Supreme People's Court, Opinions on the Provision of Judicial Services and Assurance by People's Courts for the Development of the Lingang New Area in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone

Promulgated: December 13, 2019

Main contents: The Opinions propose to explore in the Lingang New Area the service by persons from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as people's assessors and their exercising of mediation functions; explore permitting foreign parties to use English when participating in litigation activities; accurately apply PRC and foreign laws, international treaties and international practice, and respect internationally accepted trade rules; encourage the appointment of expert members to participate in diverse mechanisms for the resolution of international commercial disputes; fully exploit the use of experts in the process of ascertaining extraterritorial laws; promote the establishment of a mechanism for bringing in internationally well-known foreign third-party forensic analysis institutions; respect the free will of the parties within a wider scope; and support the provision by lawyers of high quality legal services for the innovative development of the New Area (Article 5).

The Opinions also support the carrying out of arbitration of civil and commercial disputes arising in fields such as international commerce, maritime affairs and investment in the New Area by registered foreign arbitration institutions. The Opinions support and ensure, in accordance with the law, the application for and enforcement of interim measures, such as property preservation, evidence preservation and act preservation, before and during arbitration by Chinese and foreign parties and the lawful conduct of judicial reviews of arbitration awards, and support the forging of Shanghai into an Asia-Pacific arbitration center. They also support the stipulation by enterprises registered in the New Area of the arbitration of relevant disputes at a specific location, in accordance with specific arbitration rules and by specific persons.  Means and methods of judicially supporting mechanisms for the resolution of disputes in the international investment field will be explored (Article 6).