중국 섭외해사사건 관할에 관한 연구

Under the Chinese laws, jurisdiction for the foreign maritime cases is basically determined in accordance with the Chinese Civil Law. In comparison with jurisdiction for foreign civil cases, broader jurisdiction is applied for the foreign maritime cases to protect sovereignty and citizens' rights. In addition, the People's Courts have normally jurisdiction for the foreign maritime cases. Some concerns are, however, expressed about the potential disputes with other countries due to the extended jurisdiction. The extended jurisdiction may also place excessive burden on the interested parties and result in reducing efficiency of trials for the foreign cases. China has attempted to introduce the rule that in case there is a conflict concerning jurisdiction for the foreign maritime cases, the principle of prevailing jurisdiction and the principle of the inappropriate place of court apply. Under the principle of prevailing jurisdiction which is applied only to the domestic civil cases, the Chinese court may suspend the court procedures provided that the foreign court who has jurisdiction over the case brought by the same party already dealt with the case and that the ruling by the foreign court could be approved. Pursuant to the principle of the inappropriate place of court, even when a Chinese court has jurisdiction over a foreign maritime case in question, it may exercise discretion not to claim for jurisdiction if the court determines that it is relevant for the foreign court to deal with the foreign maritime case. Since there are precedents in which certain Chinese courts applied in part the principles of prevailing jurisdiction and of the inappropriate place of court and since their effects are considered to be positive, there is a merit to introduce the principles in Chinese laws formally. Finally, recognizing that the foreign cases are closely related to the judicial sovereignty, there is a need to design laws carefully neither to infringe sovereignty nor to conflict with other laws.