Property Law

Observing the State’s Role in Property Law: A Chinese Perspective

This article examines the public nature of property law by analyzing the state’s roles in shaping property systems. It argues that, within the ambit of Chinese law, state actors perform four distinct yet interrelated roles: gatekeeper of individual liberty, enabler of economic efficiency, coordinator of social cohesion, and regulator of political dynamics. By elucidating these roles, the study advances discourse on the “publicness” of property law, transcending the established consensus to construct a more nuanced framework for understanding how state power operates through private legal institutions. Engaging with law-and-economics literature and the foundational work of Douglass North, this article makes two contributions. Theoretically, it adopts a multi-faceted model of the state. Empirically, it mitigates Western-centric bias in property scholarship by grounding its analysis in the rich and complex realities of the Chinese legal landscape. Methodologically, the paper employs...

WANG Yang

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Data Law

Competition and Data Protection in the Digital Economy: A Comparative Analysis of the EU and China

This article conducts a comparative analysis of competition law and data protection frameworks in China and the European Union, examining how each jurisdiction regulates digital markets, governs personal data, and projects regulatory influence globally. Drawing on China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML), the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), as well as the EU’s Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the study contrasts the underlying philosophies, institutional designs, enforcement styles, and cross-border implications of the two regulatory systems. It highlights that China’s regulatory model integrates competition policy with national security and industrial objectives, while the EU’s frameworks prioritize market integration and the protection of individual rights. Comparative case studies of digital platforms, involving major technology firms, such as Alibaba, Tencent, Google, Meta, and Didi, demonstrate how each framework operates...

Arletta Gorecka

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Dispute Resolution

Investment Dispute Resolution in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Institutional Design and Procedural Coordination

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has emerged as a pivotal platform for China to shape the practice of international organizational law, particularly in the context of regional security and economic integration. Despite the SCO Charter’s commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes, the absence of a dedicated mechanism for investment disputes settlement poses a growing challenge. As cross-border investments among SCO member states expand, the frequency, complexity, and financial stakes of disputes have risen accordingly. Such disputes often involve sensitive issues such as energy infrastructure, sovereign guarantees and regulatory expropriation, necessitating a structured yet flexible resolution framework. This study argues that the SCO should establish a multi-tiered dispute resolution system tailored to the shared legal traditions and economic priorities of its member. First, the mechanism should prioritize consultation and mediation consistent with the consensus-driven...

SU Pan

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Tax Law

Economic Rationality in PRC Tax Administrative Adjudication: an Analysis Based on a Utility Function

Tax administrative adjudication in People’s Republic of China (PRC) presents a persistent puzzle: courts exhibit deference in technically complex cases, yet demonstrate relatively strict scrutiny in high-stakes disputes involving substantial revenue. While normative theories often attribute judicial behavior to statutory mandates or political obedience, few studies have addressed the underlying economic rationality driving these divergent outcomes. Learning from theories regarding institutional competence and judicial behavior, this paper develops Judge’s Utility Function Model () to address the equilibrium of judicial decision-making in tax cases. This paper analyzes 391 tax administrative judgments from 2020 to 2025 using binary logistic regression to demonstrate a dual‑track mechanism in judicial review. Under this model, cost‑minimization in complex factual disputes leads to rational deference, while risk‑aversion in high‑stakes cases drives strict scrutiny to prevent serious...

BAI Lijie

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Arbitration Law

Integration into Arbitral Legal Order: The Achievements and Prospects of the 2025 PRC Arbitration Law

2025 PRC Arbitration Law has explored its role in integrating China’s arbitration regime into Arbitral Legal Order. While the 1994 PRC Arbitration Law transformed “ZhongCai” from administrative adjudication to modern arbitration, its state-centric nature conflicted with global norms, triggering disputes over ad hoc arbitration, competence-competence, and interim measures during revisions. As a milestone reform, the 2025 PRC Arbitration Law introduces the arbitral seat system and ad hoc arbitration in the legal text for the first time, limits foreign-related award-setting-aside to procedural issues, and partly recognizes the doctrine of competence-competence. Nevertheless, controversies surrounding the negative effect of the competence-competence principle and tribunal-issued interim measures merit further deliberation. Moving forward, reforms should focus on strengthening tribunal authority, with the new law laying a solid foundation for deeper transnational integration.

