Fighting the homeward trend: The second Supreme People’s Court interpretation concerning the Private International Law Act of the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

At the end of 2023, thirteen years after the enactment of the Chinese Private International Law Act (PILA), the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) adopted a second judicial interpretation of the law. The interpretation deals exclusively with the problem of ascertaining and applying foreign law. It clearly opposes the widespread homeward trend in Chinese judicial practice. Primarily, the SPC is sending an important signal to the lower courts that they must take seriously their duty of ascertaining and applying foreign law. The present study first illustrates the problem posed by the homeward trend in case law since the adoption of the PILA. It then offers a detailed analysis of the provisions of the new interpretation. The analysis shows that the SPC recognizes not only the problem but also some of its biggest causes. The interplay of the interpretation’s provisions appears quite suitable to at least mitigate the problem of Chinese courts failing to ascertain and apply foreign law and thus to counteract the homeward trend.