On July 30, 2020, the first anniversary of the establishment of Lingang section
of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Shanghai Financial Court held a press
conference to release the Measures of
Shanghai Financial Court to Serve and Safeguard the Financial Openness and
Innovation in Lingang Section of Shanghai
Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"). Zhao Hong, Secretary of
the Party Leadership Group and President of the Shanghai Financial Court, and
Xiao Kai, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Shanghai
Financial Court, attended the conference.
Zhao Hong introduced the background, purpose, main contents and highlighted
innovations of the Measures.
Establishing Lingang section of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone is a major
strategic arrangement for further opening made by the CPC Central Committee
with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core taking into account the big picture and
through scientific decision-making. At the end of 2019, the Supreme People's
Court and Shanghai High People's Court successively issued opinions on
providing judicial services and safeguards for the construction of Shanghai
FTZ, Lingang. It's clearly proposed to improve the financial trial systems and
mechanisms, support the Shanghai Financial Court to respond positively to the
judicial needs for reform and opening up in the financial sector in Shanghai
FTZ, Lingang, carry out specialized trials of financial disputes, and ensure
the smooth implementation of various innovative measures in Shanghai FTZ, Lingang.
In the first half of 2020, with the purpose of fully planning and deploying the
new tasks for the financial reform in Shanghai, People's Bank of China, China
Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory
Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange and Shanghai Municipal
People's Government jointly issued "30 Opinions on Further Accelerating
the Construction of Shanghai as an International Financial Center and Providing
Financial Support for Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta",
while the Administrative Committee of Shanghai FTZ, Lingang and financial regulatory
authorities jointly issued "50 Measures to Comprehensively Promote the
Financial Opening and Innovation in Lingang Section of Shanghai Pilot Free
Trade Zone".
As the first special financial court in China, the Shanghai Financial Court
has taken the initiative to respond to the new judicial needs for financial
opening and innovation in Shanghai FTZ, Lingang, and with focus on financial
trials and enforcement, put forward 15 service measures from the perspectives
of clarifying the adjudication principles, detailing and implementing the case
filing, hearing and enforcement mechanisms, strengthening science and
technology support as well as capacity building, etc.
As proposed in the Measures, we should promote the innovation and improvement of
financial trial mechanisms to make financial trials more professional,
convenient and credible. We should equally protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese
and foreign parties in international financial transactions according to law,
strengthen the building of financial trial organizations in Shanghai FTZ, Lingang,
and explore the employment of compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as
people's jurors to participate in the trial of cases. We should also respect
the agreement of the parties concerned on court selection, support the parties
to select the Shanghai Financial Court as agreed to try cases involving
cross-border financial transactions, offshore financial transactions and other
foreign-related financial disputes relating to Shanghai FTZ, Lingang, and
enhance the influence of Shanghai as an International Financial Center on the
financial market rules. Moreover, we should build a "one-stop"
foreign financial dispute resolution platform and work together to create a
"one-stop" diversified dispute resolution pattern that integrates
litigation, arbitration and mediation. We should also establish the system of
specially-invited mediators including Chinese and foreign experts and promote a
full-chain and diversified dispute resolution mechanism to resolve mass
financial disputes through integrating demonstration judgment, professional
mediation and judicial confirmation. We should optimize the rules of procedure
for foreign-related financial cases, formulate guidelines for foreign-related
financial trials, standardize the trial procedures for foreign-related
financial cases, and improve the mechanisms of service abroad of documents, remote verification of evidence, investigation and
evidence collection, online court hearings and ascertainment of foreign laws,
etc. to make foreign-related financial trials more convenient comprehensively.
The Measures
suggests that we should actively carry out research and judgment on the types
of financial cases, and provide more just, efficient and predictable financial
judicial safeguards. We should properly deal with new types of cross-border financial disputes
that may arise in the fields of banking, securities and insurance according to
law, and give full play to the functions of financial trials in market
orientation, value guidance and rule creation. We should also give full play to
the role of financial judicial cases, establish a practical research platform
with PBC Shanghai Head Office and well-known colleges and universities jointly,
and regularly publish typical cases in both Chinese and English, so as to
provide stable expectations for the resolution of cross-border financial
disputes.
The Measures
stresses that we should actively carry out financial justice practices and
align with the financial system innovation in Shanghai FTZ, Lingang.
We should build a sound information ecosystem for rule of law in finance,
strengthen the protection of financial information under the Internet
environment, and support the rational use of cross-border flow of financial
transaction data according to law. Moreover, we should support the regulation
on fintech innovation according to law, implement the principle of legality
review, support regulatory authorities to establish the conditions for access
and withdrawal of pilot regulation on fintech innovation and improve its
implementation processes, and protect the right to know and right to choose of
financial consumers who voluntarily participate in the pilot-related tests
according to law. We should also explore the establishment of a "test case"
mechanism to encourage market players in Shanghai FTZ, Lingang to bring test
litigations on disputes that have a significant impact on the market. Through
"test cases", we need to set up market rules, define the boundary of
rights and obligations of market players, effectively guide and respond to the
financial opening and innovation in Shanghai FTZ, Lingang, so as to realize
governance at the source of litigations.
The Measures
requests that we should strengthen the safeguards in all aspects to ensure that
the measures are fully implemented. We should intensify the enforcement with judicial
assistance, establish online judicial assistance mechanisms with securities
registration and clearing institutions to realize online inquiry and freezing
of property, so as to assist with the enforcement of cases. We should also
deepen the application of financial judicial technologies, utilize the latest
judicial technologies, such as intelligent case filing, intelligent litigation
risk warning, securities investor protection chamber and AI smart trial &
simultaneous interpretation system, to improve the integration of paperless
litigation services and electronic litigation and enforcement, so as to provide
judicial support for the whole-process online case handling and help to resolve
cross-border financial disputes in Shanghai FTZ, Lingang efficiently and
conveniently. Besides, we should strengthen the training of judicial talented
people with good knowledge of foreign financial laws, establish an exchange
study and talent training mechanism in line with international standards, and
build a high-level and versatile team for financial trials that has a deep
theoretical background, is familiar with international financial laws and is
good at handling foreign-related legal affairs in financial field, thereby
providing strong support for the financial justice in Shanghai FTZ, Lingang.
Zhao Hong said that the Shanghai Financial Court will be more open. It will
give full play to its role in financial trials, take the initiative to serve
and integrate into the national strategy in a higher political stance, deeper
level and wider field, conserve the integrity and pursue innovation, and
further improve the financial trial mechanism to make investment and trade in Shanghai
FTZ, Lingang liberalized and facilitated, thereby providing a strong judicial
guarantee for fostering new advantages in participating in and leading
international economic cooperation and competition.