Chapter I
Charter
Part I
General Provisions
Article 1
Nature
Macao Consumer Mediation and Arbitration Centre (hereinafter referred to as the "Centre") is a body of the Consumer Council with an aim to facilitate and conduct institutional mediation and arbitration.
Article 2
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Centre are as follows:
1) To administer mediation and arbitration for consumer disputes;
2) To promote and publicize alternative ways to resolve consumer disputes by organising and sponsoring publicity, research and development activities related to consumer mediation and arbitration.
Article 3
Headquarters
The Centre functions within the Headquarters of the Consumer Council.
Article 4
Support
The Consumer Council shall be responsible for providing administrative, technical and financial support for the operation of the Centre.
Article 5
Parts
The Centre is composed of three parts:
1) The Directive Council;
2) The Executive Council;
3) The Secretariat.
Part II
Directive Council
Article 6
Composition
1. The Directive Council shall be composed of no more than seven members, with the president of the Executive Council under the Consumer Council serving as the president.
2. Other members of the Directive Council shall be individuals with adequate experience.
3. Members of the Directive Council, except for the president, shall be designated by dispatch from the supervisory entity of the Consumer Council.
4. Members of the Directive Council shall serve a term of two years that may be renewed.
Article 7
Powers
The Directive Council shall be responsible for establishing the strategic objectives of the Centre.
Article 8
Meetings
1. The president shall preside over the meetings of the Directive Council. Ordinary meeting shall be held at least twice a year and special meeting shall be convened by the president or initiated by at least one third of the members.
2. Members of the Directive Council shall be entitled to charge attendance fees in accordance with Article 215 of the General Rules for the Personnel of the Public Administration of Macao approved by Law Decree No. 87/89/M promulgated on 21 December.
Part III
Executive Council
Article 9
Composition
1. The Executive Council shall be composed of:
1) A member of the Executive Council of the Consumer Council, who serves as the president;
2) A representative of the Consumer Council;
3) An individual with adequate experience.
2. Members of the Executive Council shall be designated by dispatch from the supervisory entity of the Consumer Council.
3. Members of the Executive Council shall serve a term of two years that may be renewed.
4. Members of the Executive Council shall be entitled to receive a monthly remuneration equivalent to 50 per cent of 100 salary points on the Table of Public Administration Salaries.
Article 10
Powers
The Executive Council shall have the following powers:
1) To lead the operation of the Centre;
2) To implement the resolutions of the Directive Council;
3) To approve the list of mediators and arbitrators of the Centre and any alterations thereto;
4) To approve the regulations on mediation and arbitration and any alterations thereto;
5) To develop the list of consultants for the Centre;
6) To approve and organise research and publicity activities to promote consumer mediation and arbitration;
7) To deliberate special training activities for mediators and arbitrators to be held by the Centre;
8) To approve the list of “Adherents” of the Centre.
Article 11
Meetings
The Executive Council shall hold an ordinary meeting at least once every two weeks and may hold a special meeting at the request of any of its members.
Part IV
The Secretariat
Article 12
Composition
1. The Secretariat shall be composed of a Secretary-General and technical and administrative staff to meet the number of persons required to execute the functions of the Secretariat.
2. Members of the Secretariat are staff members of the Consumer Council whose autonomy required to execute their duties shall not be affected.
3. The Secretary-General shall be entitled to receive a monthly remuneration equivalent to 50 per cent of 100 salary points on the Table of Public Administration Salaries.
Article 13
Powers
1. The Secretary-General shall have the following powers:
1) To designate mediators and arbitrators;
2) To administer the proceedings organised within the jurisdiction of the Centre;
3) To organise the subject content and information required to promote and enhance the credibility of the Centre and its activities in events which the Centre participates and on related digital platforms.
2. The Secretary-General shall be assisted by other members of the Secretariat. Under the leadership of the Secretary-General, such members may exercise the powers conferred on them under subparagraphs 2) and 3) of the preceding paragraph.
Article 14
Impediments
1. Members of the Secretariat shall not interfere in any dispute resolution proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Centre, whether in the capacity of the arbitrator, representative or assistant of the parties.
2. In case that a member of the Secretariat is in a situation that would give rise to questions in respect of his/her independence or impartiality, he/she shall inform the Executive Council and the parties of the situation and shall not exercise his/her powers in relation to the proceedings before taking any action in connection with the dispute resolution proceedings.
