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　　所谓仲裁协议，是指双方当事人之间达成的将他们之间已经发生或将来可能发生的实体权利义务争议，提交仲裁机构仲裁解决的书面意思表示，是授予仲裁机构对争议案件的管辖权，并排除法院司法管辖权的法律依据。 那么，仲裁委员会取的对案件的管辖权之前提便是双方当事人签订的合法有效的选定该仲裁委员会进行仲裁的仲裁协议，仲裁协议的合法有效亦是整个仲裁程序得以存在的基础。故，仲裁协议效力的确认便是产生和巩固该基础至关重要的环节。

　　确认仲裁协议效力，首先要明确仲裁协议的性质及其与所依附的民事法律关系的关系。

一、仲裁协议的性质

　　正如概念所述，仲裁协议首先是一种书面意思表示，是一种合同。仲裁协议按其外在表现形式，在实践中有两种：即以合同条款形式表现的仲裁条款和以独立形式表现的仲裁协议书。由于出于手续的经济、方便，以及在纠纷发生后在实体争议尚不能协商解决的情况下，很少有就程序问题达成协议等原因，双方当事人更乐于以合同中仲裁条款的形式达成仲裁协议，而不采取独立签订仲裁协议的形式。因此，现在仲裁委员会受理的合同纠纷中，大多数仲裁协议均体现为合同条款的形式──仲裁条款。所以本文也主要围绕仲裁条款的确认来叙述。

　　仲裁条款表面上是合同中的一项条款，但其实质上是与其所在的合同即有紧密联系又独立于其外的另一项合同。这一点，是我们在某些特殊情况下判断仲裁条款是否有效的基本出发点。如果说，合同本身是明确双方当事人权利义务关系的实体性合同，那仲裁条款则是明确争议解决方式的程序性合同。这实体性合同与程序性合同是互相联系互相独立的，可以说是某种特殊的主合同与从合同的关系，之所以说是特殊的，是因为在某些方面其与作为从合同的违约金条款与主合同以及与作为从合同的担保条款与主合同的关系有所不同。

　　(一)仲裁协议的独立性

　　我国《仲裁法》第五条规定：“仲裁协议独立存在，合同的变更、解除、终止或者无效，不影响仲裁协议的效力”。该法条的规定，充分体现了仲裁协议的独立性，不因主合同的某些变动而影响从合同的效力，即主合同是否有效、是否已经履行完毕、是否有所变更均不影响仲裁协议的效力，当事人仍可依仲裁条款或单独的仲裁协议提请仲裁。

　　仲裁协议的独立性在世界上已经得到国际公法、国内法的普遍承认，实际上已成为商事仲裁的稳固的原则。联合国《国际商事仲裁示范法》与《联合国国际贸易法委员会仲裁规则》均规定，构成合同的一部分的仲裁条款应视为独立于合同无效的决定，不应在法律上导致仲裁协议的无效。

　　仲裁协议之所以具有独立性，是因为作为从合同的仲裁协议与主合同针对的是不同的法律关系。主合同关系到当事人在商事交易方面的义务，是双方当事人以追求互补利益为动机，在平等自愿基础上对双方当事人彼此间的权利义务关系所作出的一种约定，其更多地表现为双方当事人权利义务的对应关系，即一方当事人基于合同享有的权利正是对方当事人应当履行的义务，因而，这些条款作为衡量因违约而产生的请求权以及请求大小的标准，是要受合同效力的直接影响，即合同的无效当然导致合同这些条款的无效。而仲裁协议则与此不同。仲裁协议作为从合同只关系到通过仲裁方式解决因商事交易的义务而产生的纠纷，其不为对方当事人的利益而强加给一方当事人任何义务，它体现双方当事人的意思一致，因而，仲裁条款具有相对独立性，即合同的无效并不直接导致仲裁条款效力的丧失。

　　仲裁协议的独立性表明在当事人在选择解决他们之间纠纷的方式上拥有一定的意思自治，并且这种意思自治不仅受到法律的保护和尊重，而且当事人自己也要受到自己选择的制约。仲裁协议的独立性保证了仲裁协议在不同场合下的稳定性和可预见性，为一些在难以判别仲裁协议是否有效的情况下仲裁协议效力的确认提供了确认的依据和基础。

