Civil Law

New Regulations on Receivables Financing in the Context of Supply Chain Finance

In the past, due to the lack of specialized legislation for the supply chain finance industry and the fact that receivables financing is a new type of financing model, there may be a lack of clear and reasonable solutions for receivables financing disputes. The Civil Code, which takes note of this situation and focuses on responding to the relevant issues, is the latest development in the civil legal regulation of supply chain finance. The Supreme People's Court issued the Interpretation of the Relevant Guarantee System and the Interpretation of the General Provisions of Book Contracts. On the basis of summarizing the trial practice experience in recent years, the Supreme People's Court issued the Conference Minutes (draft) of the National Courts’ Financial Trial Work. These legal updates, as the basis for trials in judicial practice, set new norms for receivables financing transactions and refined the relevant rules. These legal updates have responded well to the problems of multiple

Feng Shun

China Law Update 16 Tsinghua China L. Rev. 157 (2023)

Securities Law

Key Step towards a Fair, Market-based Capital Market: The Unprecedented Private Investment Fund Regulation

The implementation of Private Investment Funds Regulation marks a significant stride toward establishing a fair and market-based capital market. This regulation encompasses comprehensive protection throughout the fundraising, investment, management, and exit stages, embodying an "all-round protection" framework. Notably, the Regulation strengthens the registration and disclosure requirements for fund managers, and also, clarifies the consequences for the violation of their legal obligations, protecting investors from both ex-ante and post-ante perspectives. On top of this, the inclusion of a special chapter for VC funds demonstrates the efforts of the authority to explore a differentiated approach to private fund regulatory framework. However, excluding VC funds, the Regulation maintains uniform regulatory requirements to other types of private funds. Indeed, there are common characteristics among private funds. Most of these funds target high-risk investments, emphasizing the qualifi

Xu Changle

China Law Update 16 Tsinghua China L. Rev. 139 (2023)

Securities Law

Analysis on New Regulations and Future Road of Independent Director in China

Based on the history of independent directors system in China, this article mainly reviews the major changes made by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) in Measures for the Administration of Independent Directors of Listed Companies issued on August 1, 2023 compared with the Rules for Independent Directors of Listed Companies issued previously, and analyzes the progress and shortcomings of this revision from the perspective of comparative law compared with the UK. Furthermore, in view of the historical experience of the UK, this article puts forward the suggestion on clarifying the role of independent directors and focusing more on capacity as well as management function rather than the independence character and supervisory duty.

Ma Kehui

China Law Update 16 Tsinghua China L. Rev. 125 (2023)

Procedural Law

Development of Parallel Litigation Regulation in China’s Amended Civil Procedure Law

The Amended Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China in September 2023 (“the Amended CPL”) emerged in response to perceived deficiencies within the existing domestic legal framework and the escalating challenges encountered in cross-border scenarios. The Amended CPL has strategically addressed this predicament by expanding the jurisdictional ambit and exclusive authority of Chinese courts, precisely defining their competence in adjudicating parallel litigation cases. It has also introduced crucial principles such as the rule of prior in tempore and the doctrine of forum non conveniens to facilitate the harmonization between international proceedings. This essay is a comprehensive analysis of these legislative changes, delving into their intricacies and implications. In doing so, it aims to unravel the balance that the legislator sought to strike between two conflicting values: judicial sovereignty and international comity.

Pan Yan

China Law Update 16 Tsinghua China L. Rev. 109 (2023)

Civil Law

Whether Personal Credit Information is Sensitive Personal Information?

This essay tries to reconstruct the position of personal credit information in PIPL based on a comparative look and a theoretical reanalysis. Part 2 looks at extraterritorial theory and practice to demonstrate the necessity to balance personal credit information protection and financing facilitation. Part 3 argues that the definition in Article 28(1) of PIPL is unreasonable and the protection of personal credit information as sensitive personal information is neither socially beneficial nor, in fact, conducive to personal information protection. Part 4 denies personal credit information as sensitive personal information by a stricter interpretation of Article 28(1).

Yin Shanghong

China Law Update 15 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2023)

Intellecutal Property Law

Distribution or Information Network Dissemination: A Prospect for the Legal Characterization of NFT Digital Work Transaction

Part 1 of this article will first highlight the core issue of the debate by identifying the stages in the NFT digital work transaction. A theoretical comparison of distribution and information network dissemination will be depicted in Part 2. Part 3 will therefore illustrate that the sale of NFT digital works is more appropriate to be deemed as an act of distribution instead of information network dissemination. Part 4 will further focus on the flaws of the judgment of China’s first NFT case. Finally, Part 5 will conclude the article and prospect the future of China’s copyright law legislation or interpretation.

Hao Xinchang

China Law Update 15 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2023)

Civil Law

Identification of Parentage in the Context of Surrogacy

How to provide a relatively foreseeable system for the identification of parent-child relationship under the problem of surrogacy, and at the same time protect the interests of the parties, especially for the children involved in the cases has become an urgent problem to be solved. Based on the judicial judgment of Shanghai First Intermediate Court in 2015 and several latest judicial judgments of courts in China after that typical case, the article tries to analyze the possible influencing factors considered in different decisions and looks forward for future progress.

Chen Qingyang

China Law Update 15 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2023)

Civil Law

More Accessible Protection for Domestic Violence Victims: New Developments in Personal Safety Protection Order

Except for the Introduction and the Conclusion, this note is divided into the following four sections: the first section analyzes the new standard of proof applicable to the issuance of personal safety protection orders, which is a lower one than the general one for Chinese civil litigations; the second section introduces how the new updates on protection orders expand the scope of “domestic violence”; the third section discusses how the new legal instruments contribute to the establishment of a more comprehensive enforcement mechanism for the protection orders; the last section proposes that China may establish a temporary protection order system soon. The author’s suggestions and comments on the new updates are incorporated in the relevant sections.

Zhou Shizun

China Law Update 15 Tsinghua China L. Rev. 161 (2022)

Anti-monopoly Law

The Ammended Anti-monopoly Law: Key Changes Under the Competition Policy

Except for the Introduction and the Conclusion, this note is divided into the following four sections: the first section analyzes the new standard of proof applicable to the issuance of personal safety protection orders, which is a lower one than the general one for Chinese civil litigations; the second section introduces how the new updates on protection orders expand the scope of “domestic violence”; the third section discusses how the new legal instruments contribute to the establishment of a more comprehensive enforcement mechanism for the protection orders; the last section proposes that China may establish a temporary protection order system soon. The author’s suggestions and comments on the new updates are incorporated in the relevant sections.

Cristina Zhang

China Law Update 15 Tsinghua China L. Rev. 179 (2022)

Constitutional Law

A New Stage of Legislative Experimentation of China in Hainan

China enacted the Hainan Free Trade Port Law (the "Hainan FTP Law") in June 2021. It is the first free trade port law in China, as well as the first law for a provincial area passed by National People's Congress and its Standing Committee. This note finds the enactment of the Hainan FTP Law a brand new legislative experimentation regarding the reform and opening-up in China, the experimental characters of which are revealed from the liberalization, devolution, and list approach applied during the lawmaking process of the Hainan FTP Law. This legislative experimentation will be of good value for future legislation accompanying the reform and opening-up.

Cao Wenjiao

China Law Update 13 Tsinghua China L. Rev. 363 (2020)