Harvard International Law Journal’s Post

“The reality is that for the most part, it’s not like the mainland civil and commercial courts are completely awful,” said Kevin Yam, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Asian Law and former commercial litigator in Hong Kong. But, Yam added, the developments related to the national security law since 2020 have created a backdrop of uncertainty for businesses and wealthy individuals alike. Yam himself is wanted by the Hong Kong police because of his criticism of the national security law and support for the pro-democracy movement. #chinabusiness #businesslaw #hongkong

My latest #ThoughtoftheDayonChina : Hong Kong should have a “Common Law Education Day” to counter misconceptions and boost trust in the city.

CCP concepts and terminology are taking center stage in Hong Kong's law making.

Bibliography of recent writings related to the work of UNCITRAL The monthly compilation for August 2024 of the bibliography of writings related to the work of UNCITRAL – United Nations Commission On International Trade Law has been published. Among the topics addressed, there are: international sale of goods; international commercial arbitration; cross-border insolvency. For more details: https://lnkd.in/e6cFw2mA #internationalcommerciallaw #internationalcommercialcontracts #internationalsaleofgoods #internationalcommercialarbitration #crossborderinsolvency #crossborderdebtrecoveryblog

⚖️ 🌍 ⚔️ International Law: The Rule of Law or the Law of Power? Many years ago, when the UN Charter was established, the belief that international law could prevent armed conflicts and regulate the use of force was seen as the foundation of a new global order. Rooted in legal principles and drawing on the theories of Hugo Grotius, it was assumed that even in a state of international anarchy, states would adhere to shared norms. However, today’s geopolitical realities challenge this notion. Thomas Hobbes argued that in an anarchic international system, power often supersedes law, and recent events increasingly reflect this tension between state sovereignty and international legal obligations. Yet, legal theory maintains that order is achievable even within this chaotic framework. International law is not merely a mechanism for dispute resolution, but also an embodiment of the global pursuit of justice. It establishes a normative structure that compels states to operate within the bounds of legality, even when they seek to bypass it. Despite the significant challenges it faces, international law is far from obsolete. Rather, it requires reassessment and adaptation to remain effective in a rapidly changing global environment. The key question now is not only whether law can triumph over power, but whether it can evolve to maintain its relevance and authority in the face of shifting global dynamics. #InternationalLaw #Law #Legal #RuleOfLaw #Geopolitics #UN OSCE Stanford Law School Yale Law School CIDS Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement United Nations #NoWar #StopWar Harvard Law School University of California, Berkeley - School of Law

Thank you to Christopher J. Borgen and Peggy McGuinness for the opportunity to present "Toward Best Practices for Trade-Security Measures" at the St. John's University School of Law International Law Colloquium. Always great to see you and such a pleasure to engage with your amazing students. For anyone interested, full paper, forthcoming in the Journal of International Economic Law, is available here: https://lnkd.in/ePPhATpm

Excerpt, Amy Hawkins, The Guardian: //A new law giving Chinese courts the authority to enforce rulings in commercial disputes in Hong Kong comes into effect on Monday, further reducing the barriers between the Hong Kong and Chinese legal systems. The law puts into effect an agreement signed between China’s Supreme People’s Court and the government of Hong Kong in 2019 and is designed to reduce the need for re-litigation in civil and commercial disputes in cases where there is a connection to mainland China. However, concerns have been raised that the law will tarnish Hong Kong’s reputation as a global business hub. International companies have traditionally chosen to base themselves in Hong Kong in part because the territory provides access to mainland China while ensuring robust rule of law protection in commercial disputes as a result of Hong Kong’s independent legal system, which is based on English #commonlaw. The ordinance “further erodes the differences between the #legalsystems of Hong Kong and the mainland,” said Andrew Collier, managing director at Orient Capital Research, a financial research firm. There is concern that the new ordinance will damage Hong Kong’s reputation as a global wealth management hub. Asset managers may no longer be able to advise wealthy clients with total confidence that their investments would be protected in Hong Kong. “Wealthy Chinese and foreigners alike have been concerned about their personal safety and the security of their assets in Hong Kong, and these judgments will convince many more to move to Asian or Western destinations,” Collier said. Some of the fears about the extradition bill (which led to the massive 2019 protests in Hong Kong and resulted in the implementation of the National Security Law) stemmed from the fact that the ruling Chinese Communist party influences criminal proceedings in China, and criminal courts have a conviction rate of 99%. However, in civil and commercial matters, China’s performance on rule-of-law rankings has improved on international measures in the past 20 years. The World Bank ranks China as being in the top 50% of countries in terms of overall rule-of-law performance. Compared with Hong Kong, commercial disputes in mainland China are dealt with more quickly and at a lower cost. The ordinance covers civil and commercial matters, with certain exclusions, and also allows for judgments reached in Hong Kong to be enforced in the mainland.// #business #commercialdisputes #contractlaw #nationalsecurity #geopolitics

Article on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in the United States and in the European Union The article “Preventing Foreign-Judgment Country Hopping with a New Transnational Recognition and Enforcement Standard”, written by Ryan Everette, is available on the website of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. For more details: https://lnkd.in/ee3jF844 #foreignjudgment #recognition #enforcement #crossborderdebtrecoveryblog

Two bits of context from me in this illuminating, wonderfully readable paper by Susan Finder. But first, the paper: https://lnkd.in/gpUEE-nJ At Moody’s, rating Chinese power projects, I would ask many local lawyers to explain the hierarchy of China’s laws—knowing that the structure was more nuanced than other legal systems where we rated deals, for a variety of reasons—and inevitably my questions attracted confused stares. Why should I care? But if you don’t understand the culture of the law, you don’t understand the law. And law is an integral part of credit. Also, ABS in China is governed (confusingly) under two systems. China has an unenviable challenge of harmonizing not only domestic with international but also different strands of legal practice from different periods. Just in my world, China ABS laws are probably in need of harmonization! The law for it doesn’t work that well in the US, either!! In that sense, Susan’s paper is not only really interesting and I believe unique in the literature, being pieced together from primary sources, but also meaningful on many levels—technical, but also operational and strategic. And timely. And, authoritative. Still—I come from the other side of the law-economics divide, where SPC has meant something completely different: State Planning Council. It would be fascinating to understand how these standards-setting policy bodies influence each other…but way, way above my paygrade! Anyway, read it if you want to understand who is behind the evolution of laws inside China especially as they connect to outside China.

Delighted to have received my copy of Alberto Brown's Private Law and Competition Regulation: A Comparative Study! The book is of great relevance to private law and competition law practitioners and academics in the UK and EU, as it explores developments in common law and civil law. At a time of continuous crises posing risks of competitive market distortions (e.g., Covid-19, Russia sanctions, etc), the book offers a much needed fresh perspective on the normative foundations of competition regulation, as distinct from antitrust regulations, beyond the usual consequentialist, utilitarian, and rights-based summa divisio. Well-written, cogent, and thorough yet succinct, the book clarifies the relationship between private law and competition law, including the role of property law theory in regulatory context, while bridging the gap with the law of tort and making an excellent use of sources and legal history to support the argument. Get your copy here: https://lnkd.in/e7CsDXiW.