State Immunity from Measures of Constraints for the Property of Foreign Central Banks: The Chinese Perspective

Abstract

As China's first law concerning state immunity, the Law on Judicial Immunity from Measures of Constraint for the Property of Foreign Central Banks of 2005 grants special protection to the property of foreign central banks in the People's Republic of China (PRC), including Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Macau SAR. Although the Law itself does not reflect the restrictive immunity doc- trine, the PRC's signature of the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Thesis Property in 2005 might signal a message that the PRC has switched from its traditional absolute immunity stance to accept relative immunity in international law. The Law also reiterates the traditional stance to the principle of reciprocity in state immunity.