On 10 July 2024, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the first batch of typical cases on the ascertainment and application of foreign laws, aiming to enhance the judiciary’s understanding of the “Judicial Interpretation on the Ascertainment of Foreign Law” issued in 2023.
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This batch includes five typical cases covering issues such as company capital contributions, sales contracts, guarantee contracts, multimodal transportation contracts, and engineering supervision contracts. The laws ascertained include those of the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Tajikistan, and Hong Kong SAR.
For instance, Case No.1, “Zhao v. Jiang et al. (2006) Hu Gao Min Si (Shang) Zhong Zi No. 19,” involved a foreign-related dispute over company capital contribution, with the issue being whether Zhao held the status of a shareholder and director in Company M.
This dispute was adjudicated based on the law of where company M is registered (Delaware, USA), including relevant case law. During the trial, the parties presented expert legal opinions from U.S. law firms, providing relevant Delaware laws. The Chinese court examined the authenticity of the submitted excerpts from the Delaware General Corporation Law, Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code, and relevant case law through online verification and cross-examination.
Ultimately, the Chinese court found, based on Delaware General Corporation Law and relevant case law, that Zhao had in fact become a shareholder and director of Company M.
Photo by Danyu Wang on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
