Beijing court handles myriad of overseas disputes

The number and type of commercial disputes involving overseas litigants heard by the Beijing No 4 Intermediate People's Court in the past five years have ranked among the highest across the country.

The court announced the achievement on Wednesday, saying it has solved more than 6,000 commercial cases involving litigants from overseas since it was required to specialize in handling these capital-related disputes in 2018.

The cases covered more than 60 countries and regions, and cover subjects including equity transfer, the validity of company decisions, the qualification confirmation of shareholders, tourism contracts and immigration service contracts, Yuan Yuchi, the court's vice-president, said at a news conference.

To provide a sound business environment for litigants from home and abroad, the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, approved the establish of the Beijing International Commercial Court last December, and it set up the new court as a division under the intermediate court due to its rich experience in handling such disputes.

Ma Jun, chief judge of the division, said: "We've always given equal protection to litigants in dealing with cases, no matter where they come from, and we've also tried to find more channels to ascertain extraterritorial legal documents to ensure the accuracy of law application."

While hearing the disputes, the intermediate court has also made efforts to provide more legal services for investors from home and abroad. For example, it suggested some enterprises regulate their business operations by sending them legal advice, calling for the employer to increase legal training for its workers.