China sees continuous progress in foreign-related legal services

China has seen solid progress in the quality and efficiency of its foreign-related legal services as a result of efforts to actively promote its legal services going global and accelerate the development of institutes of foreign-related legal services, according to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

The ministry has made continuous efforts to strengthen foreign-related legal services in areas such as lawyers, arbitration, notarization, and commercial mediation, as well as to promote the development of foreign-related legal service institutions and international commercial arbitration centers, fully leverage the role of the Belt and Road International Lawyers Association (BRILA), and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and citizens going abroad, effectively serving and guaranteeing China's high-level opening-up.

As of January this year, Chinese law firms had set up 180 overseas branches and a number of offices in 35 countries and regions, with over 12,000 foreign-related lawyers. The foreign-related cases handled by the arbitration institutions nationwide involved parties from over 100 countries and regions, indicating China's improved foreign-related legal services.

Meeting urgent needs of Chinese citizens overseas via video notarization

The emergence of video notarization in recent years has resolved the notarization issue for Chinese citizens living abroad. Since the pilot implementation of video notarization in 2020, pilot notary offices and consulates abroad have provided convenient notary services for citizens who are unable to return home country for notarization, which have been widely welcomed by Chinese citizens overseas.

Based on the previous pilot work, in 2023, the MOJ further intensified its efforts to promote overseas video notarization, identifying 295 notary organizations to carry out video notarization in collaboration with Chinese embassies and consulates.

According to statistics, in 2023, more than 560 notary cases were handled overseas through video, which indicates China's improved capacity for foreign-related legal services and effectively satisfied the needs of Chinese citizens living abroad for notary services.

Providing high-quality and efficient legal services for Belt and Road cooperation

Since its establishment in December 2019, the BRILA, an international lawyer organization initiated by China, has comprehensively promoted its substantive operation and provided high-quality and efficient legal services in fields pertaining to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Currently, the BRILA has more than 2,600 members, including over 430 group members across 54 countries and regions, and has set up nine special committees, 34 working groups and five representative offices worldwide. It has played an active role in deepening the exchange and cooperation of lawyers among countries involved in the Belt and Road cooperation and in strengthening legal service guarantees.

In recent years, members of the BRILA have provided professional, precise, and high-level legal services for many important BRI projects, including the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the China-Thailand Railway, and the China-Laos power transmission program.

The MOJ has supported Chinese lawyers assisting Chinese enterprises in going global by strengthening their compliance management and establishing prevention and response mechanisms against overseas investment risks, and in providing high-quality and effective legal services for the BRI.

As of November 2023, Chinese law firms had established 63 branches in 24 countries involved in the BRI, and law firms from seven countries involved in the BRI had set up 24 representative offices in China.

Striving to build a global destination for international commercial arbitration

Arbitration is an important mechanism for resolving economic disputes and also an internationally recognized method of dispute resolution. It has been universally applied in dispute resolution regarding international commercial contracts, and has played an irreplaceable role in serving high-quality economic development and promoting international economic and trade cooperation.

In recent years, efforts have been made to accelerate the cultivation of first-class international arbitration institutions and a team of professional arbitrators, promote the internationalization and professionalization of arbitration institutions, and enhance the professional capability of Chinese arbitrators, as well as the international influence and competitiveness of China's arbitration services, according to the MOJ.

Since 2012, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration has taken the lead in exploring a mechanism for statutory institution management and has established a corporate governance mechanism with international and professional councils as the core, enhancing the international credibility of China's arbitration services.

Currently, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration boasts 1,539 arbitrators covering 114 countries and regions, with the parties involved in arbitration and mediation cases coming from 140 countries and regions, which helps foster a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized.

The MOJ has facilitated pilot projects for the establishment of international commercial arbitration centers in such provincial-level regions as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Hainan, with a vision of gradually establishing various top-tier international arbitration institutions nationwide.

The focus of arbitration work in the next phase is to build a new highland for international dispute resolution and legal services, and advance international commercial arbitration centers as new engines for arbitration reform and development, new demonstrations of international commercial legal services, and new platforms for international arbitration exchange and cooperation, aiming to build China into a global destination for international commercial arbitration.