The Chinese Revolution came to power in 1949 with the legacy of the nucleus of a legal system in the Chinese Soviet Republic (strongly influenced by Soviet law), the Confucian tradition, and Kuomintang law. During the 1950s, the Soviet legal system again was influential, and it was then that the Maritime Arbitration Commission and the Foreign Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission were formed. Their respective case load was relatively light, given the Chinese propensity for negotiation and conciliation, but, in the aftermath of the cultural revolution, the tribunals have acquired a new vitality and have even allowed a Western lawyer to appear on behalf of a party to a dispute.

In this handy little volume Eric Lee reproduces the FETAC, MAC and Arbitration Rules under the Economics Contracts Law, together with the Provisional Regulations on Lawyers and the Provisional Law on Civil Procedure. Some texts are his own translation; some are reproduced from other sources. These texts are prefaced by a 38-page introduction outlining the continued relevance of the Confucian tradition and changes in Chinese attitudes towards law, approaches to the settlement of commercial disputes, and a précis of the regulations and procedures governing international and domestic arbitration.

The author gives no commentary on those few awards issued by the Chinese arbitration tribunals, though he does offer informed observations on Chinese preferences regarding the