What is the applicable law of an arbitration clause?
In shipping practice, an agreement to arbitrate is almost invariably contained in a maritime contract. As far as Chinese law is concerned, there are no specific provisions with respect to the applicable law of an arbitration clause if the parties to it have not selected one either expressly or impliedly. Where brought before a Chinese court for a decision as regards the validity of an arbitration clause, the court will most likely apply one of the three laws, i.e., the law of the place of arbitration, the law of the award or the law of the place where the court is sitting, i.e. lex fori. Among these three, where the parties to an arbitration clause have failed to designate the applicable law of the clause, it is not only theoretically correct but realistically convenient to treat the law of the place of arbitration as the applicable law of an arbitration clause.
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