ARBITRATION AWARD RENDERED ON 24 APRIL 2003 IN CIETAC CASE G20010379

 

Subject Matters:

(1) Language of the arbitration.

(2) Time-bar and warranty period under contract for international sale of goods. Article 158 of the Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China.

(3) Expert witness in international arbitration under the CIETAC Rules.

 

Findings:

(1) Under the CIETAC Rules, unless the parties have agreed on another language, Chinese is the language of the arbitration.

(2) Claimants’ claims for damages due to design defect in a ship unloader is time-barred because the accident occurred after the expiration of the warranty period as agreed in the contract. A Letter of Commitment issued by the Respondent relating to the capacity of the ship unloader did not have the effect to extend the warranty period except for matters in relation to the unloading capacity. The Tribunal found no “surprisingly serious problems” with the design, which might have disentitled the Respondent to rely on the expiration of the warranty period.

(3) While conflicting expert opinions have been submitted by Claimants and Respondent, the Tribunal refused Claimants’ request that the Tribunal appoint a third expert, because the Tribunal found that it would draw the necessary conclusions from the conflicting expert opinions submitted by the parties.

 

Parties:

Claimants: A, Buyer (China), B and C, End-users (China)

Respondent: X, Seller (UK)

 

Place of arbitration: Beijing, China