On 1 September 2023, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress released the amendments to the PRC Civil Procedure Law (“2021 CPL”) which will take effect from 1 January 2024 (“2024 CPL”). Among these amendments, there are considerable changes in respect of foreign-related litigation, including the PRC courts’ jurisdiction over foreign-related disputes, parallel proceedings, service of process, nationality of arbitral awards and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. Wider scope of PRC courts’ jurisdiction…
China has launched a new class action mechanism to crack down on corporate malfeasance in the securities market. Although legal actions by individual investors were possible previously, this was often difficult and costly. Under the new mechanism, the China Securities Investor Services Centre, a Chinese government-affiliated body, can sue on behalf of no fewer than 50 investors in a company, on an opt-in basis. The finding by a court or a regulator that a company…