Arvin LUO Fuzhong

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Animal Law

Broad Spirit, Interspersed Rules: Anti-cruelty in China’s Legal System of Animal Protection

A common criticism of China’s legal system of animal protection is that it does little to control cruelty to animals. However, this argument doesn’t stand nowadays. At least, China’s current Constitution provides a legal basis for anti-cruelty; laws also contain broad spirit of anti-cruelty, both inherently and directly. There are also specific anti-cruelty rules interspersed in laws, regulations and national standards. Some explicitly combat cruelty while some, though not frank enough, provide substantial protection. It has become a prominent trend of both China’s legislation and law enforcement that the protection scope of animals is expanding. Guided by the pursuit of “ecological civilization” and the principle of “harmonious coexistence between man and nature”, though probably with no “anti-cruelty to animals law” in the near future, if improved properly and executed strictly, current laws could effectively reduce cruelty to animals.

YUAN Chenyue

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Oversight Law

Convergence of Evidence Systems: Challenges and Pathways under China's Oversight and Criminal Procedure Laws

The coordination and unification of the Oversight Law and the Criminal Procedure Law are crucial guarantees for handling duty-related crime cases and inherent requirements for deepening the reform of the national oversight system. Based on considerations such as the unified coordination of the legal system, the protection of citizens' fundamental rights, and judicial efficiency, the convergence of evidence has become the nexus linking these two laws. Given the characteristics of duty-related crime cases, the oral evidence of the person under investigation is central to this evidentiary convergence. Currently, there remains room for improvement in both legislation and judiciary regarding evidence convergence. Issues include the lack of a differentiated review approach for oversight evidence, the systemic positioning of the statements, confession, and arguments of the person under investigation, and difficulties in implementing the rules for the exclusion of illegal evidence...

CHEN Bolin

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Property Law

Let the Legal System of Real Rights Fully Respond to Economic and Social Development: A Review of Professor Shen Weixing’s Chinese Real Right Law: Principle, Policy and Practice

Chinese Real Right Law: Principle, Policy and Practice, written by professor Shen Weixing is not a traditional legal textbook. It comprehensively reflects the changes in the legal system of real rights and incorporates the key insights developed by the author through long term research on the same topic. The theoretical value of this book is found in the perspective that the real right law interacts with the socio-economic development and it proposes a research method combining both vertical and horizontal dimensions to help researchers identify the institutional role played by the legal system of real rights. The book also guides legal practitioners to pay attention to changes in the real right law and apply the relevant rules of the related part in Chinese Civil Code correctly. The book does not address the changes in possession and controllability due to the technological advancements, however it might be a purposeful decision made by the author to stick on the main task the book...

JIANG Huiwen

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Energy Law

Technological and Legal Innovation in China’s Electric Power System Reform: a Review of Wang Mingyuan’s Chapter in Innovation In Energy Law And Technology

Wang Mingyuan’s chapter in Innovation in Energy Law and Technology focuses on China’s electricity sector reform and examines how technological progress has driven institutional change within the power system. Combining extensive empirical analysis with a coherent theoretical framework, the chapter conceptualizes technological and legal innovation as “two engines” propelling China’s energy transition and offers concrete policy recommendations from a legal reform perspective. Building on Wang’s analysis, this review summarizes the chapter’s core insights and academic contributions, supplements them with major developments in China’s electricity law and governance since 2018, and further develops its theoretical implications by bringing the concepts of creative destruction and energy justice into the discus.

