Joyce Wen
The Supreme People’s Court released the Decision of the Supreme People’s Court on Amending the Provisions on the Jurisdiction of the Shanghai Financial Courts (the “Decision”) on April 21, 2021 to amend the Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on the Jurisdiction of the Shanghai Financial Courts, which went into effect on August 10, 2018. The Decision went into effect on April 22, 2021.
The Decision expands the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Financial Court in civil matters involving commercial finance. For civil disputes, savings deposit contracts and bank settlement contracts are added under its jurisdiction. For financial business disputes, the jurisdiction now includes those arising from asset management, asset-backed securities, foreign exchange, financial product sales and appropriateness management, credit, payments and other financial business approved by the competent authorities. Meanwhile, company-related disputes involving financial institutions are added. The Decision provides that the following are to fall within the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Financial Court: Lawsuits brought by domestic investors for claims regarding securities being offered or trading activities (including futures trading) outside the People’s Republic of China infringing on their rights and interests; lawsuits brought by domestic individuals or institutions for claims that financial products or services provided by financial institutions outside the People’s Republic of China are infringing on their rights and interests; and first instance civil commercial disputes over securities issued by companies listed on the Sci-tech Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, securities underwriting contracts, securities listing sponsorship contracts, securities listing contracts and securities fraud; as well as the first instance civil commercial disputes involving the Shanghai Stock Exchange as the defendant, or a third party relating to the supervisory roles of stock exchanges.
The Decision expands the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Financial Court in finance-related administrative cases. First instance finance administrative cases involving the Shanghai Stock Exchange is the defendant, or a third party and relating to the supervisory functions of stock exchanges are now within the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Financial Court. First instance finance-related administrative cases under the jurisdiction of Shanghai City heard by an intermediate people’s court that are brought against financial supervisory agencies, as well as appeals brought by organizations mandated by law, regulations or rules against the administrative acts of financial supervisory agencies, shall fall within the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Financial Court.
The Decision clarifies the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Financial Court for enforcement cases. Article 9 of the Decision provides that the Shanghai Financial Court shall handle the enforcement of the following cases: Effective decisions of first instance civil commercial matters and finance-related administrative cases rendered by the Shanghai Financial Court, arbitral awards involving civil financial disputes within the jurisdiction of the Shanghai City to be enforced by an intermediate people’s court, objections and objection actions made in the course of enforcement conducted by the Shanghai Financial Court, and enforcement reconsideration and objection appeal cases in the course of enforcement of finance-related cases by the Shanghai Basic People’s Court.