The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Nov 29 officially launched its Foreign Law Ascertainment Platform on the website of the China International Commercial Court (CICC).

The platform is an important step for the SPC in its effort to establish mechanisms and institutions for the settlement of international commercial disputes under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, to remove the barriers to the ascertainment of foreign law, and to improve a rule of law-based business climate.

People's courts at all levels, parties in litigation and their attorneys, enterprises involved in disputes related to cross-border trade and investment or other cross-border affairs, legislative and administrative organs as well as arbitration institutions can access the platform.

At present, people can not only use the platform to acquire information about foreign law provided by designated experts or institutions, but also access its database, which already contains over 50 related adjudications, for the laws and court rulings relevant to their situations.