ISSUING AUTHORITY:

Shanghai High People's Court

DATE OF ISSUANCE:

September 13, 2022

On September 13, 2022, Shanghai High People's Court held a press conference and issued the White Paper on Proof of Foreign Law in Foreign-related Commercial Trials in Shanghai (2015-2021) ( the “White Paper”).

The White Paper outlines a series of viewpoints, including that “causes of action vary and the proof of foreign law is more area-specific and complicated”, “the channels of proof are expanded to ensure diversified and cooperative methods of proof”, “statutory proof of law combined with the litigants and courts’ proof of law”, “what to prove: statutory laws, precedents and other types of demands”, and “important role of experts and institutions”.

Within these viewpoints, the issues of proof not only includes the way that the judges use the Internet platform to search foreign laws, but also includes the way that the parties concerned use the published legal academic books and the effective judgments in their own countries. According to a sampling analysis, the proof of statutory law accounts for 68.10%, precedents for 25.23%, burden of litigation costs, arbitration and other procedural matters for 4.7%. The demand for determining the international treaties and practices also exists, such as the determination of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, accounting for 1.97%.

Reference:

上海高院通报涉外、涉港澳台商事审判五年情况 首次发布域外法查明白皮书及典型案例