‘Long overdue’: China’s new Foreign State Immunity Law will align it with Western practices
- Under the new legislation, sovereign states will no longer be fully immune from prosecution in China
- It is expected the law, which will give better legal protection to those involved in international trade, will also apply to Hong Kong
China has long taken the stance that states and their property are immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of other states. Previously, it has never allowed a case where a foreign state or government was sued, nor has it allowed any claim involving a foreign state or their property.
But the Foreign State Immunity Law, adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Friday, will remove such immunity from next year.
From January 1, 2024, sovereign states or entities authorised to act on their behalf that are involved in certain territorial torts or commercial activities will no longer be immune from prosecution in China.
Commercial activity was defined in the draft law as “any transaction or investment involving goods or services or other act of a commercial nature that does not constitute an exercise of sovereign authority”.
