CWR > Volume 8(2); 2022 > Article
Research Article
Published online: September 1, 2022
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/cwr.2022.8.2.01

Online Arbitration of E-commerce Disputes in the People’s Republic of China: Due Process Concerns

Xueer Chen & Chao Wang
Guangzhou College of Commerce / University of Macau
E32-2010, Faculty of Law, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macao SAR, PRC.
Corresponding Author: chaowang@um.edu.mo

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

E-commerce market in the world. However, this has also led to an increasing number of e-commerce disputes. In practice, such disputes are resolved by online dispute resolution. As the results of online dispute resolution are not legally binding, however, China’s online arbitration procedure has been criticized especially regarding the conflicts between party autonomy and institutional autonomy. China’s judicial reviews would claim that such awards cannot be enforced. Therefore, there is a call to make online arbitral awards enforceable and to expand the application of online arbitration to more e-commerce disputes in China. This paper examines how to best analyse and address such conflicts. We explain the importance of arbitral institutions’ autonomy in terms of ensuring access to justice as well as the importance of limiting party autonomy in certain circumstances due to the rise in online disputes.

Keywords : Online Arbitration, Judicial Reviews, Digital Justice, Parties’ Procedural Rights, Institutional Autonomy

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