Jurisdiction of Court Over Foreign-Related Cases in China

China supreme court released a new regulation concerning the hierarchical jurisdiction over foreign-related cases, by which almost all of grass-root courts are allowed to hear foreign-related cases of first instance, while intermediate courts are responsible to hear cases of first instance which is involved in a comparably high value and /or more complex.

On Nov.14th, 2022, the China supreme court issued a new regulation concerning the hierachical jurisdiction over foreign related disputes which shall be take effect from Jan. 1st, 2023. Let’s take a look at it:

The purpose of the new regulation aims to enhance the quality and effeciency of hearing the foreign related cases.
The first provision says that the foreign related civil and commerical cases of first instance shall be heared by grass-root courts.

The second provision says that the intermediate court should have jurisdiction over foreign-related cases if they meet any of the following: 1. the amount in dispute is huge; 2. the case is complicated or there are many individuals of one party;

3. there is an imortant and significant impact in its jurisdictional area.
   To be specific about the standard that the amount in dispute is huge, it furtherly provides that: the intermediate courts of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guandong, Chongqing, shall have jurisdiction over cases with the amount in dispute higher than 40,000,000RMB; The intermediate courts of Hebei, Shanxi, Neimenggu, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan,Guizhou, Yunnan, Xizang, Shanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and the intermediate courts of army division, shall have jurisdiction power over cases with amount in dispute higher than 20,000,000RMB.The third provision says that the higher court have jurisdiction over cases with the amount in dispute more than 5 billion.

   The fourth provision says that the higher court, after approval by supreme court, could appoint grass-root courts or intermediate courts to centralize the jurisdiction within its areas.

   The fifth provision says that the foreign-related civil and commercial cases should be heared by specialized tribunnal or collegial panel.

   The sixth provision says that the foreign-related admiralty cases, foreign-related IP cases, foreign-related environmental damage cases and foreign-related litigation of environmental civil cases of public interest, is not applicable to this regulation.