Recently, the Shanghai International Commercial Court has, for the first time, issued an investigation order to assist in evidence collection for an international commercial arbitration case, marking a significant step in China’s efforts to strengthen judicial support for international arbitration and foster an arbitration-friendly legal environment.
The case involves a cross-border data service contract dispute, with the core issue being the verification of the identity of the foreign party’s representative—an essential piece of information only accessible via WeChat usernames. After both parties failed to obtain the evidence independently, the arbitral tribunal issued an interim measure. Subsequently, the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center) submitted an application through the Shanghai Court’s “One-Stop” International Commercial Dispute Resolution Platform, based on the interim measure issued by the tribunal.
Following a thorough review, the Shanghai International Commercial Court determined that the requested evidence was relevant and necessary to the arbitration. It confirmed that the parties and the tribunal had made reasonable efforts but were unable to obtain the evidence independently, and that the tribunal’s interim measure was issued in compliance with due process and international arbitration norms. Consequently, the court issued the investigation order in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Shanghai High People’s Court to assist in evidence collection for arbitration.
