On 26 Mar. 2021, the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) held a press conference and promulgated the Opinions of the SPC on Peoples Courts’ Providing Judicial Services and Guarantees on the Opening-up of the Comprehensive Demonstration Zone and Development of the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone for China’s Services Sector in Beijing (the Opinions, 最高人民法院关于人民法院为北京市国家服务业扩大开放综合示范区、中国（北京）自由贸易试验区建设提供司法服务和保障的意见). The Opinions, consisting of 26 articles in six parts, specifies how courts may provide services and guarantees for the development of the aforesaid Demonstration Zone and…

The Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) recently promulgated the Interpretation of the SPC on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Hearing of State Compensation Cases to Determine Damages for Mental Distress (the Interpretation, 最高人民法院关于审理国家赔偿案件确定精神损害赔偿责任适用法律若干问题的解释), which took effect as of April 1, 2021. The Interpretation is applicable to the circumstance where a citizen files an application for state compensation on the ground that his/her personal right is infringed and claims damages for mental distress in accordance with Article 35 of…

China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) on Mar. 24 released a circular, the Plan for the Special Campaign against Malicious Trademark Registration (the Plan, 打击商标恶意抢注行为专项行动方案) on its official website, deciding to launch a special campaign to crack down on malicious trademark registration as of Mar. 2021. The Plan makes it clear that the special campaign focuses on cracking down on the misconducts such as malicious trademark registration, the attempt to gain improper profits, which disturb the order of trademark registration administration and cause relatively adverse social influence arising therefrom. The…

Empricial studies in Chengdu Courts show that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a widespread shift to online litigation, which has been unexpectedly popular among judges and litigants. Empricial studies in Chengdu Courts show that the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a widespread shift to online litigation, to which judges and litigants appear to have quickly adapted. However, it remains to be seen whether online litigation will continue to gain great acceptance in the post-pandemic era. See our…

  China’s Supreme Court’s Several Provisions on Providing Online Case-filing Services for Foreign Litigants (2021) provides an Internet platform for foreign parties to file cases with Chinese courts, and streamlines the case-filing procedures. Nowadays, online case filing has been made available in many Chinese courts. But most case-filing platforms provide services only in the Chinese language. Before using such services, users are required to go through real name authentication, which relies on China’s identity card…

Yes. The natural person may, by making a will, dispose his estate to any organization or individual and designate the inheritance. In a word, the natural person can determine who inherits and how much by appointing the successor among the intestate successor( such as spouse, children, parents, siblings, paternal grandparents and maternal grandparents) In addition, the natural person may,by making a will, donate his estate to the State or a collective, or an organization or individual…

There are six forms of the will: holographic will, will written on behalf of the testator, will in printed form, will made in the form of an audio or video recording, nuncupative will and a notarized will. The requirement for each kind of will is different: 1) A holographic will is one written and signed by the testator’s hand, specifying the year, month, and day of its making. 2) A will written on behalf of the…