　　(二)仲裁协议与主合同的关联性

　　仲裁协议最主要的表现方式是仲裁条款，仲裁条款作为构成合同的组成部分，虽具有其独立性，但同时其与主合同的其他条款也有一定的依赖关系，具有一定的相互关联性。这种关联性主要表现为以下两个方面：1、仲裁条款效力的实现通常应以合同其他条款在履行过程中出现争议为前提条件的，如果没有发生争议，则仲裁条款的效力就无从实现;2、仲裁条款约定的提交仲裁机构仲裁的仲裁事项应是在履行主合同的条款过程中的发生的争议，如购销合同中的仲裁条款约定购销合同履行中的货物质量纠纷可提交仲裁，此时就不能就购销合同履行中的货款支付方面的纠纷提交仲裁。

　　二、确认仲裁协议实体依据

　　明确了仲裁协议的性质之后，我们来讨论一下确认仲裁协议仲裁协议是否有效的判断依据。

　　(一)普通情况下仲裁协议的确认

　　根据我国《仲裁法》的规定及有关实践处理中的原则，仲裁协议的合法有效必须符合下列条件：

　　1、签订仲裁协议的当事人具有缔约能力，即无民事行为能力和限制民事行为能力人签订的仲裁协议无效。这里的无民事行为能力人和限制民事行为能力人应理解为包括自然人和法人及其他组织。这样规定，是由于仲裁协议涉及当事人诉权之处理，是重大权益处分之法律行为，所以只能由完全民事行为能力人为之;

　　2、当事人选择仲裁意思表示的真实。意思表示真实，要求仲裁协议必须是当事人自愿达成，故一方以欺诈、胁迫手段或乘人之危使对方在违背真实意思的情况下签订的仲裁协议，不具备法律效力。实践中遇到的意思表示不真实，主要分为故意和无意两种情况。故意则非常明确仲裁协议无效，而无意则要区别对待。随着实践中格式合同的大量出现，作为合同主要内容之一的争议解决方式也大量以格式条款的形式出现，这就导致了当事人往往在无意之中就签署了以格式条款形式出现的仲裁条款。在这种情况下，如当事人提出其无意中签署的以格式条款形式出现的仲裁条款不是其真实意思的表示，并且这种行为是由于重大误解所致的话，应当允许当事人按法定程序为变更或撤销。当然，在这种情况，不管案件是否已经进入仲裁程序，都以向人民法院请求变更或者撤销而不以向仲裁协议所约定的仲裁机构请求变更或撤销为好。但如当事人未为变更或撤销，则应视为其有效。

　　3、仲裁协议不违反法律和社会公共利益。签订仲裁协议作为一种法律行为，必须符合法律规定和不得损害社会公共利益，才能产生法律效力。这里所指的法律，应理解为法律上的禁止性规定。

　　4、仲裁协议约定的争议具有可仲裁性。仲裁协议约定提交仲裁机构仲裁的争议是法律规定可以仲裁解决的争议。根据我国《仲裁法》的规定，婚姻、收养、监护、扶养继承纠纷和依法应当由行政机关处理的行政争议不能仲裁，以及劳动争议和农业集体经济组织内部的农业承包合同争议不能以根据《仲裁法》而成立的仲裁委员会仲裁。应该指出，农业集体经济组织内部的农业承包合同争议不仅包括农业承包合同争议，而且也包括农村中的乡镇企业的承包合同争议。

　　5、仲裁协议应有明确的仲裁事项和选定的仲裁委员会。

　　6、仲裁协议必须具备法定形式。即不管是仲裁条款还是在纠纷发生前或纠纷发生后达成的请求仲裁的协议必须是以书面的形式订立的。书面形式还包括明确含有以仲裁方式解决纠纷的信函、传真、电子邮件等等可以由书面形式表达出来的形式。

　　7、当事人以仲裁方式解决纠纷的意思表示不得由非当事人转达。仲裁协议是一个特殊的协议，其签署必须是双方当事人自己，而不能由非当事人代替当事人来签署。但笔者认为，这一点的适用对于代理人是否能代理被代理人签署仲裁协议的问题来说，应区别对待：如代理人在签署之时，已经得到被代理人的特别授权，则应承认代理人签署之仲裁协议的效力;但如被代理人仅仅授权代理人签署合同，而未授权代理人签署仲裁协议，则不管事后被代理人对此仲裁协议是否进行追认，此仲裁协议应为无效，因为以仲裁方式解决纠纷的意思表示不得由未经授权的非当事人转达。

