15 August, 2019
The arbitration market in the Asia-Pacific region is diverse in size and characteristics. Amongst the arbitral institutions in the region, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC)’s 2017 report1 revealed that 2,298 arbitration cases were filed across its institutions in Beijing, Shanghai, South China, Tianjin, Southwest China, Hong Kong, Zhejian, Hubei and Fujian. This makes China the largest market in the Asia-Pacific region for arbitration, followed by Singapore (452 arbitration cases), South Korea (385 arbitration cases) and Hong Kong (297 arbitration cases). By comparison, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) received 810 arbitration cases and the UK’s London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) received 285 arbitration cases.
This report has demonstrated that arbitral institutions in Asia have come a long way in the last decade. However, recent events indicate that there is plenty of room for Asia Pacific jurisdictions to grow before they reach their full potential as arbitral seats.
