Suchergebnisse

AbstractOn 1 September 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress amended the Chinese Civil Procedure Law which will come into effect on 1 January 2024 ('the 2024 CPL'). The 2024 CPL brings significant changes to the entire procedure of transnational civil and commercial litigation in China covering jurisdiction, service of process, the taking of evidence abroad, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. It is critical for foreign states, courts, and parties which conduct business in China to understand this new legal development and to prepare for the changes. Adopting comparative-law and empirical research methods, this commentary aims to explain the new provisions for transnational civil litigation in the 2024 CPL and how they may be implemented in practice.

AbstractThe 1965 Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters has increasingly been used by its member states to demonstrate their territorial claims, including in the Falklands dispute and the Israel-Palestine conflict. This has now arisen in the Russo-Ukrainian war, as conflicting declarations have been formulated by eight states under the Convention. This Essay analyzes the legal dilemmas brought by these declarations and proposes preliminary solutions.

Abstract
Personal data protection in investment arbitration is increasingly important as more and more countries enact mandatory personal data protection laws and the COVID-19 pandemic makes online hearings the new normal. Tribunals have to consider critical, yet unresolved, normative questions, such as (i) how data protection laws would influence the trend towards transparency in investment arbitrations brought pursuant to modern investment treaties; (ii) whether a party can invoke a data protection law to reject access to fundamental documents and completely shift the power in an arbitration proceeding; (iii) whether it is good to have multiple data protection laws directly applicable in an investment arbitration; and (iv) whether the so-called Brussels Effect may take hold of investment arbitration. These questions directly address the alleged legitimacy crisis of investment arbitration (for example, procedural transparency and efficiency) in the digital era. They also have a critical impact on the fairness of proceedings and are closely related to the protection of fundamental human rights and the concern of digital surveillance. This article comprehensively maps the consensual and mandatory applications of data protection laws in investment arbitration. Adopting comparative-law and conflict-of-laws methodologies, it intends to provide tentative solutions to the four questions mentioned above.

ABSTRACT
World Trade Organization multilateralism is driven by manufacturers. However, in China, Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import has spurred a new, consumer-oriented trade unilateralism. Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import prospers within China's National Cross-Border E-commerce Pilot Cities, which are special economic zones aimed at using unilateral trade liberalization to meet consumers' growing demands for high-quality foreign products. Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import enhances consumer benefits beyond reducing customer formalities and tax rates and lowering product prices. It re-conceptualizes consumer protection by treating consumers as diverse individuals rather than as a homothetic group. It also empowers consumers by making them 'importers' to minimize behind-the-border trade barriers. Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import warrants a rethinking of World Trade Organization multilateralism from its initial focus on corporations and capital owners to a revised focus on consumers.