On 22 September 2024, China Justice Observer released the 2024 version of the List of China’s Cases on Recognition of Foreign Judgments. To date, we have collected 109 cases involving China and 26 foreign States and regions. (Note: Foreign divorce judgments are excluded in the Case List.)
The key features of the updated list are:
- The List comprises 26 concise reports for each jurisdiction, together with a chart of bilateral judicial assistance treaties which China has concluded with 39 States, of which 35 bilateral treaties include judgment enforcement clauses.
- A total of eleven newly added cases involve one treaty jurisdiction - Russia (one case), and six non-treaty jurisdictions, namely, Australia (two cases), Canada (three cases), Japan (one case), Malaysia (one case), Singapore (two cases), and Thailand (one case).
- Please note that in Guangxi Nanning China Travel Service Co., Ltd. v. Orient Thai Airlines Co., Ltd. (2023) Gui 71 Xie Wai Ren No. 1, a local Chinese court in Nanning, Guangxi Province, ruled to recognize and enforce a Thai monetary judgment in 2024. Apart from being the first case of enforcing Thai monetary judgments in China, it is also the first publicly reported case confirming a reciprocal relationship based on "presumptive reciprocity", a concept which was outlined in the Nanning Statement signed by the judiciary of China and the ASEAN countries in 2017. This decision is also interesting because it is unlikely, if not impossible, to have foreign judgments recognized and enforced in Thailand.
- Another noteworthy case is In re Shanghai International Corporation (2021) Hu 03 Xie Wai Ren No.1, where the Shanghai Third Intermediate People’s Court ruled to recognize the Tokyo District Court’s decision to commence civil rehabilitation proceedings and the order appointing the supervisor. This marks not only the first time that China has recognized a Japanese court's decision in a bankruptcy procedure, but also the first time that China has recognized a Japanese court judgment, signaling a potential shift in the traditionally strained mutual recognition landscape between China and Japan.
- Other newly added cases, be it foreign judgments to be enforced in China or Chinese judgments to be enforced in foreign jurisdictions, provide a valuable comparative perspective on key issues in the eyes of courts from different jurisdictions, such as the enforceability of Chinese civil settlement statements (also known as “civil mediation judgments”, cf. different views in Wei v. Li 2019 BCCA 114 (Canada) and Shi Wen Yue v Shi Minjiu & Anor [2016] SGHC 137 (Singapore) ), finality (Canada), proof of foreign judgments (Malaysia), due process in absentia judgments (Singapore, Russia ), procedural fairness/natural justice issues arising from alternative service of process (cf. Zhou v Jing [2023] NSWSC 214 (Australia), Yin v Wu [2023] VSCA 130 (Australia) ).
- Each case has been reviewed and more details, such as the grounds, the case numbers, and causes of action, have been added.
- Case analyses have been aggregated under the country tags since 2022, so it is now easier to track down relevant cases, together with their information and analyses, in each country/region report. For example, under the tag ‘US-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’, one can find relevant case analyses involving mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments between the US and China.
We would like to thank the following persons/institutions that shared thoughts and valuable information with us:
- Dr. Béligh Elbalti, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University, Japan
- Dr. ZHANG Wenliang (张文亮), Associate Professor, School of Law, Renmin University of China
- Dr. SU Xiaoling(苏晓凌), Lawyer at Beijing DHH Law Firm
- Mr. WANG Chengjie (王成杰), Lawyer at Allbright Law Offices (Shanghai)
- Wonbanglaw (万邦法律）
- Ms. Renee M Wong, Attorney at Goldberger and Dubin PC (New York)
- Dr. WANG Yahan (王雅菡), Associate Professor, Henan University School of Law
- Mr. Angus Ni, Litigation attorney at AFN Law PLLC (Seattle)
- Asian Business Law Institute
- Ms. Dawei Gongsun, Partner at DGW Kramer LLP (New York)
As always, we endeavor to collect all Chinese court decisions involving the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments (“REFJ”), and foreign counterparts concerning the recognition and enforcement of Chinese judgments. The Case List is made available for our readers to build reasonable expectations on REFJ in China.
