CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW - An Imperfect Improvement: The New Conflict of Laws Act of the People's Republic of China

摘要

On 28 October 2010, the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress adopted China's first statute on the Conflict of Laws: the 'Act on the Application of Laws over Foreign-related Civil Relationships' ('Conflicts Act'). The adoption was an historic event in Chinese legislative history, as it indicates China has modernised its conflict-of-law rules after many years of unremitting efforts made by legislators and scholars. More importantly, it means that 'a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics' has been successfully established, and allows China to claim to have a systematic legal system. In essence, the Conflicts Act was a response to the increased volume and growing diversity of international civil disputes. Another impetus was the acceleration of the development of private international law across the globe, notably the adoption of the Rome I Regulation and Rome II Regulation, and legislative reforms in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as well as China's neighbours such as Japan and South Korea.