Article 15
Duty of Confidentiality
Members of the Secretariat shall be subject to confidentiality obligation to all mediation and arbitration administered by the Centre.
Part V
Mediators and Arbitrators
Article 16
Lists
1. The list of mediators shall be composed of fully competent natural persons, with adequate experience and capacity to mediate disputes between parties in an impartial and independent manner.
2. The list of arbitrators shall be composed of fully competent natural persons, with adequate experience and capacity to judge consumer disputes that may be submitted to the arbitral tribunal organised within the jurisdiction of the Centre without partiality.
3. The lists of mediators and arbitrators shall be reviewed on a yearly basis.
Chapter II
Regulations
Part I
General Provisions
Article 17
Jurisdiction
1. The Centre promotes the resolution of disputes arising from consumer contracts concluded within the territory of Macao SAR.
2. The Centre does not accept and promote the resolution of disputes with indications of a criminal nature, or disputes arising from the exclusion of applicable contracts by laws protecting consumer rights and interests.
Article 18
Arbitration Agreement
1. Submission of a dispute to an arbitral tribunal for award depends on the agreement of the parties, unless otherwise provided by law.
2. An arbitration agreement shall be made in writing in accordance with the provisions of Arbitration Act No. 19/2019.
3. A trader may make an offer of arbitration agreement to a consumer through a general declaration of accession to the Centre.
Article 19
General Declaration of Accession
1. The trader or the representative organisation with sufficient authority may, by prior written and general declaration, participate in the arbitration system for regulating consumer disputes pursuant to the provisions of the Regulations.
2. Through the declaration in the preceding paragraph, the trader agrees to submit all consumer disputes for arbitration as parties.
3. In case of general accession, the Adherent using the general terms of a contract must include an arbitration agreement in the contract with the consumer, the Adherent shall recognize the jurisdiction of the Centre if disputes arise from such contract.
4. The accession system is announced by the Centre, for example by displaying a list of the relevant Adherents on the Consumer Council's website and issuing an approved identification emblem for the Adherents to display prominently in the business premises.
5. The right to use the emblem referred to in the preceding paragraph terminates when the trader rescinds its general declaration of accession or does not voluntarily perform a determined arbitral award.
Part II
Application for Submission of Dispute to the Centre
Article 20
Application
1. An application is a means by which the applicant states the facts which, in his/her opinion, constitute a consumer dispute. It shall specify the identity of the applicant and the respondent, describe the facts regarding the consumption matter in dispute and specify the amount as appropriate as possible.
2. The application submitted shall specify that the object of the application is mediation or arbitration.
3. When submitting the application, the applicant shall specify the quickest way to contact him/her and if he/she accepts notices by electronic mail.
4. The application shall be written preferably on special printed format, which shall be provided by the Centre in printed form or in digital form on the Consumer Council’s website.
5. All supporting documents available shall be attached to the application.
Part III
Mediation
Article 21
Commencement of Proceedings
1. If the application is verified to be within the jurisdiction of the Centre after a brief analysis of the facts stated in the application, the Centre will notify the respondent to respond within ten days whether to participate in the mediation or not.
2. If the application specifies that the object of the application is mediation and arbitration, the respondent shall be asked whether he/she is to participate in the arbitration in the notice referred to in the preceding paragraph.
3. The notice shall describe the operation of mediation and the rules of the proceedings.
Article 22
Mediator
1. The mediator shall be designated by the Centre.
2. Without interference to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the parties may select a mediator from the list of mediators for fee-bearing mediation proceedings.
Article 23
Mediation Session
1. If the parties express their intention to participate in mediation in written form, the Centre will summon both parties to attend the mediation session on a specified date.
2. The mediator who presides over the mediation session shall make efforts to bring the parties and their positions together in an impartial and independent manner in order to assist the parties in resolving the dispute.
3. A mediation session shall be held in person or by video conferencing with the approval of the Secretary-General at the Centre Headquarters or other locations designated by the Centre.
Article 24
Mediation Agreement
The arbitration agreement of mutual consent shall be concluded in writing and signed by the parties and the mediator.
Part IV
Arbitration
Article 25
Commencement of Arbitration Proceedings
1. If the application is verified to be within the jurisdiction of the Centre after a brief analysis of the facts stated in the application, the Centre will notify the respondent so that the respondent may participate in the arbitration within ten days if he/she has not done so, except under circumstance where the respondent has been inquired in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 21.
2. After the arbitration proceedings commence, the parties may reach an agreement on the dispute during the arbitration proceedings and may request the arbitrator to confirm the agreement for the effectiveness of the arbitral award.
