HUANG Jin

Senior Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, Wuhan University 

President of Chinese Society of International Law

Honorable Justices, Distinguished Members of the Expert Committee:

Good morning!

As a member of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court, it is my great honor to participate in this seminar and reappointment ceremony. In light of the Supreme People 's Court 's Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the International Commercial Court to Serve and Safeguard High-Level Opening-Up, I would like to share two thoughts on the topic of “Securing Global Industrial and Supply Chains through the High-Quality Development of the International Commercial Court.”

I. The Value of Safeguarding the Stability of Global Industrial and Supply Chains through the High-Quality Development of the International Commercial Court

At present, global industrial and supply chains are deeply intertwined and undergoing accelerated restructuring. Disputes involving cross-border sales of goods, cross-border manufacturing, logistics and transportation, and supply chain finance continue to rise. Challenges such as chain-disruption risks,  performance disputes, parallel proceedings, and the application of foreign law have become the norm. The stability of industrial and supply chains is highly dependent on stable, transparent, and predictable judicial protection, and the International Commercial Court is precisely the pivotal judicial anchor.

First, the cross-jurisdictional and multi-party characteristics of global industrial and supply chains urgently require a specialized International Commercial Court to unify adjudicative expectations. A complete global industrial and supply chain typically spans upstream raw materials, midstream manufacturing, cross-border logistics, and downstream distribution, involving the laws of multiple jurisdictions, international treaties, and commercial usages. Ordinary commercial adjudication can hardly coordinate such complex issues as cross-border jurisdiction, the ascertainment of foreign law, and treaty application. The International Commercial Court, by contrast, specializes in handling major cross-border commercial disputes and unifies adjudicative standards for foreign-related agreement-based jurisdiction, trade in goods, independent guarantees, and multimodal transport. It thereby reduces at the source supply chains stall, orders go unfulfilled, and capital is tied up, caused by ambiguous rights and obligations, and consolidates the rule-based foundation for the operation of industrial and supply chains.

Second, the efficient and convenient cross-border dispute resolution mechanism of the International Commercial Court is an imperative for addressing the “immediacy risks” along global industrial and supply chains. Industrial and supply chains are time-sensitive. Lengthy and cumbersome notarization and authentication of foreign evidence, multilingual litigation barriers, and fragmented dispute resolution channels amplify losses from inventory pile-ups, production shutdowns, and cargo delays at ports. The International Commercial Court, however, advances litigation facilitation and digitalization reforms, simplifies the authentication of public documents, builds multilingual online litigation platforms, and is complemented by a one-stop diversified dispute resolution system to achieve expedited trial and resolution of disputes, minimizing the dispute-resolution cycle and preventing localized disputes from escalating into chain-wide disruptions.

Third, by coordinating the advancement of domestic rule of law and foreign-related rule of law through the International Commercial Court, China can enhance global market confidence in its industrial and supply chains from an institutional perspective. When Chinese and foreign enterprises and multinational investment institutions assess their industrial and supply-chain footprint, their core considerations are equal judicial protection and the cross-border enforceability of judgments. The International Commercial Court, by providing equal protection to Chinese and foreign parties, standardizing the application of international treaties and usages, and promoting the cross-border circulation of judgments and arbitral awards, can provide stable judicial practice to the international community, enhance the sense of security for foreign investment taking root in China and Chinese enterprises going global, attract global factors of production to continuously converge into China’s industrial chains, and offset the pressure of supply-chain relocation brought by geopolitical conflicts.

Fourth, the diversified dispute resolution system of the International Commercial Court aligns with the commercial needs of global industrial and supply chains. Commercial disputes need not be resolved solely through adversarial adjudication; long-term cooperative relationships in industrial and supply chains call for the seamless integration of negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation. The International Commercial Court, by engaging expert committee members in neutral mediation and supporting ad hoc arbitration in pilot free trade zones, resolves differences through flexible means, preserves upstream and downstream cooperative relationships, and achieves the goal of “resolving disputes without breaking the chain, settling conflicts to promote cooperation,” thereby maintaining the long-term resilience of industrial and supply chains.

II. How to Consolidate the Foundation of Global Industrial and Supply-Chain Stability through the High-Quality Development of the International Commercial Court

In alignment with the arrangements set forth in the Supreme People’s Court’s Opinions, and drawing on the judicial practice of the International Commercial Court, consideration may be given to efforts in four areas to empower the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.

First, improve the specialized adjudication mechanism of the International Commercial Court to precisely respond to new types of disputes in global industrial and supply chains. Optimize the mechanisms of upward referral of jurisdiction and model adjudication, and concentrate on hearing typical cases involving cross-border procurement, cross-border bankruptcy, electronic commerce, supply chain finance, and transportation performance. Leverage artificial intelligence and big data to build an intelligent database of foreign law, enabling efficient ascertainment of trade, security, and product-liability rules of various jurisdictions. Issue foreign-related jurisdiction provisions to clarify conflicts arising from parallel proceedings, and provide clear judicial guidance for long-term cross-border supply contracts and framework cooperation agreements, thereby reducing legal risks for enterprises along the chain.

Second, optimize the one-stop diversified dispute resolution mechanism of the International Commercial Court to create a rapid-disposal channel for disputes along global industrial and supply chains. Make good use of the think-tank function of the International Commercial Expert Committee by organizing expert members to participate in mediation, assessor proceedings, and foreign-law expert analysis, and provide neutral and professional opinions on large-value supply-chain disputes. Strengthen judicial support for arbitration, improve the preservation mechanism, and foster an arbitration-friendly environment. Improve the judicial confirmation procedure for mediation agreements, and promote the docking of industry associations and cross-border platforms with dispute-resolution platforms, enabling the front-end resolution of small-value chain disputes and reducing enterprises’legal costs and operational losses.

Third, continuously advance judicial facilitation and digitalization of the International Commercial Court to remove bottlenecks in cross-border litigation. Fully implement the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, simplify procedures for foreign evidence, and unify standards for Chinese and English judicial documents. Upgrade the online litigation platform to achieve full coverage of cross-border case filing, video hearings, and electronic service of process, meeting the needs of parties from multiple jurisdictions and linguistic backgrounds, reducing the time and financial costs of cross-border travel for enterprises, and ensuring that small and medium-sized foreign-trade enterprises are not dragged down by litigation in their production and operations.

Fourth, strengthen the talent cultivation and international rule-making capacity of the International Commercial Court to enhance its voice in the governance of global industrial and supply chains. Deepen collaborative talent cultivation among courts, universities, and think tanks, and regularly conduct foreign-related adjudication lectures and practical seminars to cultivate a composite adjudication team well-versed in international trade and supply-chain rules. Step up efforts to promote typical cases to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), and contribute Chinese judicial solutions on such issues as electronic transport documents and cross-border goods liability. Actively participate in international treaty negotiations and cross-border judicial exchanges, and promote the formation of fairer and more inclusive global commercial rules, thereby creating a favorable institutional environment for the healthy development of global industrial and supply chains.

Dear colleagues, a stable and smooth-flowing global industrial and supply chain is the cornerstone of high-level opening-up, and the International Commercial Court is the core vehicle through which foreign-related rule of law safeguards international economic and trade cooperation. As an expert committee member,I will continue to provide my professional expertise, actively participate in mediation, the ascertainment of foreign law, and policy deliberation, and help the International Commercial Court improve quality and efficiency. Through fair and efficient foreign-related justice, we will continuously safeguard the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains, and support China in becoming a preferred venue for international commercial dispute resolution.

Thank you all!