On November 15, the Supreme People's Court issued the “Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Jurisdiction of Foreign-Related Civil and Commercial Cases", which will come into force on January 1, 2023.

The“Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Jurisdiction of Foreign-Related Civil and Commercial Cases" was adopted at the 1872nd meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on August 16, 2022. It is hereby promulgated and will come into force on January 1, 2023.

　　The Supreme People's Court

　　November 14, 2022

Legal Interpretation [2022] No. 18

Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Jurisdiction of Foreign-Related Civil and Commercial Cases

(Adopted at the 1872nd meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on August 16, 2022, and will come into force on January 1, 2023)

In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign parties in accordance with the law, convenient litigation for the parties, and further improve the quality and efficiency of foreign-related civil and commercial trials, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the "Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" and in combination of trial practice.

Article 1 The Basic People's Courts shall have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases of first instance, unless otherwise stipulated by laws and judicial interpretations.

Article 2 The Intermediate People's Courts shall have jurisdiction over the following first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases:

(1) Foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a huge number of the subject matter in dispute.

Foreign-related civil and commercial cases where the subject matter of litigation is more than RMB 40 million (including the original number) judged by the intermediate people's courts in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, and Chongqing;

Foreign-related civil and commercial cases with the subject matter of litigation exceeding 20 million yuan (including the original number) judged by the Intermediate People's Courts of Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang, and the People's Liberation Army Military courts directly under the theater and general headquarters, and Intermediate People's Courts under the jurisdiction of the Production and Construction Corps Branch of the Higher People's Court of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

(2) Foreign-related civil and commercial cases with complex circumstances or a large number of parties.

(3) Other foreign-related civil and commercial cases with significant impact in the jurisdiction.

Where laws and judicial interpretations provide otherwise for intermediate people's courts to have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases of first instance, the relevant provisions shall be followed.

Article 3 The foreign-related civil and commercial cases of first-instance with that subject matter of litigation is more than 5 billion yuan (including the original amount) judged by the Higher People's Court or that have significant influence in its jurisdiction.

Article 4 If the Higher People's Court deems it necessary based on the actual situation in its jurisdiction, it may designate one or several Basic People's Courts and Intermediate People's Courts to implement the provisions of Articles 1 and 2 of these Provisions, respectively, after reporting to the Supreme People's Court for approval. The first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases are subject to cross-regional centralized jurisdiction.

Where cross-regional centralized jurisdiction is implemented in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Higher People's Court shall promptly announce to the public the corresponding jurisdiction areas of the basic people's court and the Intermediate People's Court.

Article 5 Foreign-related civil and commercial cases shall be tried by a special trial court or a collegial panel.

Article 6 These Provisions do not apply to foreign-related maritime dispute cases, foreign-related intellectual property dispute cases, foreign-related ecological and environmental damage compensation dispute cases, and foreign-related environmental civil public interest litigation cases.

Article 7 These Provisions shall apply by reference to civil and commercial cases involving Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Article 8 These regulations shall come into force on January 1, 2023. Cases accepted after the implementation of these Provisions shall apply to these Provisions.

Article 9 If the judicial interpretation previously issued by this court is inconsistent with this provision, this provision shall prevail.