As a jurisdiction of civil law system, the civil judicial system in China is different from those of common law countries, and China civil judicial hierarchy system can be summarized as “2+1+1”, namely:
“2”: Generally, civil cases shall be finally adjudicated after concluding of two instances of court proceedings, which are usually known as…
From February 3, 2021, China’s online court platform, a mini-program on WeChat, has launched a case filing service for foreign parties (for purpose of this post, including Chinese citizens residing overseas) to cross-border litigation in civil and commercial matters, a response to the current ongoing Covid-19 pandemic causing failure or delay …
When disputes occur, foreigners and oversea Chinese may be involved in civil and commercial litigations in China, either as plaintiffs or defendants. As a cross-border legal service provider at Shanghai Landing Law Offices, we have been helping foreign clients in their legal battles in China courts for more than a decade.
Compared with domestic cases, foreign…
Just recently a piece of news has spiraled quickly among netizens in China. It is an interesting story between two most well-known Chinese companies: Tencent and Lao Gan Ma.
I. What Happened
On June 29, a court decision showed that Tencent had applied to…
We should have written this post earlier.
On this blog, in old posts, we mentioned the shareholder liability in regard of their subscribed capital contribution:
Can company’s creditors go after shareholders who have not paid up subscribed capital?
Registered capital, the greater, the better? Not really!
As you know from posts on this blog, we deal a lot with inheritance issues on behalf of foreign clients with respect to estate properties in China. Very often, such inheritance of properties (typically real estate properties) will end up in a co-ownership of the properties by two or more heirs or beneficiaries. Well, if the co-owners are on good terms, everything…
Real life can be complicated beyond imagination.
After working in cross-border estate planning for more than a decade, I just came to know a case brought to me by an inquirer which is intriguing to me as it should be the first case of its kind my all my past legal practice. By the way, I just gave some oral advice back then.
I. Facts of the Case
Here are the facts: a foreigner…
Limited liability has been recognized as one of the fundamental features of companies and corporations throughout world, which was heralded as great an invention as the steam engine.
Under Chinese laws and in Chinese judicial practice, it has proven that it is difficult to get the court to pierce the corporate veil, a metaphor referring to the limited liability…
Not just a few but quite a number of foreign clients who bought goods from China complained about their Chinese sellers defrauding or otherwise defaulting under their purchase contracts, and when they tried to go after the Chinese exporters for damages or compensation, they found themselves unsure which entity or company they should sue.
The Tricks and Traps…
This is a new sign of integration of Hong Kong into its mainland. The two sides now mutually agreed to recognize and enforce the family court judgments delivered by the courts in the other side in full aspects, meaning that clients who have obtained a divorce judgments (child custody or other family issues decisions) from Hong Kong court (vice versa) can now request…
This is not a new topic on this blog. However, it prompted me to look further into the issue when I realized that in judicial practice, courts are actually very much divided on this issue.
Following the company registered capital reforms initiated back at the end of 2013, the market has witnessed many newly setup companies that have a huge amount of registered …
Documents originating outside of China shall be first notarized and then legalized at China consulate in that country before they can be used in China official proceedings such as court lawsuit, notary office or other governmental agencies.
In practice, I generally prepare those documents in bilingual version in both English and Chinese so it is easier for…
A while ago, I wrote another post disclosing fraudulent international trade practice some Chinese exporters engage themselves in: Again, be aware and vigilant about who you are trading with in China.
So when you are deceived and caught in such fraud and you don’t want to just walk away bruised, you may have to think of a way to recover your loss. Here in …
It is not the first time I write about this topic for foreign companies trading with Chinese seller. You can check on this post “Check out who you are trading with in China“.
An American client recently complained to me about his problem with his Chinese vendor. The client has been purchasing aluminum sheets from the Chinese seller for years and they…
笔者近期处理的一起离婚后财产分割案件引发了对无权处分合同效力以及善意取得制度的思考。相关法律问题着实让人为难，难怪法学家将“无权处分”称为“法学上的精灵”。
案件情况如下：夫妻婚后购买一套住宅，但仅登记在妻子名下（老公是外国人，没有购买资格）。不久，双方感情破裂，经法院判决离婚。但在离婚诉讼中，因为特殊原因，双方同意夫妻财产离婚之后再行分割。但妻子为隐匿财产，离婚后立即将房产转让给其一个朋友（但无法查证），价格远低于市场价格（可能会有百分三十左右的差价），且同时把一辆高级轿车亦转让给这位朋友。房屋的转让已经完成。
从诉讼策略考虑，会有两种选择。其一，根据婚姻法第47条，证明女方隐匿财产，要求法院使其少分财产，以平衡双方利益；其二，中止本次诉讼，转而另行起诉追回房屋。相对而言，如果第二策略能够实现，对当事人来说是最好的选择，毕竟第一种策略下，即便顺利多分，能否实现利益还得打个问号。…
More than often, when you deal with a Chinese company, supplier, business partner or contractors, you are dealing with a China limited liability company incorporated under China Company Law. As a universal principle, the limited liability doctrine offers the “veil” protection for the shareholders or members of the those limited liability…
最高人民法院关于适用《中华人民共和国物权法》若干问题的解释（一）
（2015年12月10日最高人民法院审判委员会第1670次会议通过，自2016年3月1日起施行）
为正确审理物权纠纷案件，根据《中华人民共和国物权法》的相关规定，结合民事审判实践，制定本解释。
第一条 因不动产物权的归属，以及作为不动产物权登记基础的买卖、赠与、抵押等产生争议，当事人提起民事诉讼的，应当依法受理。当事人已经在行政诉讼中申请一并解决上述民事争议，且人民法院一并审理的除外。
【上海房产律师解读：本条的主要看点在于，在制度上确立，当事人在行政诉讼中（主要是以登记机构为被告的行政诉讼），当事人可以一并就民事争议要求法庭予以解决，避免了认为割裂造成的司法资源浪费。…
I have been helping foreign owners in selling more than a dozen of their Chinese properties in the past years. In practice, there is no big roadblock on the way including the final step of converting and repatriating their sale proceeds denominated in Chinese currency, namely, Renminbi, or RMB.
However, sale of China properties owned by foreign companies…
下述文字是助理律师张雅璐的法律研究结果。对股东行使知情权要求查询公司财务状况的诉讼的要点问题进行归纳和总结。
所引述的案例如下：
Case1：李淑君、吴湘、孙杰、王国兴诉江苏佳德置业发展有限公司股东知情权纠纷案
Case2：上海联华新新超市有限责任公司与上海新吴淞商贸总公司股东知情权纠纷上诉案
Case3: 徐尚忠诉北京永盛联机电产品有限公司股东知情权纠纷案
Case4：重庆会山置业发展有限公司与汪建国股东查阅权纠纷上诉案
Case5：张旭与上海望春花服装贸易有限公司股东知情权纠纷案
Case6：源铭咖啡（上海）有限公司与张凯莉（CHANGKHAILEEKELLY）股东知情权纠纷上诉案
Case7：上海中友实业有限公司与上海金蕾丝花边绣品有限公司股东知情权纠纷上诉案…
A typical contract dispute is that one party unilaterally rescinds a valid contract by serving a termination notice to the other party citing some or no reasons. This drastic action often causes turmoil and substantial loss to the other party.
What can the non-terminating party do when caught in such a situation under Chinese contract laws? The answer is not…
