Letou出版社

•Editorial•
The 2013 APRAG Conference Successfully Convened in Beijing
•Speeches of Opening Session•
A New Era of International Arbitration，the Judiciary，and the Rule of Law 
in the AsiaPacific Regin
Chairman WANs Opening Speech at the 2013 APRAG Conference
International Arbitration in AsiaPacific Region in the Next Ten Years
Opportunities and Challenges
Gala Dinner Remarks
•Articles•
“Emergency!Is There an Arbitrator in the Building?!”—The Practical 
Utility of Emergency Arbitrator Provisions
SCC Emergency Arbitrator Proceedings
Selecting the Arbitrator
Worldwide Use of Mediation
The Steady Growth of International Mediation
Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Hong Kong and Recent 
Developments
Enforcing Arbitral Awards in Taiwan
The Chinese Investment Treaty Programme，Jurisdictional Challenges 
and Investment Planning—The Example of Chinese Outbound Investments 
in the Natural Resources Sector
Maritime Arbitration in Australia
The Trends of International Arbitration
How Do Cultural Differences Influence International Commercial 
Arbitration

Worldwide Use of Mediation

Tang Houzhi

（I）Introduction
Mediation is being used throughout the world because the existing litigation system and arbitration system are declining.
Nowadays，the court procedure is complex and stereotypical.The process of trial and judgment is too lengthy.Submission of evidence takes too long time and needs too much money.Lawyers’debate is excessively abused.Justice is difficult to access.Litigation becomes costly.The backlog of court cases is heavy in most of the countries in the world.“Explosion of Litigation”may take place at any moment.To a certain extent，the operation of the courts is running against“Natural Justice”and“Due Process”.
Where the courts are failing，so is arbitration.The arbitration process has become just as complex as litigation.The timespan of arbitration is becoming progressively longer than litigation and the cost of doing arbitration is much more expensive than litigation.
Some years ago，a man indignantly paraded up and down outside the British Royal Court in London everyday，carrying two boards on his shoulders，back and front，which said：
“ARBITRATE，DON’T LITIGATE!”
But one day，he disappeared.It was said that it was not due to natural cause，but because he had come to realize that really there was no longer any difference between litigation and arbitration.
（II）Declining Facts
Litigation
In India，each judge has in average 2147 pending cases in hand.The backlog of cases in Indian courts comes up to 31，280，000 cases which can not be cleared up before the year of 2330 if the courts work at the current pace.
In China（PRC），more than 200，000 cases were pending in the courts in 2012.
In Hong Kong SAR，there were thousands of pending cases in the courts in 2012.
In other AsiaPacific courts，the backlog of cases is enormous all the time.
In Nigeria，there are about 50 judges in Lagos，and each judge has 300 or more pending cases.The average lifespan of a case can be up to 10 to 15 years.
In South Africa，115，584 cases were filed in 1996-1998 and 128，000 cases in 2004-2005，only 62% of the cases were settled in those years.
In Italy，the time limit for trialing and judging a case in the lower courts is 3 years.If in the court of appeal，it takes about 10 year altogether to close the case.Since 1954，the number of the accumulated cases has been 3 times of the number of the cases newly filed every year.
In UK，73% of the disputants complain that the British judicial system is obsolete，too stiff and procrastinating.At least 161 weeks are needed for ending a case in the courts in London and 195 weeks in the courts outside London.
In Germany，the cases handled by 4771 judges in the lower courts are examined only by 1416 judges in the courts of appeal，delayed inevitably.
In Belgium，“Explosion of Litigation”is threatening to take place.
In the U.S.A.and other American countries，the backlog of cases is heavier than those in Europe.
Arbitration
ICC arbitration court，the worldrecognized representative of international arbitration organizations，generally takes 2 years to end a case，however，it is also not uncommon to take 3 or 4 years to close a case.The ICC arbitration fee is extremely high.The claimant has to pay in advance about 300，000，600，000 and 900，000 USD（including fees advanced for arbitrators，lawyers and other actual expenses）for a case claiming 1，000，000，5，000，000 and 10，000，000 USD respectively.These figures are only the figures of advanced fees and the final figures could be 20% more.
Other major international arbitration organizations are more or less the same as the ICC so far as the time and expenses are concerned.
Hong Kong arbitration is also very expensive，even more expensive than arbitration in Europe.