The identification and application of extraterritorial law is an important basis for ensuring that the parties are free to choose the applicable law rights in accordance with the law. The identification of extraterritorial law refers to the search and review of extraterritorial law in accordance with the conflict rules guidelines while the court tries the foreign-related commercial cases, which include Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. This notice is enacted in accordance with the General Rules of Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China, Application of Law for Foreign-related Civil Relations of the People's Republic of China and relevant judicial interpretations of the Supreme Peoples' court in light of the special situations of this court and for the purpose of identifying or applying the laws of a country or region other than China, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Taiwan region. Please read the following content carefully.
42.1. Several Ways for You to Know about the Identification of Extraterritorial Law
42.1.1. Provided by the parties;
42.1.2. Provided by Chinese and foreign legal experts;
42.1.3. Provided by professional legal identification institutions;
42.1.4.Provided by Chinese embassies and consulates in that country;
42.1.5.Provided by the embassy of that country in China;
42.1.6. China’s access to the provisions of the judicial assistance treaty;
42.1.7. Other effective identification ways of extraterritorial law such as public publications, internet inquiries, effective legal documents and so on.
42.2. If you choose to apply the extraterritorial law, you shall provide the court with the extraterritorial law in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of the Application of Law for Foreign-related Civil Relations of the People's Republic of China. If you are unable to do so, you may entrust a Chinese or foreign legal expert or a professional legal identification institution to assist in providing the extraterritorial law.
42.3. The duration of the extraterritorial law you provide is generally no more than three months. If there is a valid reason not to do so within the time limit, you may apply for an extension, but extension approvals shall be determined by the court in light of the actual circumstances of the case.
42.4. If you are commissioned to investigate the extraterritorial law during the hearing of the case, you should submit the matters entrusted to the court for examination. If necessary, the court may organize the hearing.
42.5. If you entrust a legal expert or a professional legal identification institution to identify the relevant extraterritorial laws, you shall determine the identification matters, duration, form of the report and the cost. The entrusted Chinese and foreign legal experts shall be well versed in international private law, familiar with the law or the personnel engaged in the study of foreign law, or other professional knowledge.
42.6.The identification contents of the extraterritorial law, except for extraterritorial statutes or precedents, may be accompanied by explanations of the extraterritorial law works, information and other contents of the extraterritorial law.
42.7. While providing the extraterritorial law, Chinese and foreign legal experts may, in combination with the specific content of the trial, give an expert opinion on how the extraterritorial law are understood and applied and when making an opinion, the reasons and basis shall be given. Chinese and foreign legal experts shall, when issuing legal investigation reports and expert opinions, also submit statements indicating that they do not exist in relation to the case and the parties concerned, and shall provide an explanation or evidence of their own identity and qualifications.
42.8.The identification report and the legal opinions shall be in Chinese. If the party has any objection to the contents of Chinese translation, he can jointly commission a translation agencies service. If the parties fail to reach an agreement on the choice of the translation agencies, the court shall determine the choice of the translation.
42.9. If the content of the extraterritorial law you provide is unclear, inadequate or contradictory, there is a supplemental obligation. If the other party has any objection, the supplement may also be provided. If necessary, the court may entrust Chinese or foreign legal experts or a professional legal identification institution to supplement and identify them, and the parties may also apply to the court for further investigation.
42.10.Any party who provides extraterritorial law may, if he fails to provide it without reasonable reasons within the reasonable period referred to by the court, be deemed to be unable to identify the extraterritorial law.
42.11. If the court considers it necessary to identify the extraterritorial law, the parties shall prepay the expenses. If the party concerned refuses to pay it without justified reasons, the court will end the identification procedures of the extraterritorial law.
42.12.If it is not possible to identify the extraterritorial law or the extraterritorial law does not specify it, the Law of the People’s Republic of China shall be applied.
42.13.For the extraterritorial law you provide, the court will listen to the views of the other party. When listening to the opinions, you shall explain the ways and means of identifying the extraterritorial law, the specific content and the understanding and application of it. The entrusted expects shall also introduce their own identity and expert qualifications.
42.14.The court will decide whether to require the Chinese and foreign legal experts to appear in court or through a remote video trial, explain the legal identification report or provide their expert opinion and accept the inquiry from the parties and the court in accordance with the needs of the trail .
42.15.The court will examine whether the extraterritorial law is true, objective and effective, whether it is relevant and applicable to the dispute settlement in this case and whether it is comprehensive or not. 42.16.If the party has no objection to the content of the extraterritorial law, the court may confirm the extraterritorial law after review. If the party has objections, the court may handle the matter in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of these guidelines, or confirm the content of the extraterritorial law after review.
