firewall. However, if disputes are inevitable, enterprises can also choose to actively participate in international commercial arbitration etc. to protect the interests.