Jin Bingyi's Lawyer Commentary

Actually, the US lawyer designated by Wahaha serves as an arbitrator, not as Wahaha's agent. According to international arbitration practices, both parties can generally agree in the arbitration clause to form an arbitral tribunal composed of three arbitrators. Each party designates one person from the list of arbitrators of the arbitration commission (generally senior lawyers, experts in various fields and other professionals), and the third arbitrator is jointly designated by both parties or determined by the arbitration commission.

Although the fees of the arbitrator designated by one party need to be borne by the designating party, the arbitrator is neutral in the arbitration and does not represent the interests of the party that designated him as an arbitrator.

Based on the author's experience participating in international arbitrations, the arbitration commission has strict disciplinary regulations prohibiting arbitrators from any private communication with parties, let alone representing the party that designated him to confront the opposing party. Therefore, if that US lawyer sees this news, he will surely break out in a cold sweat. In addition, based on the author's experience, international arbitration often takes several years, and the arbitral tribunal may not be able to make a decision on this case until after 2010.