The Case List is continually updated with new reports. Case information, comments, and suggestions are most welcome. Please feel free to contact Ms. Meng YU via e-mail at meng.yu@chinajusticeobserver.com.
For an overview of disposition of cases on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments between China and treaty-jurisdictions (Italy, France, Turkey, Russia, etc.) and those between China and non-treaty-jurisdictions (USA, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, etc.), please see the tables below.
For information about bilateral judicial assistance treaties that China and 39 States have concluded, please see the table below.
(For the List of China's Bilateral Treaties on Judicial Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters (Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Included), please click here. Authoritative texts in Chinese and other languages are now available.）
For the detailed country(region) reports about cases on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, please see the following charts.
Case information, comments, and suggestions are most welcome. Please feel free to contact Ms. Meng YU via e-mail at meng.yu@chinajusticeobserver.com.
1. America (USA) – China
To date, there are 22 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and the United States of America.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘US-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
2. Australia - China
To date, there are 9 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Australia.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Australia-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
3. Belarus- China
To date, there are 2 court decisions involving the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments (“REFJ”) between China and Belarus.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Belarus-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
4. British Virgin Islands (BVI) - China
To date, there is one court decision involving the REFJ between China and the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
5. Canada - China
To date, there are 5 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Canada.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Canada-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
For the case info, please see the list above.
6. Chad - China
To date, there is one court decision involving the REFJ between China and Chad.
7. France - China
To date, there are 6 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and France.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘France-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
8. Germany - China
To date, there are 6 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Germany.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Germany-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
9. Israel - China
To date, there are 2 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Israel.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Israel-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
10. Italy - China
To date, there are 5 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Italy.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Italy-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
11. Japan - China
To date, there are 7 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Japan.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Japan-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
12. Kenya- China
To date, there is one court decision involving the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments (“REFJ”) between China and Kenya.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Kenya-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
13. Malaysia - China
To date, there are 2 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Malaysia.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag 'Malaysia-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement'.
14. Myanmar- China
To date, there is one court decision involving the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments (“REFJ”) between China and Myanmar.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Myanmar-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
15. Netherlands - China
To date, there is one court decision involving the REFJ between China and the Netherlands.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Netherlands-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
16. New Zealand- China
To date, there are 3 court decisions involving the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments (“REFJ”) between China and New Zealand.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘New Zealand-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
17. Poland - China
To date, there are 2 court decisions involving the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments (“REFJ”) between China and Poland.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Poland-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
18. Russia - China
To date, there are 2 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Russia.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Russia-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
19. Singapore - China
To date, there are 8 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Singapore.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Singapore-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
20. South Korea - China
To date, there are 11 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and South Korea. More specifically:
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘South Korea-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
21. Thailand - China
To date, there is 1 court decision involving the REFJ between China and Thailand.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Thailand-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
22. Turkey - China
To date, there is one court decision involving the REFJ between China and Turkey.
23. UAE - China
To date, there are three court decisions involving the REFJ between China and the UAE.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘UAE-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
24. UK - China
To date, there are 4 court decisions involving the REFJ between China and the UK.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘UK-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
25. Uzbekistan - China
To date, there are two court decisions involving the REFJ between China and Uzbekistan.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Uzbekistan-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
26. Vietnam - China
To date, there is one court decision involving the REFJ between China and Vietnam.
For more information, see case analyses under the tag ‘Vietnam-China Judgments Recognition and Enforcement’.
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If you would like to discuss with us about the post, or share your views and suggestions, please contact Ms. Meng Yu (meng.yu@chinajusticeobserver.com). If you would like to acquire the full text of these decisions, please also contact Ms. Meng Yu.
If you need legal services for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards in China, please contact Mr. Guodong Du (guodong.du@chinajusticeobserver.com ). Du and his team of experienced attorneys will be able to assist you.
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Contributors: Guodong Du 杜国栋 , Meng Yu 余萌
