Promising Paths: Commercial Arbitration and the Rule of Law in China (2012 to 2018)

Abstract

Existing literature on the rule of law in China, has neither provided clarity in defining the rule of law, nor focused sufficiently on commercial arbitration. Yet, in recent years China’s commercial arbitration system has developed rapidly, and these developments have considerable bearings on the rule of law. Thus, this paper addresses both scholarly gaps by first establishing a definitional framework of rule of law based on a set of rule-of-law “ends.” Using this framework, the paper analyzes whether developments in China’s commercial arbitration system, since 2012, have promoted the rule of law in China. After extensive qualitative study, this paper concludes that China’s major arbitral developments have promoted the rule of law by promoting three of its ends: government bound by law, equality before the law, and efficient justice. These conclusions will be useful for higher-level policymakers who wish to characterize China’s arbitral developments as-a-whole, and can complement other insights on how the rule of law has changed under Xi’s tenure. For practitioners who seek to foster the rule of law in China, this paper identifies promising arbitral developments that they can further study or support.