An Analysis on the New French Arbitration Law

[[abstract]]法國於2011年1月13日通過新仲裁法，並於2011年5月1日起施行。新法見於法國民事訴訟法第1442條至第1527條規定，內容涵括國內仲裁與國際仲裁。法國仍維持國內仲裁與國際仲裁雙軌制，並針對國際仲裁採取較為彈性之規範。此次修法仍秉持法國一貫追求創新與支持仲裁之傳統，期使巴黎成為仲裁地之首選。新法納入若干重要之新規定，例如在國內仲裁方面，法國民事訴訟法第1489條規定，除非當事人另有協議，否則不得對仲裁判斷提起上訴。新法在國際仲裁方面有更為重大之革新，例如第1522條規定，當事人得放棄向仲裁地法院提起撤銷仲裁判斷之訴。另一重要之修正見於第1526條，規定撤銷仲裁判斷之訴不具有自動中止執行程序之效果。此外，新法明定國內法官在仲裁程序中作為「支援法官」之角色，有助於仲裁程序之順利進行，尤其是有關仲裁人選任之相關問題，可由「支援法官」解決之。本文擬就新法修正重點予以分析。 On January 13, 2011, France adopted a new law on arbitration, which entered into force on May 1, 2011. The new law, which will be embodied in Articles 1442 through 1527 of the French Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), governs both domestic and international arbitration. French law has thus maintained the dualist approach which distinguishes between domestic and international arbitration, continuing to allow a more flexible regime for international arbitration. The reform keeps with the long-standing tradition of innovative and arbitration-friendly arbitration law in France, which has contributed to establishing Paris as one of first-choice seats of arbitration. The new law also contains some important innovations, for instance, concerning domestic arbitration, new article 1489 of the CCP now excludes lodging an appeal against the award, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. The reforms are even greater in the realm of international arbitration. For instance, Article 1522 contains a significant and substantial change concerning the parties’ ability to waive their right to seek annulment of an award in front of the national courts at the seat of the arbitration. Another notable innovation is contained in Article 1526, which provides that a challenge of the award does not automatically result in suspension of enforcement proceedings. At the same time, the role of the “supporting judge” (juge d’appui), a State judge whose role is to facilitate the arbitration process, is reaffirmed and widened. In particular, problems related to the appointment of the arbitrators may now be resolved by this “supporting judge”. This article will analyze the reform of the French new arbitration law