　　(二)特殊情况下仲裁协议的确认

　　对于一般情况下，仲裁协议效力的确认还是比较容易的，只有具备上述七点要求，则基本上该仲裁协议属合法有效之类。但在某些特殊情况下，仲裁协议的效力的实现除了要满足上述七点要求之外，其某些方面还是有所变化的。

　　1、无效合同的仲裁协议效力的确认

　　在主合同无效的情况下，仲裁协议并不直接被导致效力的丧失，但其在效力的表现方面却还是有所变化的。

　　当主合同为合法有效，且主合同在履行过程中出现了仲裁条款所约定事项的争议时，对该争议的解决只能依据仲裁条款提请约定的仲裁机构仲裁解决，故而，对于合法有效的合同，其仲裁条款的效力体现为对发生争议的约定事项的解决方式的确定。

　　而合同无效则不同。合同一旦被确认为无效合同，则意味着合同的自始无效，也就是说，合同中的条款对双方当事人权利义务的约定是自始不发生任何法律效力的，因此，也就不存在合同条款所确定的权利义务在履行过程中可能出现争议的问题，没有可能出现争议的问题，仲裁协议中约定提交仲裁的争议事项也就不会出现，或者虽然出现，但由于合同的无效导致这些争议的出现还是被否定，故仲裁协议的效力似乎无法得到实现。众所周知，合同无效作为一种法律现象，是需要提请一定的机构来认定。根据我国仲裁法第十九条第二款之规定，仲裁庭有权确认合同的效力

The so-called arbitration agreement refers to the written expression of intention reached between the two parties to submit the substantive rights and obligations disputes that have already occurred or may occur in the future to the arbitration institution for arbitration resolution. It is the legal basis for granting the arbitration institution jurisdiction over the disputed case and excluding the judicial jurisdiction of the court. So, the arbitration commission's jurisdiction over the case was previously referred to as a legitimate and valid arbitration agreement signed by both parties to select the arbitration commission for arbitration. The legality and validity of the arbitration agreement is also the basis for the existence of the entire arbitration procedure. Therefore, the confirmation of the effectiveness of arbitration agreements is a crucial step in generating and consolidating this foundation.

To confirm the effectiveness of an arbitration agreement, the first step is to clarify the nature of the arbitration agreement and its relationship with the civil legal relationship it is attached to.

1、 Nature of arbitration agreement

As the concept suggests, an arbitration agreement is first and foremost a written expression of intention, which is a form of contract. There are two types of arbitration agreements in practice based on their external manifestations: arbitration clauses expressed in the form of contract clauses and arbitration agreements expressed in independent forms. Due to the economic and convenient procedures, as well as the rarity of reaching an agreement on procedural issues in cases where substantive disputes cannot be resolved through negotiation after a dispute arises, both parties prefer to reach an arbitration agreement in the form of arbitration clauses in the contract rather than signing an independent arbitration agreement. Therefore, in the current contract disputes accepted by arbitration commissions, most arbitration agreements are reflected in the form of contract clauses - arbitration clauses. So this article mainly focuses on the confirmation of arbitration clauses.

On the surface, an arbitration clause is a clause in a contract, but in essence, it is another contract that is closely related to and independent of the contract it belongs to. This is the basic starting point for us to determine the validity of arbitration clauses in certain special circumstances. If the contract itself is a substantive contract that clarifies the rights and obligations of both parties, then the arbitration clause is a procedural contract that clarifies the dispute resolution method. This substantive contract and procedural contract are interrelated and independent, and can be said to have a special relationship between the main contract and the subordinate contract. The reason why it is said to be special is that in some aspects, it differs from the relationship between the penalty clause as a subordinate contract and the main contract, as well as the relationship between the guarantee clause as a subordinate contract and the main contract.

（1） Independence of arbitration agreement

Article 5 of China's Arbitration Law stipulates: "The arbitration agreement exists independently, and the modification, termination, or invalidity of the contract shall not affect the validity of the arbitration agreement.". The provisions of this law fully reflect the independence of the arbitration agreement, and do not affect the effectiveness of the subordinate contract due to certain changes in the main contract. That is, whether the main contract is valid, has been fully performed, or has been modified does not affect the effectiveness of the arbitration agreement. The parties can still apply for arbitration according to the arbitration clause or a separate arbitration agreement.

