China's supreme court sets up online platform for foreign law ascertainment

BEIJING -- China's Supreme People's Court has set up its online platform for foreign law ascertainment on the website of the China International Commercial Court, according to the SPC website.

The move is aimed at removing the difficulty of foreign law ascertainment in foreign-related trials and further optimizing the law-based business environment, the SPC said.

The platform is open to people's courts at all levels, parties to litigation cases and attorneys, enterprises of cross-border trade and investment or international disputes where foreign laws need to be ascertained and where the legislatures, administrative agencies, arbitration institutions or other entities need to know foreign laws, said the SPC.

The first batch of over 50 judgments and rulings concerning foreign law ascertainment have been uploaded on to the platform, which was jointly established by the SPC and five other institutions in China.

The SPC said it will strengthen the informatization management and big data analysis of the cases involving the Belt and Road programmes in order to provide intelligent services for judges and ensure the correct application of laws and the unification of the rules of adjudication.