Overview of the Symposium Module I of The Ninth East Lake International Law Forum

The Symposium Module I, Topic “Construction of China's Foreign-related Laws and Regulations System” of invited a number of foreign law experts from universities, courts, dispute resolution institutions, and associations to share and exchange views, and SHEN Peilan, Secretary-General of International Commercial Dispute Prevention and Settlement Organization, moderating this module.

YANG Chengming, Director of Hubei LuoJia International Law Innovation Foundation, pointed out that China should regulate unilateral sanctions through the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Economic and Social Council, and respond to the challenge of unilateral sanctions to international law and order through multilateral institutions and international rules.

XIAO Kai, President of the Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court, stated that optimising the foreign-related trial mechanism is of great significance in enhancing judicial credibility, optimising the business environment, strengthening judicial discourse and safeguarding the sovereign interests of the country, etc. It should enhance the effectiveness and credibility of the foreign-related judiciary, innovate the mechanisms of foreign-related service of process, extraterritorial investigation and collection of evidence and extraterritorial legal ascertainment, and further push forward the construction of the International Commercial Court and the pilot work of the 3-in-1 Maritime Trial, as well as the deep integration of the foreign-related trial and the construction of the digital court.

DU Huanfang, Party Secretary and Vice Dean of Renmin University Law School, pointed out that foreign-related rule of law legislation is the infrastructure, foreign-related rule of law implementation is the key, foreign-related rule of law capacity is the core, need to promote the development of foreign-related civil and other areas of the rule of law, and strengthen the cultivation of personnel familiar with foreign languages and the international legal system.

Ignacio de la Rasilla, the Han Depei Chair in International Law at Wuhan University Institute of International Law compared the Global Community of Shared Future to the “archway”, with the “foundation” being China's recognition of “interdependence” as the core of the international community, and the “pillars” being global peace, international common security, international inclusive development and international ecological civilization, the “beams” are the principles of sovereign equality, dialogue among civilizations and multilateralism, and the “facade” is win-win cooperation.

MEI Ao, Deputy Dean of International Law School, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, proposed that breakthroughs could be sought in the areas of Digital inclusion, promotion of digital technological innovation and application, and strengthening of data governance and security protection, with a view to ultimately realising the overall goal of systemic openness.

CHEN Yuan, Consultant of Macao Legal Exchange And Promotion Association, pointed out that as one of the commercial dispute resolution mechanisms, the co-operation of commercial arbitration mechanisms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Marco Greater Bay Area should promote the optimisation of the commercial arbitration system, the convergence of the rules of litigation and the co-ordination of jurisdictional conflicts.

ZHAO Jian, Senior Counsel of Zhong Lun Law Firm as the guest reviewer pointed out that arbitration law should return to its functional position as a procedural law, avoiding becoming a hybrid of arbitration organization law, rules, and regulatory law, and should follow the trend towards humanization of international commercial arbitration.

ZHANG Hui, Deputy Director of the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University, as the guest reviewer, stated that the Institutional Opening Up is closely related to the foreign-related legal system, and it is an important manifestation of the rule of law in society as a whole and of the international rule of law process.