Article 16 The term "arbitration agreement" shall mean either an arbitral clause in a contract or any arbitration
agreement in other writing form concluded before or after the dispute arising.
An arbitration agreement shall contain the following particulars:
(1) the express intention of arbitration;
(2) matters that may be submitted to arbitration; and
(3) the Arbitration Commission appointed.
Article 17 An arbitration agreement shall be null and void if it comes under any of the following circumstances:
(1) the agreed matters for arbitration are beyond the arbitral scope provided for by law;
(2) one or more parties of the arbitration agreement are persons having no capacity for civil conduct or persons with
limited capacity for civil conduct; or
(3) the arbitration agreement was concluded as a result of coercion.
Article 18 Where they have not or not expressly appointed the matters for arbitration or the Arbitration Commission in
their arbitration agreement, the parties may make an additional agreement; failing the additional agreement, the

arbitration agreement shall be null and void.
Article 19 An arbitration agreement shall be independent of contracts, and no modification, rescission, termination or
invalidation of a contract shall affect the effect of the arbitration agreement.
The Arbitration Tribunal shall be entitled to confirm the effect of a contract.
Article 20 Where any party challenges the effect of an arbitration agreement, he may either submit it to the Arbitration
Commission for a decision or bring it before the people's court for an order. If one party submits it to the Arbitration
Commission for a decision while the other one brings it before the people's court for an order, the people's court shall
rule an order.
The party who intends to challenge the effect of the arbitration agreement shall put forward his challenge before the
first hearing of the Arbitration Tribunal.