The Full Text of the Law on Foreign State Immunity Is Released

On September 1, the Law on Foreign State Immunity (“Immunity Law”) has been adopted. The full text of the Law has now been published and will come into force from January 1, 2024.

The Immunity Law consists of twenty-three articles, which improve the foreign state immunity system and clarify the jurisdiction of the courts of China over civil cases involving foreign states and their property. The Immunity Law makes it clear that a foreign country that responds to a lawsuit or defends a case for the sole purpose of claiming immunity, or whose representatives appear and testify before a Chinese court, is not considered to have accepted the jurisdiction of the Chinese courts; if a foreign country carries out a commercial activity with an organization or an individual of another country, including China, that takes place within the territory of China, or if the activity takes place outside the territory of China but has a direct impact on China’s territory, the country shall not be immune from the jurisdiction of the Chinese court with respect to litigation arising out of such a commercial activity. Commercial activities refer to transactions in goods or services, investments, lending, and other acts of a commercial nature, which are not in the exercise of sovereign power.