中国涉外合同纠纷的管辖法院

The Jurisdictional court for foreign-related contract disputes in China

涉外合同的定义

Definition of foreign-related contracts

根据《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》司法解释第五百二十条的规定有下列情形之一，可以认定为涉外民事案件：

(一)当事人一方或者双方是外国人、无国籍人、外国企业或者组织的；

(二)当事人一方或者双方的经常居所地在中华人民共和国领域外的；

(三)标的物在中华人民共和国领域外的；

(四)产生、变更或者消灭民事关系的法律事实发生在中华人民共和国领域外的；

(五)可以认定为涉外民事案件的其他情形

According to article 520 of the judicial interpretation of the "Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", it may be found to be a foreign-related civil case in any of the following circumstances:

(1)One or both of the parties are foreigners, stateless persons, foreign enterprises or organizations;

(2)The habitual residence of one or both parties is outside the territory of the People's Republic of China;

(3)The subject matter is outside the territory of the People's Republic of China;

(4) The legal facts that created, modified, or terminated the civil relationship occurred outside the territory of the People's Republic of China;

(5)Other circumstances that may be found to be foreign-related civil cases

二、涉外合同的地域管辖

II. Territorial Jurisdiction of Foreign-Related Contracts

1、可协议选择外国法院管辖

1、The jurisdiction of a foreign court can be chosen by agreement

根据《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》司法解释第五百二十九条的规定，涉外合同或者其他财产权益纠纷的当事人，可以书面协议选择被告住所地、合同履行地、合同签订地、原告住所地、标的物所在地、侵权行为地等与争议有实际联系地点的外国法院管辖。但是，属于中华人民共和国法院专属管辖的案件，当事人不得协议选择外国法院管辖，但协议选择仲裁的除外。

According to Article 529 of the Judicial Interpretation of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, parties to a foreign-related contract or other property rights and interests dispute may, by written agreement, choose the jurisdiction of a foreign court in the place where the defendant is domiciled, the place where the contract is performed, the place where the contract is signed, the place where the plaintiff is domiciled, the place where the subject matter is located, the place where the tort is committed, and other places that have an actual connection with the dispute. However, in cases that fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the People's Republic of China, the parties shall not agree to choose the jurisdiction of a foreign court, except where arbitration is chosen by agreement.

根据《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》第266条规定，属于我国人民法院专属管辖的涉外民事案件有：在我国履行的中外合资经营企业合同纠纷；在我国履行的中外合作经营企业合同纠纷；以及在我国履行的中外合作勘探开发自然资源合同纠纷。

According to Article 266 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, foreign-related civil cases that fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the people's courts of China include: disputes over contracts of Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures performed in China; Disputes over contracts of Chinese-foreign contractual joint ventures performed in China; and Chinese-foreign cooperative exploration and development of natural resources contract disputes performed in China.

此外，根据《全国法院涉外商事海事审判工作座谈会会议纪要》第一条关于排他性管辖协议的推定的规定可知，如果涉外合同或者其他财产权益纠纷的当事人签订的管辖协议中明确约定由一国法院管辖，但未约定该管辖协议为非排他性管辖协议的，应推定该管辖协议为排他性管辖协议。

In addition, according to Article 1 of the Minutes of the National Symposium on Foreign-related Commercial and Maritime Trial Work of Courts, it can be seen that if the jurisdiction agreement signed by the parties to a foreign-related contract or other property rights and interests dispute expressly stipulates that the jurisdiction of a national court shall be under jurisdiction, but does not stipulate that the jurisdiction agreement is a non-exclusive jurisdiction agreement, the jurisdiction agreement shall be presumed to be an exclusive jurisdiction agreement.

无协议管辖时中国法院具有管辖权的情况

In the absence of jurisdiction agreement, the Chinese court shall have jurisdiction in the following circumstances

如果涉外合同纠纷的被告在我国境内有住所的，被告住所地法院有权管辖

（1）If the defendant in a foreign-related contract dispute has a domicile in China, the court at the place where the defendant is domiciled has jurisdiction

根据《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》第二百七十二条的规定，因合同纠纷或者其他财产权益纠纷，对在中华人民共和国领域内没有住所的被告提起的诉讼，如果合同在中华人民共和国领域内签订或者履行，或者诉讼标的物在中华人民共和国领域内，或者被告在中华人民共和国领域内有可供扣押的财产，或者被告在中华人民共和国领域内设有代表机构，可以由合同签订地、合同履行地、诉讼标的物所在地、可供扣押财产所在地、侵权行为地或者代表机构住所地人民法院管辖。

（2）According to Article 272 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if a lawsuit is filed against a defendant who does not have a domicile within the territory of the People's Republic of China due to a contract dispute or other dispute over property rights and interests, if the contract is signed or performed within the territory of the People's Republic of China, or if the subject matter of the litigation is within the territory of the People's Republic of China, or the defendant has property available for seizure within the territory of the People's Republic of China, or if the defendant has a representative office within the territory of the People's Republic of China, The people's Republic of China court has jurisdiction over the place where the contract was signed, where the contract is performed, where the subject matter of the litigation is located, where the property that can be seized, where the tort is committed, or where the representative office is domiciled.

