Developing Chinese Private International Law for Foreign Judgments: A Substitute or a Preliminary Step to Ratify the Two HCCH Conventions?

On September 1, 2023, China amended its Civil Procedure Law, making a historical shift from de facto to de jure reciprocity in judgment recognition and enforcement (JRE) in civil or commercial cases, and provided detailed rules for JRE under reciprocity.[1] This paper exhaustively surveys all published Chinese cases on JRE and analyzes these ground-breaking developments in an international context. It compares Chinese law for JRE with the Convention of July 2, 2019, on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters and the Convention of June 30, 2005, on Choice of Court Agreements. It critically assesses whether Chinese law for JRE would be a substitute for both Conventions in China or serve as a preliminary step to their eventual ratification, and what the remaining challenges are. It also offers useful insights for foreign courts and business actors to understand and plan for JRE in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]