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| Past Events: Bay Area Experience: Evidence-based Policy Webinar Series |
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Economic Integration and the Law in the Greater Bay Area: How the Qianhai Court Handled Hong Kong- and Macau-Related Cases
24 Jun 2022 | 11:00–12:15 (UTC+8) | Zoom |
Speaker
Prof. Chao Xi
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Professor, Faculty of Law, CUHK
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Discussants
Prof. Dicky Tsang
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Associte Professor, Faculty of Law, CUHK
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Dr. Xiaoyan Hou
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Honorary Research Fellow, HKIAPS, CUHK
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Moderator
Prof. Fanny M. Cheung
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Senior Advisor, Faculty of Social Science and HKIAPS, CUHK
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On 24 June 2022, Policy Research @ HKIAPS presented a webinar on “Economic Integration and the Law in the Greater Bay Area: How the Qianhai Court Handled Hong Kong and Macau-Related Cases”. The main speaker was Prof. Chao Xi, who shared his research on how the Qianhai courts handled private international law cases. Based on this research, he put forward several policy recommendations. One of the discussants, Prof. Dicky Tsang, shared his research in the areas of jurisdiction, choice of law, and enforcement in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Another discussant, Dr Xiaoyan Hou, highlighted the value of data-based research findings.
How courts interpret the law plays a significant role in shaping an effective and functional legal system for sustainable growth in the GBA. Shenzhen’s Qianhai Court is the nation’s leading player in handling Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Foreign (HMTF) related cases. Prof. Xi’s research is based on all publicly accessible court judgements by the Qianhai Court relating to Hong Kong and Macau during the years 2015 – 2020, amounting to 1,790 cases.
The cases were categorized into thirty-six types with reference to the causes of action. Contract disputes were found to be the most common type of case, probably reflecting the nature of GBA business and commercial transactions at this stage. There was a “homeward trend”, with the law of Mainland China being applied in 98.6% of sample cases. Prof. Xi suggested that there is a need for greater awareness of private international laws, as well as greater cooperation in determining Hong Kong and Macau laws in Mainland Chinese judicial proceedings. He also speculated that it might be worth exploring the scope of mutual judicial comity and model contract clauses.
Prof. Tsang highlighted the uniqueness of Prof. Xi’s empirical research, pointing out that it is the only study that has been conducted thus far on the private international law practices of the Qianhai courts that focuses on a large sample size in terms of both jurisdiction and choice-of-law. In his own research, Prof. Tsang also found positive developments in the areas of cooperation and harmonization of private litigation between the Mainland and Hong Kong, including in jurisdiction and choice of law. Dr Hou further noted that Hong Kong laws are currently rarely applied in GBA legal practice when handling relevant cases. One reason for this is the vague expression of the contract parties’ choice of law. There might also be other reasons that are currently unclear. She believes that further empirical research like that of Prof. Xi’s could help to clarify this issue.
About 40 local and regional participants attended the webinar.
Video
Organizer
Policy Research @ HKIAPS, CUHK
Co-sponsor
Global China Research Programme, CUHK
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