CIVIL LAW AND CIVIL PROCEDURE

Arbitration in the era of openness: conceptual framework, practice, and prospects for cooperation between the Wuhan arbitration commission and the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the development of China’s arbitration system through the case study of the Wuhan Arbitration Commission in the context of the forthcoming reform of the Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China (Draft 2024). The research employs formal-legal, comparative-legal, and institutional methodologies. The author proposes an analytical framework “30–5–4–3,” reflecting the thirty-year evolution of the Law, five key innovations of its revised draft, four competitive advantages of WAC, and three prospective avenues for Sino-Kazakh cooperation. The article examines such legislative innovations as the introduction of the “seat of arbitration,” the expansion of arbitrability in disputes involving a foreign element, the implementation of behavioral interim measures, and the establishment of “regulatory sandboxes” for regional experimentation. Using WAC as an illustrative example, the paper demonstrates the practical implementation of these legislative approaches, including the development of specialized arbitration rules and the deployment of a blockchain-based digital platform. Particular attention is devoted to cooperation with Kazakh arbitral institutions, including the establishment of joint panels of arbitrators, professional training programs, and initiatives for the mutual recognition of electronic evidence. The article concludes that WAC acts not merely as a beneficiary but as an active driver of legislative transformation, shaping a model of “Yangtze – Caspian Partnership.”