Supreme Court conference on the application of foreign-related commercial cases

China’s top court on Thursday issued a judicial interpretation to guide judges in applying international treaties and conventions in foreign-related commercial cases, a move lauded as bolstering both rule of law and the country’s high-level economic opening-up.

The document, effective Jan 1, “is an important measure for China to accelerate the construction of rule of law in the matter of foreign affairs, and to serve the country’s high-level opening-up” In recent years, the people’s courts have adhered to the principles of international law, fulfilled treaty obligations in good faith, accurately understood and applied international treaties and practices, and tried a number of typical cases in foreign-related commercial and maritime trials. They have explained China’s concept, propositions, and successful practices of foreign-related rule of law, making important contributions to serving high-level opening-up to the outside world.

These cases released this time involve international sales of goods contracts, air passenger transport contracts, air cargo transport contracts, ship pollution, general average, ship collision, application for recognition and enforcement of foreign court civil and commercial judgments, application for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards, and other fields. They respectively apply to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for the International Carriage of Air Multiple international treaties, such as the Montreal Convention, the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention), the Convention on the Abolition of Certification Requirements for Foreign Official Documents (Convention on the Abolition of Foreign Official Documents), and international conventions such as the York Antwerp Rules.