The Homeward Trend in Chinese Choice-of-Law Cases
One of the characteristics of transnational litigation is that there is generally more than one forum in which the suit may be brought. Although TLB focuses primarily on transnational litigation in U.S. courts, it can sometimes be useful to look at what is going on in other systems where litigation might instead be filed. A…
Continue ReadingFurther Developments in Smart Study
TLB has been following Smart Study v. Happy Party-001, a Chinese counterfeiting case in the Southern District of New York, since Judge Gregory Woods issued his thoughtful opinion last summer concluding that service by email on Chinese defendants is not permitted by the Hague Service Convention (a decision we covered in a prior blog post)….
Continue ReadingChina’s Draft Law on Foreign State Immunity—Part II
In December 2022, Chinese lawmakers published a draft law on foreign state immunity, an English translation of which is now available. In a prior post, I looked at the draft law’s provisions on immunity from suit. I explained that the law would adopt the restrictive theory of foreign state immunity, bringing China’s position into alignment…
Continue ReadingChina’s Draft Law on Foreign State Immunity Would Adopt Restrictive Theory
On the question of foreign state immunity, the world was long divided between countries that adhere to an absolute theory and those that adopted a restrictive theory. Under the absolute theory, states are absolutely immune from suit in the courts of other states. Under the restrictive theory, states are immune from suits based on their…
Continue ReadingAnother Court Rejects Chinese Data Privacy Law as a Bar to U.S. Discovery
A second U.S. decision has held that China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) did not bar a U.S. discovery request because of an exception in the law for statutory obligations. As previously reported on TLB, a federal court in California held last year that the PIPL’s exception for transfers “necessary to fulfill statutory duties and responsibilities or…
Continue ReadingCourt Holds that Chinese Investor May Try to Enforce Arbitral Award Against Nigeria
Over the past two decades, China has invested heavily in Africa. A recent study found that between 2001 and 2018, China invested $41 billion in African countries and loaned an additional $126 billion. Some of these investments generated disputes, and some of those disputes are finding their way to U.S. courts. In a recent decision,…
Continue ReadingSeeking Second Circuit Review of Service in Smart Study
The plaintiff in Smart Study has attempted to appeal Judge Woods’ careful decision concluding that the Hague Service Convention does not permit service by email.
Continue ReadingA Century of Changes in Extraterritoriality
This post is a lightly edited version of a talk given virtually on November 26, 2022, at the “International Symposium on Accelerating Changes Unseen in a Century and the Development of International Law” organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of International Law. I am pleased to be with you today to discuss…
Continue ReadingEnforcing Chinese Judgments: A Response
In July, Bill Dodge discussed the enforcement of Chinese judgments in U.S. courts, using the Shanghai Yongrun case as a recent example and arguing against systemic review of foreign legal systems. Along the way, he cited Judging China, a recent paper of mine. He accurately characterized me as less than enthusiastic about U.S. courts enforcing…
Continue ReadingServing Chinese Defendants—Another Problematic Decision
An order last week in Teetex, LLC v. Zeetex, LLC illustrates some common and problematic approaches to serving process on defendants in China. When service under the Hague Service Convention had not been accomplished within six months, the district court authorized service by email on the defendant’s general manager in China and the general manager’s…
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