The independence of arbitration agreements has been widely recognized in international public law and domestic law worldwide, and has actually become a solid principle in commercial arbitration. The United Nations Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law both stipulate that arbitration clauses forming part of a contract should be considered independent of the invalidity decision of the contract and should not legally render the arbitration agreement invalid.

The reason why arbitration agreements have independence is because the arbitration agreement as a subordinate contract and the main contract target different legal relationships. The main contract is related to the obligations of the parties in commercial transactions. It is a type of agreement made by both parties on the basis of equality and voluntariness, driven by the pursuit of complementary interests, regarding the rights and obligations between the two parties. It is more manifested as the corresponding relationship between the rights and obligations of both parties, that is, the rights enjoyed by one party based on the contract are exactly the obligations that the other party should fulfill. Therefore, These clauses, as a standard for measuring the right and size of claims arising from breach of contract, are directly affected by the effectiveness of the contract, that is, the invalidity of the contract naturally leads to the invalidity of these clauses. The arbitration agreement is different from this. The arbitration agreement, as a contract that only relates to resolving disputes arising from commercial transactions through arbitration, does not impose any obligations on one party for the benefit of the other party. It reflects the consensus of the parties and therefore, the arbitration clause has relative independence, that is, the invalidity of the contract does not directly lead to the loss of the effectiveness of the arbitration clause.

The independence of arbitration agreements indicates that the parties have a certain degree of autonomy in choosing the way to resolve their disputes, and this autonomy is not only protected and respected by the law, but also subject to the constraints of their own choices. The independence of arbitration agreements ensures the stability and predictability of arbitration agreements in different situations, providing a basis and basis for confirming the effectiveness of arbitration agreements in situations where it is difficult to determine their validity.

（2） The correlation between arbitration agreement and main contract

The main manifestation of an arbitration agreement is the arbitration clause. As an integral part of the contract, although the arbitration clause has its independence, it also has a certain degree of interdependence with other clauses of the main contract. This correlation is mainly manifested in the following two aspects: 1. The realization of the effectiveness of arbitration clauses should usually be based on the premise that disputes arise in the performance of other clauses in the contract. If there is no dispute, the effectiveness of arbitration clauses cannot be realized; 2. The arbitration clause stipulates that the arbitration matters to be submitted to an arbitration institution for arbitration should be disputes that arise during the performance of the main contract. If the arbitration clause in the purchase and sales contract stipulates that disputes over the quality of goods during the performance of the purchase and sales contract can be submitted for arbitration, then disputes regarding payment of goods during the performance of the purchase and sales contract cannot be submitted for arbitration.

2、 Confirm the substantive basis of the arbitration agreement

After clarifying the nature of the arbitration agreement, let's discuss the basis for determining the validity of the arbitration agreement.

（1） Confirmation of arbitration agreement under normal circumstances

According to the provisions of China's Arbitration Law and relevant principles in practical handling, the legality and validity of an arbitration agreement must meet the following conditions:

1. The parties signing the arbitration agreement have the ability to contract, that is, the arbitration agreement signed by a person with no or limited civil capacity is invalid. The terms "persons without civil capacity" and "persons with limited civil capacity" here should be understood as including natural persons, legal persons, and other organizations. This provision is due to the fact that the arbitration agreement involves the handling of the litigation rights of the parties and is a legal act of significant disposal of rights and interests, so it can only be made by individuals with full civil capacity;

2. The authenticity of the parties' choice of arbitration intention. The expression of intention is true, and it is required that the arbitration agreement must be reached voluntarily by the parties. Therefore, an arbitration agreement signed by one party through fraud, coercion, or taking advantage of the other party's situation to violate the true intention does not have legal effect. The expression of meaning encountered in practice is not true, mainly divided into intentional and unintentional situations. Intentionally, it is very clear that the arbitration agreement is invalid, while unintentionally, it should be treated differently. With the widespread emergence of standard contracts in practice, dispute resolution methods, which are one of the main contents of contracts, have also emerged in the form of standard clauses. This has led to parties often unintentionally signing arbitration clauses in the form of standard clauses. In this case, if the parties state that the arbitration clause signed unintentionally in the form of a standard clause is not an expression of their true intention, and such behavior is caused by a major misunderstanding, the parties should be allowed to modify or revoke it in accordance with legal procedures. Of course, in this situation, regardless of whether the case has entered arbitration proceedings or not, it is better to request a change or revocation from the people's court rather than from the arbitration institution agreed upon in the arbitration agreement. But if the parties have not changed or revoked it, it shall be deemed valid.

