China is the second largest economy and the largest export country in the world. In this article, we help foreign personnel and company understand how to handle civil, commercial disputes in China.

I. What is jurisdiction of foreign-related civil litigation? It refers to the scope of foreign-related civil cases filed by the court of a country.

2. How does China court determine jurisdiction of foreign-related civil proceedings? Generally it is based on the following principles:

a. Principle of physical connection between the action and the seat of the court. ChinaCourt has jurisdiction over any action which has some practical connection with the seat of our courts.

b. Respect the principle of the party concerned. Irrespective of whether a party is a Chinese citizen, a legal person or any other organization, it may choose the jurisdiction of a court with a physical connection to the dispute, provided that it does not violate hierarchical and exclusive jurisdiction.

c. Upholding the principle of state sovereignty. Judicial jurisdiction is an important part of national sovereignty, and the exercise of exclusive jurisdiction over foreign-related civil cases fully reflects the principle of safeguarding national sovereignty.

3. Types of foreign-related civil jurisdiction

3.1 The parties to a dispute over a foreign-related contract or property rights and interests may, by written agreement, choose the court in the place that is actually related to the dispute for jurisdiction. Those who choose the jurisdiction of the China court shall not violate the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law on Hierarchical Jurisdiction and exclusive jurisdiction.

3.2 The parties to a contract concerning foreign affairs or a dispute over property rights and interests concerning foreign affairs shall, by means of a written agreement, choose the jurisdiction of the court at the place where the dispute actually relates. Those who choose the jurisdiction of the China court shall not violate the provisions of the civil procedure on hierarchical jurisdiction and exclusive jurisdiction.

3.33 If the defendant in a civil action involving foreign elements does not raise any objection to the jurisdiction of China Court and pleads in response to the action, he shall be deemed to have recognized the China Court as a court having jurisdiction.

3.4 Exclusive jurisdiction a lawsuit brought on a dispute arising from the performance of a Chinese foreign equity joint venture contract, a Chinese foreign contractual joint venture contract or a Chinese foreign cooperative exploration and development contract in the territory of China shall be under the jurisdiction of the China court.

4. Property

4.1 During the period of foreign-related civil litigation, if the party has a domicile in China, the general provisions of the Civil Procedure Law on the period shall apply. If the party does not live in China, the special provisions in the foreign-related litigation procedure of the Civil Procedure Law shall apply. The specific contents are as follows:

a. Where the defendant has no domicile in the territory of the state, the China Court shall serve a copy of the indictment on the defendant and notify the defendant to file a reply within 30 days of receiving the copy of the indictment. If the defendant applies for an extension of time, the China Court shall decide whether to grant it or not.

b. If a party who has no domicile in the territory of China refuses to accept the judgment or ruling of China Court, he shall have the right to file an appeal within 30 days from the date of service of the judgment or ruling. Upon receipt of a copy of the appeal petition, the appellee shall submit a reply within 30 days. If a party concerned is unable to file an appeal or submit a reply within the statutory period, and applies for an extension of time, the China Court shall decide whether to grant the extension.

c. The time limit for the China Court to hear foreign-related civil cases shall not be limited by the time limit for the ordinary procedure of first instance and the procedure of second instance of the civil procedure.

5. Property Preservation in a foreign-related civil action means that in a foreign-related civil action, China Court shall, in respect of any action or other cause that may be attributable to one of the parties, in cases where the judgment is rendered unenforceable or difficult to enforce, measures such as seizing the property of the respondent shall be taken upon the application of the other party.

A party may apply for the preservation of foreign property either after the commencement of the proceedings or before the proceedings, but China Court shall not preserve it ex officio.

If a party applies for pre-litigation preservation, the applicant shall file an action within 30 days after the ruling of China Court grants preservation. If the party fails to file an action within the time limit, China Court shall terminate the property preservation.

Preservation of foreign property shall be decided by China Court on the basis of the application of the parties concerned. Once a ruling on preservation is made, it shall be served on the applicant and the respondent in a timely manner and shall take immediate effect for implementation. If the respondent provides security, China Court shall lift the security measures; if the application is erroneous, the applicant shall compensate the respondent for the losses incurred in property preservation.

If the property that China Court decides to preserve needs supervision, it shall notify the relevant units to be responsible for supervision, and the expenses shall be borne by the respondent.

6. In foreign-related civil litigation, if the parties live in China, the general provisions of China's Civil Procedure Law shall apply to the service methods of litigation documents and legal documents; If the party has no domicile in China, it shall be served in accordance with the special provisions of foreign-related civil procedure.