三、涉外合同由中国法院管辖时的级别管辖

III. The level of jurisdiction of foreign-related contracts when they are under the jurisdiction of Chinese courts

根据《最高人民法院关于涉外民商事案件管辖若干问题的规定》的规定。首先，基层人民法院管辖大部分第一审涉外民事案件，法律、司法解释另有规定的除外。

In accordance with the provisions of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Jurisdiction of Foreign-related Civil and Commercial Cases. Firstly, the Grass-roots people's courts have jurisdiction over the majority of first-instance foreign-related civil cases, except as otherwise provided by laws and judicial interpretations.

其次，中级人民法院管辖下列第一审涉外民商事案件：（一）争议标的额大的涉外民商事案件。北京、天津、上海、江苏、浙江、福建、山东、广东、重庆辖区中级人民法院，管辖诉讼标的额人民币4000万元以上（包含本数）的涉外民商事案件；除前省份以外的中国其他省份及自治区的中级人民法院，解放军各战区、总直属军事法院，新疆维吾尔自治区高级人民法院生产建设兵团分院所辖各中级人民法院，管辖诉讼标的额人民币2000万元以上（包含本数）的涉外民商事案件。（二）案情复杂或者一方当事人人数众多的涉外民商事案件。（三）其他在本辖区有重大影响的涉外民商事案件。法律、司法解释对中级人民法院管辖第一审涉外民商事案件另有规定的，依照相关规定办理。

Secondly, the Intermediate People's Court has jurisdiction over the following first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases: (1) foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a large amount of the subject matter in dispute. The Intermediate People's Courts of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, and Chongqing have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a subject matter of litigation of more than RMB 40 million (including this amount); The Intermediate People's Courts of other provinces and autonomous regions in China other than the former provinces, the military courts directly under the the People's Liberation Army War Zone and the General Headquarters, and the Intermediate People's Courts under the jurisdiction of the Production and Construction Corps Branch of the High People's Court of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have jurisdiction over foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a subject matter of more than RMB 20 million (inclusive). (2) Foreign-related civil and commercial cases where the facts of the case are complex or where one party has a large number of parties. (3) Other foreign-related civil and commercial cases that have a major impact in the jurisdiction. Where laws and judicial interpretations have other provisions on the jurisdiction of intermediate people's courts in first-instance civil and commercial cases involving foreign interests, it is to be handled in accordance with relevant provisions.

再次，高级人民法院管辖诉讼标的额人民币50亿元以上（包含本数）或者其他在本辖区有重大影响的第一审涉外民商事案件。

Thirdly, the Higher People's Court has jurisdiction over first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a subject matter of litigation of more than RMB 5 billion (including this amount) or other foreign-related civil and commercial cases that have a significant impact in the jurisdiction.

最后，高级人民法院根据本辖区的实际情况，认为确有必要的，经报最高人民法院批准，可以指定一个或数个基层人民法院、中级人民法院分别对本规定第一条、第二条规定的第一审涉外民商事案件(即基层人民法院和中级人民法院管辖的案件范围）实行跨区域集中管辖。如实行跨区域集中管辖的，高级人民法院应及时向社会公布该基层人民法院、中级人民法院相应的管辖区域。

Finally, if the High People's Court, on the basis of the actual conditions in its jurisdiction, finds that it is truly necessary, it may, upon approval by the Supreme People's Court, designate one or more Grass-roots people's courts and Intermediate people's courts to respectively exercise cross-regional centralized jurisdiction over first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases as provided for in Articles 1 and 2 of these Provisions (i.e., the scope of cases within the jurisdiction of the basic people's courts and intermediate people's courts). If cross-regional centralized jurisdiction is implemented, the High People's Court shall promptly announce to the public the corresponding jurisdiction area of the Grass-roots people's courts or the Intermediate people's court.

Many of our lawyers at Concord & Sage Law Firm are licensed to practice law in both China and the United States. If you have questions on Chinese legal topics, please feel free to email us at contact@concordsage.com. You may also contact the main author of this article, Attorney Qin Li (licensed in China and California), at liqin@concordsage.com.