Foreign Firms Assisting China’s Legal Reform

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Jul. 29 – Foreign firms in China are assisting with the pace of legal reform and development with the Chinese government, says Jim Zimmerman, author of the new China Law Deskbook.

In an interview in the July/August issue of the American Chamber of Commerce’s magazine, Zimmerman stated that “legal exchanges between foreign law firms and legal institutions have enhanced the quality of China’s laws and regulations. Indeed, many long term members of the foreign bar have been actively involved in the legal drafting process for years. To name a few, foreign lawyers have played a key role in the drafting and development of China’s Contract Law, Labor Contract Law, Property Law, Tort Law and Anti-Monopoly Law.”

Recognizing that new laws provide increased specificity in legal standards applicable to foreign businesses in China, Zimmerman said that this creates more certainty and predictability for businesses in the country and creates an easier operational environment. Highlighting the wide ranging legal changes that occurred upon China’s accession to the WTO as an example, foreign lawyers interacting with China helped instigate an evolutionary development of laws affecting foreign trade in several areas, including customs, foreign investment, tax, labor, IPR and competition.

Stating that China should be proud of the pace of its legal reforms, he warned that the process of legal reform was still on-going and that uncertainties still remain as the nation develops a legal system “essentially from scratch 30 years ago.” That pace of reform, and the trends that go with them, can be well spotted by lawyers familiar with China and involved in the reform process. Touching on the rise of litigation in China, he noted that this is also in tandem with a rise in trade, and indicates greater confidence in China and in its legal system. “These legal exchanges,” Zimmerman added, “have done much to improve and enhance the relationship and understanding between Chinese and foreign lawyers. They will continue to help us improve upon our respective legal systems.”

The new edition of Zimmerman’s China Law Deskbook has just been published. Considered by many to be the bible of China law, the first edition was published in 1999. The new, updated third edition has been released by the American Bar Association and comes complete with web site updates, which include templates, forms and research materials, and is available for a price of US$234.95 on the book’s web site.