3. The arbitration agreement does not violate the law and public interest. Signing an arbitration agreement, as a legal act, must comply with legal provisions and must not harm public interests in order to have legal effect. The law referred to here should be understood as a prohibitive provision in the law.

4. The disputes stipulated in the arbitration agreement are arbitrable. The arbitration agreement stipulates that disputes submitted to arbitration institutions for arbitration are disputes that can be resolved through arbitration according to legal provisions. According to the provisions of China's Arbitration Law, disputes over marriage, adoption, guardianship, support and inheritance, as well as administrative disputes that should be handled by administrative organs according to law, cannot be arbitrated, as labor disputes and agricultural contract disputes within agricultural collective economic organizations cannot be arbitrated by arbitration committees established in accordance with the Arbitration Law. It should be pointed out that disputes over agricultural contracting contracts within agricultural collective economic organizations not only include disputes over agricultural contracting contracts, but also disputes over contracting contracts between rural township enterprises.

5. The arbitration agreement should clearly specify the arbitration matters and the selected arbitration commission.

6. The arbitration agreement must have legal form. Both the arbitration clause and the agreement to request arbitration reached before or after the dispute must be in writing. The written form also includes letters, faxes, emails, and other forms that can be expressed in written form that clearly contain the resolution of disputes through arbitration.

7. The intention of the parties to resolve disputes through arbitration shall not be conveyed by non parties. Arbitration agreement is a special agreement that must be signed by both parties themselves, and cannot be signed by non parties on behalf of the parties. But the author believes that the application of this point should be treated differently when it comes to whether an agent can represent the principal to sign an arbitration agreement: if the agent has already received special authorization from the principal at the time of signing, the effectiveness of the arbitration agreement signed by the agent should be recognized; But if the principal only authorizes the agent to sign the contract and does not authorize the agent to sign the arbitration agreement, it shall not affect whether the principal will recognize the arbitration agreement afterwards. This arbitration agreement shall be invalid, because the intention to resolve disputes through arbitration cannot be conveyed by unauthorized non parties.

（2） Confirmation of arbitration agreement in special circumstances

In general, it is relatively easy to confirm the effectiveness of an arbitration agreement. Only when the above seven requirements are met, can the arbitration agreement be considered legal and valid. However, in certain special circumstances, the effectiveness of arbitration agreements may vary in some aspects in addition to meeting the seven requirements mentioned above.

1. Confirmation of the Validity of Arbitration Agreements for Invalid Contracts

In the case of invalidity of the main contract, the arbitration agreement does not directly result in the loss of effectiveness, but its performance in terms of effectiveness still changes.

When the main contract is legal and valid, and there is a dispute over the matters stipulated in the arbitration clause during the performance of the main contract, the resolution of the dispute can only be submitted to the agreed arbitration institution for arbitration based on the arbitration clause. Therefore, for a legal and valid contract, the effectiveness of the arbitration clause is reflected in the determination of the resolution method for the agreed matters in dispute.

The invalidity of the contract is different. Once a contract is confirmed to be invalid, it means that the contract is invalid from the beginning. That is to say, the provisions in the contract regarding the rights and obligations of both parties have no legal effect from the beginning. Therefore, there is no possibility of disputes arising during the performance of the rights and obligations determined by the contract terms. There is no possibility of disputes arising, and the arbitration agreement stipulates that the disputed matters to be submitted for arbitration will not arise, Or although it may have occurred, the invalidity of the contract led to the emergence of these disputes being denied, so the effectiveness of the arbitration agreement seems to be unable to be realized. As is well known, the invalidity of a contract, as a legal phenomenon, requires the application of certain institutions to determine it. According to Article 19 (2) of the Arbitration Law of China, the arbitral tribunal has the right to confirm the validity of the contract