HU Siyuan

18 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Environment Law

Criticism and Reconstruction of Climate Civil Litigation in China

The civil litigation system for climate change in China is facing three practical dilemmas: first, difficulty in distinguishing it from traditional civil litigation cases, second, uncertainty in litigation objects, strategies between climate change litigation and traditional litigation, and third, the over-expansion of the social function of climate justice. It is necessary to reshape the civil litigation system for climate change in China. This article argues that the rights and obligations of climate change litigation should be constructed based on the quantifiable temperature control targets and NDCs of the Paris Agreement and China's emission reduction obligations. This should be the core standard to distinguish between broad and narrow climate change litigation according to the relevance of individual cases, and special adjustments in line with China's situations should be made through the interpretation of the CBDR principle. Under China's current legal system, the...

DENG Haifeng & TANG Zihuai

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Data Law

Regulatory Data Protection for Biologics under the Art.39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement? An Issue to be Considered by China

As the global biologics market burgeons, the adequacy of international intellectual property protection frameworks under evolving pharmaceutical landscapes warrants scrutiny. This article examines whether Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement mandates biologics regulatory data protection and analyzes this question under PRC laws. A meticulous analysis of pharmaceutical classification and Article 39.3 drafting history under the treaty interpretation principles demonstrates that Article 39.3 exclusively applies to new chemical entity drugs. China’s Article 39.3 equivalent has mirrored the same position since China’s accession to the WTO in 2001, despite its recent failed attempts to extend the protection scope to biologics. The article advocates establishing a biologics-specific regulatory data protection regime under the PRC laws from three perspectives: (1) the inadequacy of patent protection, (2) the encouragement of biologics innovation and the promotion of public health...

SHI Lifu

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Criminal Law

Increased Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence through UNSC Chapter VII Actions

Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV) continues to be used in conflicts despite the existing international law prohibitions contained in the Rome Statute of the ICC and other international agreements. Given the continued violations of these prohibitions, more needs to be done to prevent instances of CRSV and increase prosecutions of perpetrators. This paper focuses specifically on CRSV against women. Through examples of conflicts with varying amounts of CRSV and the enforcement measures taken, this paper argues that the current ICC framework is ineffective and incomplete. This paper proposes three potential improvements the UNSC could make in treating CRSV to demonstrate its expressed commitment to eliminating CRSV and holding perpetrators responsible. 1) the UNSC could grant broader jurisdiction to prosecute sexual violence. In the alternative, 2) the UNSC could establish an automatic determination function for itself in referring instances of CRSV to the ICC under Chapter VII...

Naomi Hilton

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Environment Law

Climate Change Disputes in International Investment Dispute Settlement: Hardening, Alienation, and Future Trends

As the climate crisis intensifies, there is mounting pressure on international legal mechanisms to enforce state obligations in a meaningful manner. While the prevailing climate regime continues to be characterized by soft-law instruments, a novel dynamic is emerging within the domain of international investment law. Recent treaty practice and arbitral jurisprudence indicate that climate-related provisions in international investment agreements are undergoing a process of normative “hardening,” whereby soft commitments are interpreted as binding obligations. The present analysis posits that this transformation is being driven by a form of judicial activism, manifest through untraditional approach of treaty interpretation by investment tribunals or dispute panels, that expands the legal consequences of climate clauses beyond their original textual scope. Through a comparative textual analysis and case study examination, the article demonstrates how adjudicators are...

JIANG Qifan & MA Yuhang

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Legal History

In Search of Good Laws and Good Governance: Shen Jiaben and the Legal Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty

Seeking for good laws and good governance was the goal of the late Qing legal reform led by Shen Jiaben(沈家本), the High Commissioner for the Revision of Laws. This paper reviews his legal and political life, introduces his contribution to the construction of the rule of law in modern China, and probes into his stance and methods in the face of the complicated law conflicts between the ancient and modern eras, China and foreign countries in the legal reform. Shen Jiaben focused on the restoration of the ancient way in the issues of ancient and modern times. He distinguished the legal system of the Han and Tang Dynasties from that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and tried to restore Chinese classical legal ideas. He focused on mutual understanding in the issues of Chinese and Western cultures. He did not stick to the prejudice regarding the difference between China and the West, and tried to integrate the modern Western jurisprudence(法理) with the classical Chinese sense of...