Article 26
Request and Statement of Defence
1. The applicant shall submit a written request attached with any documents which he/she considers relevant or state the documents or other evidence to be submitted in the proceeding instrument, which may be used as a request for the use of an application to submit the dispute to the Centre.
2. The Centre shall notify the respondent of the request and the attached documents referred to in the preceding paragraph to facilitate the respondent's submission of statement of defence within ten days.
3. The respondent shall attach to the statement of defence any documents he/she considers relevant or state the documents or other evidence to be submitted in the proceeding instrument.
Article 27
Arbitral Tribunal
1. The arbitral tribunal shall be composed of a sole arbitrator. The arbitrator of the relevant proceeding shall be designated by the Centre in a sequential manner from the list developed for this purpose.
2. Subject to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the parties may select an arbitrator from the list of arbitrators in fee-bearing arbitration proceedings.
3. The arbitrator may be assisted by members of the Secretariat who must be impartial and independent to the parties.
Article 28
Arrangements for Arbitration Proceedings
1. After the submission of the request and the statement of defence, the arbitrator shall take the proceeding steps appropriate to the characteristics of the case. In particular, decisions shall be made on the following matters:
1) Whether to hold a hearing for evidence investigation or for oral statements, or to give an award only on the basis of documents and other evidential information to complete the arbitration proceedings.
2) Whether it is necessary to define the scope of evidentiary matters to distinguish them from those which are deemed proved;
3) The means of evidence to be adopted, including statements of parties, witnesses, documentary evidence and forensic evidence;
4) The number of witnesses to be presented, provided that each party shall not have more than three witnesses.
2. For the decisions provided in the preceding paragraph, the arbitrator shall fix a date for the submission of any information, the holding of a hearing or any other measures for submitting proof.
3. The decisions may be amended during the arbitration proceedings when necessary.
Article 29
Hearing
1. A hearing shall be held in person or by video conferencing with the approval of the arbitral tribunal at the Centre Headquarters or other locations designated by the Centre, and the parties shall be summoned at least ten days in advance.
2. The arbitrator shall preside over the hearing, give the parties the floor, order measures to be taken, question witnesses or permit direct questioning by the parties.
3. The parties shall be present at the hearing together with their witnesses unless where the arbitrator shall award otherwise upon a request submitted before the required time by the interested party with grounds for consideration.
Article 30
Arbitral Award
1. In the event of evidence investigation and oral statement, the arbitrator shall give an award immediately after the completion of the relevant measures or render one no later than ten days, provided that the complexity of the dispute prevents the arbitrator from doing so.
2. The arbitrator shall give an award under existing laws, except where the parties have permitted the arbitrator to give an award on the equitable principle.
3. The arbitral award has the same mandatory and enforceable power as a judicial court order.
Article 31
Notice and Storage
1. The parties shall be notified of the award by registered mail no later than five days after the award has been given or, if the parties are present at the time of the award, by a record in the file.
2. An original copy of the arbitral award shall be stored at the Centre.
Chapter III
Final Regulations
Article 32
Fees
1. Arbitration and mediation proceedings involving an amount not exceeding the statutory value of appeal interest of the Court of First Instance shall be provided to the parties free of charge. Fees may be charged for other proceedings and the relevant fee schedule shall be determined and published by the Centre.
2. The expenses incurred by the parties in connection with other requirements, especially those incurred by the measures of engaging their own lawyers or conducting expert appraisals, shall be borne by the parties, without interference to the application of the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Article 33
Duration of Arbitration Proceeding
The duration of an arbitration proceeding shall not exceed 90 days but may be extended up to two times for the same period unless the dispute is particularly complex.
Article 34
Notices
Notices must be given by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt, except under circumstance where either party agrees with the Centre that notices may be given by other means, particularly in electronic format.
Article 35
Applicability
The direct or indirect use of Macao Consumer Arbitration Centre in an arbitration agreement shall be regarded as to the permitted use of Macao Consumer Mediation and Arbitration Centre.
Article 36
Supplemental law
For matters not covered by the Regulations, the provisions of Arbitration Act No. 19/2019 shall apply.
Article 37
Applicable Regulations
Chapter II of the Regulations shall apply to dispute resolution proceedings that commence after the Regulations enter into force, except where the parties agree that the Regulations of Macao Consumer Arbitration Centre in effect at the time of the conclusion of the arbitration agreement shall apply.