Arbitration, seen as an effective and efficient way of settling disputes while allowing aggrieved parties to stay out of court,is gaining rapid popularity in China.

Though like litigation in that it is a legal way to settle civil or economic disputes, arbitration can save time and money, said Lu Yunhua, a deputy director of the State Council's law office, at the 2003 National Arbitration Annual Conference which opened yesterday.

Parties involved are also entitled to choose their own arbitration agencies, arbitrators, times and locations for sessions, unlike the situation in the court system.

They can also decide whether their arbitration cases are handled in public or in private.

And because the parties agree in advance,arbitration rulings are final and just as authoritative as findings in court.

What's more, Lu said, China's arbitration rulings can be executed in 130-odd countries and regions worldwide, which is particularly beneficial to foreign-related civil or economic disputes.

China's arbitration laws came into effect in 1995, and since then 170-odd arbitration agencies have been set up nationwide.

The sector should see even more growth prospects when more people become aware of its advantages.

According to a survey conducted recently by Horizon China, a leading research consulting firm, 57.74 per cent of domestic enterprises will resort to arbitration to settle economic dispute while 39.54 per cent of them say they prefer court litigation.

China's arbitration agencies handled more than 18,000 cases in 2002, up 48 per cent from the preceding year.

And a total of more than 80,000 cases have been dealt with since 1995 when arbitration laws took effect.

Arbitration agencies in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Wuhan have handled most of the arbitration cases.

The Guangzhou Arbitration Commission alone handled 2,400 cases by late October, with case monetary values exceeding 2.50 billion yuan (US$301.20 million), topping any other city in China.

According to Chen Zhongqian, director of the commission, healthy development of the arbitration business can relieve the work pressure on overburdened local courts.

He cited as an example the local courts in Guangzhou which has to handle more than 164,000 cases in 2002.

Organized by the State Council's law office and hosted by Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, the two-day conference ends today.

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