CHEN Xinyu

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Legal History

From Hidden to Prominent: the Professional Ethics of Private Legal Advisors (Muyous) in Qing China

This article explores the existence of specialized legal professions and legal ethics in Qing China through an analysis of muyous and their representative Wang Huizu. Muyous established professional autonomy within the centralized bureaucratic system through distinct identity markers and ethical codes. The exemplary muyou Wang Huizu regarded expertise as the foundation of muyou practice. Through his mastery of statutory law, Confucian classics, and local customs, he achieved an balance between moral principles and legal formalism in legal reasoning and application for individual cases. Guided by the concept of karmic retribution, he took procedural ethics as the core of muyou practice, advocating judicial prudence, evidence verification, and public hearings, while avoiding torture and collective punishment. Muyous promoted the professionalization process through the production and dissemination of legal knowledge, further expanding their influence and forming a consensus among legal...

RUAN Jiahe

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Legal History

The Disputes between Orthodoxy and Technical Nobility: Reinterpretation of Yaodian

Yaodian recorded several disputes and games between Yao and the technical nobles who were controlling the governance power. It also accounted the new strategies and policies which were used to fight against the technical nobles since Shun took Yao’s place. These kinds of struggles was a miniature of the political status in the era of Five Di. It was a time of governance without regime in Three Huang’s era. And as Huangdi created Tianxia through the use of force to conquer, it entered into a time of both the Regime and Governance coexist and struggle. Tianzi who held the regime gained the legitimacy by monopolizing the order of Heaven. This pattern was created by Zhuanxu by disconnection of Heaven from Earth. The technical nobles who held the governance acquired the social influence and prestige by taking control of social governance.

LI Ping

China Law Update 17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2024)

Commercial Law

The Impact of International Corporate Group Bankruptcy Regime on China —— The Perspective of Substantial Consolidation Theory

Abstract: Current legislation in China regarding substantive consolidation in group insolvency cases is fraught with deficiencies, and the insolvency laws are not only lagging but also rife with contentious provisions. On one hand, the substantive criteria for application are muddled and the underlying meanings of these standards are rather ambiguous. On the other hand, there is a lack of procedural systematization, with a diversity of application subjects that lack consensus, a variety of application modes that require standardization, and jurisdictional rules that are full of gaps and in dire need of refinement. From a comparative law perspective, international legislation on corporate group insolvency exerts a multifaceted influence on China. The EU emphasizes procedural coordination but has limited application, the US has significantly developed the principle of substantive consolidation, and Germany's creditor protection provisions offer valuable lessons. In light of this...

BAI Bing

Articles | 17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2024)

Procedural Law

The annulment of international arbitral awards in the revision of Chinese arbitration law

China's Arbitration Law is undergoing dynamic reform, with the 2021 Draft for Comments prioritizing alignment with international standards, while the 2024 Draft Revision represents a notable retreat, featuring relatively limited adjustments. The Draft for Comments introduced significant revisions to the provisions on setting aside international arbitral awards, emphasizing alignment with the UNCITRAL Model Law to enhance their recognition and enforcement. However, these reforms were largely omitted in the final Draft Revision. This analysis traces the reform trajectory concerning the annulment of international arbitral awards, addressing key changes such as the unification of annulment grounds with domestic awards, procedural fairness enhancements, and alignment with international standards regarding annulment grounds, competent authorities, and time limits. Additionally, the essay evaluates the legality and rationality of these revisions from comparative legal perspectives...

