Attorney Jin Bingyi's Commentary

In fact, the U.S. lawyer designated by Wahaha serves as an arbitrator, not as Wahaha's agent. In accordance with international arbitration practices, the parties typically may agree in the arbitration clause that the arbitral tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators. Each party appoints one arbitrator from the list of arbitrators of the arbitration commission (who are generally professionals such as senior lawyers and experts in various fields), and the third arbitrator is jointly appointed by both parties or determined by the arbitration commission.

Although the fees of an arbitrator appointed by one party shall be borne by the appointing party, the arbitrator remains neutral in the arbitration and does not represent the interests of the party that appointed them.

Based on the author's past experience in participating in international arbitrations, arbitration commissions have strict disciplinary rules prohibiting any private communication between arbitrators and parties, and it is even less possible for an arbitrator to represent the appointing party in对抗对方当事人. Therefore, if that U.S. lawyer were to see this news, he would surely break out in a cold sweat. Furthermore, according to the author's experience, international arbitrations often take several years, and it is highly likely that the arbitral tribunal will not render an award in this case until after 2010.