On the afternoon of May 21, the International Commercial Arbitration Series Lecture – part of the Cultivation of Foreign-related Legal Talent Initiative at Southeast University Law School – and the 83rd session of the Wenrui Law Forum focusing on cutting-edge legal issues were successfully held in the conference room of the Law School. Mr. Zhang Cinyuan, Chief Representative of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Shanghai Representative Office, was invited to deliver a special lecture at Southeast University. The lecture was chaired by Associate Professor Yi Bo of the Law School, with Associate Professor Yu Wenjie, Executive Director of the Jiangsu Collaborative Training Base for Foreign-related Legal Talent, serving as a discussant. Participants included members of the Southeast University Research Center for Foreign-related Rule of Law, as well as faculty and student representatives from universities affiliated with the Jiangsu Collaborative Training Base for Foreign-related Legal Talent, who joined both online and offline.
At the beginning of the lecture, Mr. Zhang Cunyuan provided a brief introduction to the legal issues concerning the operation of foreign arbitration institutions in China, including their scope of accepted cases, the determination of the seat of arbitration, and the establishment of case management offices. Subsequently, addressing questions from the attending faculty and students, Mr. Zhang focused on explaining innovative provisions in the 7th Edition of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Rules. These included the coordinated resolution mechanism for multi-contract and multi-party disputes under Article 17, as well as provisions promoting the use of mediation, such as Articles 32.4, 50.2, 6.4, and 7.3.
During the interactive session, attending faculty and students actively raised questions covering various aspects such as international competitions in the field of international commercial arbitration, as well as preparations for further studies and career development. Mr. Zhang Cinyuan provided detailed responses to these inquiries. Additionally, Associate Professor Yu Wenjie and Associate Professor Yi Bo engaged in in-depth discussions with Mr. Zhang on specific issues including ad hoc arbitration, the Singapore Convention on Mediation, and the operational challenges faced by foreign arbitration institutions in China.
At the conclusion of the lecture, Associate Professor Yi Bo of our school highly praised the practical significance of the session and expressed sincere gratitude to Mr. Zhang Cinyuan. The event concluded successfully amid active participation and warm applause from both on-site and online faculty and students.