Brief of the case

    Blue Sky Company and Mr. Li signed the Consulting Agreement, which stipulates that Mr. Li will provide consulting services for Blue Sky Company. At the same time, it is stipulated in the dispute resolution clause that "any dispute arising from the performance of this Agreement shall be settled by the disputing parties through negotiation. If the negotiation fails, the dispute shall be submitted to the Municipal Arbitration Commission for arbitration." After a dispute arose between the two parties, Mr. Li sued Blue Sky Company to the court, demanding payment of labor fees, Blue Sky Company filed an application for jurisdiction objection, arguing that the two parties agreed in the contract that the dispute would be arbitrated by the Municipal Arbitration Commission, the domiciled place of both parties and the actual place of performance of the contract are Beijing, and it can be determined that "Municipal Arbitration Commission" means Beijing Arbitration Commission. The case shall be submitted to Beijing Arbitration Commission for arbitration. Mr. Li believes that the arbitration clause in the contract does not stipulate the jurisdiction of a specific arbitration commission in a specific city, and there is no agreement on the arbitration commission, and even if it can be determined to be the arbitration commission in Beijing, there are multiple arbitration institutions in Beijing, the clause is unclear.

Court hearing

    After examination, the court held that the agreement between the two parties in the contract did not specify the specific city pointed to by the "city", and it could not be inferred that the "city" was Beijing, although both parties recognized that the signing place of the agreement and Mr. Li's work place were Beijing, it could not be inferred from the agreement between the two parties that the "city" pointed to the city where the contract was signed or the contract was performed. In addition, there are several arbitration institutions in Beijing, and the Beijing Arbitration Commission is not the only arbitration institution, even if it can be inferred that the "city" refers to Beijing, it is impossible to specify the specific arbitration institution chosen by the two parties. Therefore, the Consultant Agreement of this case does not specify an arbitration institution, and the arbitration clause is invalid. Mr. Li's lawsuit is in accordance with the law, and the court has jurisdiction over this case.

The judge said the law

    According to the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China, an arbitration agreement shall contain the following contents: (1) an expression of intention to request arbitration; (2) matters for arbitration; (3) The arbitration commission selected. Article 3 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China provides that: If the name of the arbitration institution stipulated in the arbitration agreement is not accurate, but the specific arbitration institution can be determined, it shall be deemed that the arbitration institution has been selected. Article 6: Where an arbitration agreement provides for arbitration by an arbitration institution in a certain place and there is only one arbitration institution in that place, the arbitration institution shall be deemed to be the agreed arbitration institution. If there are two or more arbitration institutions in the place, the parties may choose one of them by agreement to apply for arbitration. If the parties cannot reach an agreement on the choice of arbitration institution, the arbitration agreement shall be null and void.

    In the above cases, the agreement that "if the negotiation fails, the case shall be submitted to the Municipal Arbitration Commission for arbitration in accordance with the arbitration Commission" does not specify the name of the arbitration institution, and it cannot be inferred that the two parties accept the jurisdiction of the Beijing Arbitration Commission, and cannot confirm the uniqueness and exclusivity of the arbitration institution. Therefore, the contents of the arbitration clause agreed by the parties in the contract are unenforceable and shall be invalid.

    Therefore, when signing a contract, if the parties wish to stipulate that the dispute shall be arbitrated by an arbitration institution, it is recommended that the arbitration institution selected be clearly stipulated in the arbitration clause to ensure that the institution is unique and exclusive, otherwise the arbitration clause may be deemed invalid and cannot be applied.

    This article is transferred from the "Beijing Haidian Court" wechat public number, here to express our thank