6.1 Service under the terms of the treaty means service under the terms of an international treaty concluded or jointly participated by the state in which the addressee is located and China.

6.2 Through diplomatic service, that is, China Court shall hand over the litigation documents to the diplomatic organ of our country, which shall then hand over to the diplomatic organ of the country where the addressee is located in our country, it is then transmitted to the diplomatic authorities of that state, which in turn transmit the instrument of action to the court having jurisdiction in that state, which in turn transmits it to the addressee.

6.3 It shall be served by Chinese embassies and consulates in foreign countries. For a Chinese party who lives in a foreign country, China's judicial organ may directly entrust China's embassy or consulate in the country where the party is located to serve litigation documents on his behalf.

6.4 Service to the person entrusted by the addressee.

6.5 Service to the representative office of the person to be served in the country.

6.5 Postal Service. Where the law of the state in which the addressee is located permits, the service may be effected by post.

6.7 Announcement service. In the event that none of the above methods of service can be adopted, the service may be made by public announcement. The period of service by public announcement shall be six months, and the service shall be deemed to have lasted six months from the date of the public announcement.

Mutual legal assistance:

7. The concept of mutual legal assistance

Judicial assistance means that the courts of different countries, according to the international treaties concluded or joined by their own countries, or according to the principle of reciprocity, assist each other in judicial affairs and act as the agent of certain litigation.

Mutual legal assistance can be divided into: General Mutual legal assistance, that is, serving documents and collecting evidence; special mutual legal assistance, that is, the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions and arbitral awards.

Judicial assistance is the need of international communication, it not only helps to promote the smooth progress of foreign-related civil litigation activities, but also helps the smooth progress of court decisions, so that the substantive rights and obligations between the parties can be realized, and the exchanges and cooperation between countries have been consolidated and developed.

General mutual legal assistance according to the provisions of the Civil Procedure, general mutual legal assistance mainly refers to China Court and foreign courts can request each other, service documents, investigation and collection of evidence and other litigation acts.

There are two approaches to mutual legal assistance between our People's Court and foreign courts:

7.1 In accordance with the means stipulated in the international treaties concluded or acceded to by China;

7.2 It is conducted through diplomatic channels without treaty relations. In addition, foreign embassies and consulates in China may serve documents and investigate and collect evidence on their citizens, but may not violate Chinese laws or take compulsory measures.

The matters entrusted by foreign courts to China Courts for assistance shall not be detrimental to the sovereignty, security or public interests of the People's Republic of China. Where a foreign court requests judicial assistance from a China Court, it shall submit the request and the attached documents, which shall be accompanied by a Chinese translation or other language version as provided for in an international treaty.

China provides judicial assistance in accordance with the procedures prescribed by Chinese law. Where a foreign court requests the adoption of a special method, it may do so in accordance with the special method of its request, provided that the special method adopted in the request shall not violate Chinese law.

7.3 The recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions which need to be recognized and enforced in China may be proposed through two channels:

a. The application is made directly by the party concerned to the Intermediate people's court which has jurisdiction in our country.

b. The application is made by a foreign court to the China Court in accordance with the Treaty or reciprocal relationship between China and a foreign country. The decision of the foreign court requesting recognition and enforcement must be a definitive decision with legal effect, and the decision does need to be executed within the territory of China. This is the basic condition for the recognition and enforcement of the decisions of foreign courts.

Upon receipt of the application, China Court shall examine it in accordance with the international treaties to which it is a party or in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.

If the foreign court's decision meets the legal conditions for enforcement, and its contents do not violate the basic principles of the Law of the People's Republic of China and the sovereign security of our country, China Court may rule to recognize its validity, China Court issues an enforcement order, which shall be executed in accordance with the enforcement procedures and measures prescribed by the civil procedure.

8. Where the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award requires the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award by a China Court, the parties shall apply directly to the Intermediate people's Court of the place of residence, or property of the person subjected to enforcement. China Court shall be governed by the international treaties to which we are a party or by the principle of reciprocity.

8.1 In accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, to which my country acceded on 2 December 1986, the convention applies only to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in the territory of another contracting state. Therefore, if the arbitration award of foreign arbitration organization needs to be recognized and enforced by China Court, it should be handled according to the New York convention if the country where it is located is a member of the New York Convention.

If it is not a member of the New York Convention but has a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty with our country, the provisions of the treaty apply; if it is not a member of the New York Convention, and there is no mutual legal assistance treaty relations with our country, the principle of reciprocity.

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