YANG Shiyu

China Law Update | 17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2024)

Data Law

The Right to Erasure of Personal Information in Large Language Models: Challenges and Responses

The “Right to Erasure of Personal Information” (right to erasure), which grants individuals the opportunity to delete their personal information from the internet, has become a necessity in the information age. Academic discourse on the right to erasure has centered on the example of search engines as personal information processor and has been set against the backdrop of the internet age. However, the new era of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) has given rise to new formidable problems with the protection of the right to erasure, especially in the case of Large Language Models (LLMs) that are trained on large amounts of data containing personal information. This paradigm shift, therefore, raises a host of questions as to how to protect this legal right properly in the age of Generative AI. Against the backdrop of Generative AI, this paper argues how the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) should be applied to govern the protection of the right to erasure in...

MO Yunfan

Articles | 17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2024)

Data Law

Exemption Rules in China’s New Regulation on Cross-border Transfer of personal information

China’s newly issued Provisions on Promoting and Regulating Cross-border Data Flow clarifies under which circumstances can the data processor be exempted from the preconditions stipulated in Article 38 of Personal Information Protection Law. The scope and extent of the exemption rules reflect China’s data outflow attitude and the justifications behind the rules need to be explored and constructed. Justifications behind the exemptions rules differ: while data transit is justified both on the low risk of transit itself and the data classification and grading policy, exemptions under specific situations can find the counterparts in General Data Protection Regulation and transcend the relatively conservative regulation patterns.

NIU Zhiheng

China Law Update | 17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2024)

Commercial Law

Reconciling Dual Loyalties: Director Duties in “State-Invested Companies” under China’s 2023 Company Law

The ratification of significant amendments to the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China in December 2023 heralded comprehensive changes to China’s corporate governance regime. Under this reform, directors’ duties are outlined with greater clarity and specificity than before, and textually appear reminiscent of those imposed in various other jurisdictions. At the same time, questions arise as to the duties of directors in “State-Invested Companies”. In practice, there is no doubt that under the Chinese system directors of such companies will generally owe and act upon duties—legal, political, or otherwise—to both company and state. The question, therefore, is not if but how the legal basis of these duties is reconciled under the 2023a law. This article posits that this reconciliation ought not be approached through western common law fiduciary principles alone. Rather, it posits that when read with an understanding of the Chinese legal-political context there are three...

Ben Hines

Articles | 17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2024)

Administrative Law

Autonomous Vehicles Regulation in Beijing

Beijing has experienced rapid development in autonomous driving industry, yet lacks supporting local legislation. Examining Beijing's policy framework in autonomous driving since 2015 reveals its pioneering role in policy implementation, promoting cross-regional collaboration, developing multi-scenario deployments, and emphasizing data security. While national legislation remains premature, local legislative pilots can accumulate valuable experience to inform national lawmaking. Additionally, local legislation can mediate the tension between technological advancement and legal stability, fostering autonomous vehicle industry development through regulatory competition. Analysis of existing local legislative models nationwide reveals three patterns: special economic zone legislation, promotional legislation, and local traffic law amendments, all addressing access requirements, entity responsibilities, data governance, and application scenarios...

YU Lingyun; ZHU Qin; ZHENG Lin

China Law Update | 17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2024)

Procedural Law

How Functional Will the New Foreign-Related Civil Procedure Rules of China Be: A Perspective Based on Concerns by SEP Stakeholders

In the prevailing trend of parallel litigation regarding standard essential patents (SEPs), the amendment to the foreign-related provisions of the P.R.C. Civil Procedure Rules in 2023 aims to expand the jurisdiction of the People’s Courts over foreign-related cases to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests. This study estimates the international impact of the new rules on foreign SEP stakeholders, based on a survey among them. Its findings suggest that China’s civil procedure system with the 2023 Amendment has enormous potential, even though it still cannot completely alleviate the concerns of international comity and procedural fairness of foreign SEP stakeholders. To effectively stimulate this potential, the next move in developing foreign-related civil procedure rules should continuously strengthen the transparency of judgments and external publicity. People’s Courts and judges should adopt a conservative and prudent attitude in implementing...

Runhua WANG

Articles | 17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2024)

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)