(Approved at the 1872nd meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on August 16, 2022, effective from January 1, 2023)
In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of both Chinese and foreign parties in accordance with the law, facilitate litigation, and further improve the quality and efficiency of foreign-related civil and commercial trials, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China and in combination with judicial practice, this regulation is formulated.
Article 1: Grassroots people’s courts shall have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases in the first instance, except as otherwise provided by laws and judicial interpretations.
Article 2: The Intermediate People’s Court shall have jurisdiction over the following first instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases:
（1） Foreign civil and commercial cases with a large amount of disputed subject matter.
Intermediate people’s courts in the jurisdiction of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, and Chongqing, with jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a litigation amount of RMB 40 million or more (including this number);
The intermediate people’s courts in Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Xizang, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang, the military courts in the war zones and directly under the PLA, and the intermediate people’s courts under the Production and Construction Corps Branch of the Higher People’s Court of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases with the subject matter of litigation of more than 20 million yuan (inclusive).
（2） Foreign civil and commercial cases with complex circumstances or a large number of parties involved.
（3） Other foreign-related civil and commercial cases with significant impact in this jurisdiction.
If there are other provisions in laws and judicial interpretations regarding the jurisdiction of intermediate people’s courts over foreign-related civil and commercial cases in the first instance, relevant provisions shall be followed.
Article 3: The Higher People’s Court shall have jurisdiction over the first instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a litigation amount of RMB 5 billion or more (including this number) or other significant impacts in its jurisdiction.
Article 4: If the Higher People’s Court deems it necessary based on the actual situation of its jurisdiction, and with the approval of the Supreme People’s Court, it may designate one or more grassroots people’s courts and intermediate people’s courts to exercise cross regional centralized jurisdiction over the first instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases stipulated in Article 1 and Article 2 of these Regulations.
If cross regional centralized jurisdiction is implemented in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the higher people’s court shall promptly disclose to the society the corresponding jurisdiction areas of the grassroots people’s court and the intermediate people’s court.
Article 5: Civil and commercial cases involving foreign elements shall be tried by a specialized trial or collegial panel.
Article 6: These Provisions shall not apply to cases involving foreign-related maritime and commercial disputes, foreign-related intellectual property disputes, foreign-related ecological environment damage compensation disputes, and foreign-related environmental civil public interest litigation cases.
Article 7: Civil and commercial cases involving Hong Kong, Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan shall be governed by these provisions.
Article 8: These regulations shall come into effect on January 1, 2023. Cases accepted after the implementation of these regulations shall be governed by these regulations.
Article 9: In case of any inconsistency between the judicial interpretations previously issued by this court and these regulations, these regulations shall prevail.
