Chronology of Practice: Chinese Practice in Private International Law in 2018

Abstract

Abstract This paper contains materials reflecting the practice of Chinese practice in private international law in 2018. First, the statistics of the foreign-related civil or commercial cases decided by Chinese courts is extracted from the Report on the Work of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) in 2018. Second, the SPC judicial interpretation concerning the enforcement of arbitral awards is translated, and the interpretation reflects a pro-arbitration tendency in Chinese courts. Third, six cases, on the validity of a choice of court clause, the conflict of laws issues regarding personal injury on the high seas, visitation rights and uncontested divorces, as well as the recognition of foreign judgments, are noted. Fourth, the paper introduces a case embodying the “one-stop” international commercial dispute resolution mechanism in Chinese courts. Finally, the paper also covers six representative decisions regarding the parties’ status, the presumption of the parties’ intention as to choice of law, and the validity of arbitration agreements.