Foreign companies and individuals that doing business or planing of doing business in China are inevitably concerned about the whether Chinese judicial system can pretect their legitimate rights. To many foreign businessmen, the Chinese judicial system are mysterious, particularly when dealing with international commercial litigation, even though the fact that China has been opening up to the outside world for more than thirty years.

 Actually ,there is no special  law or regulation that governs international commercial litigation in China. The major piece of legislation applied to international commercial litigation is Part Four of the China Civil Procedure Law  ( CCPL) promulgated on April 4, 1991, Part Four is entitled “Special Provisions of Civil Procedures for Cases Involving Foreign Elements.” Additionally, the Supreme Court issued the “Opinions on Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China” on July 14, 1992, which provide important judicial guidance for all levels of courts to follow.

 Generally speaking, the Chinese Courts are comprised of  four different tiers: trial courts (basic level); intermediate courts; higher courts; and the Supreme Court. Special courts, such as maritime courts, railway courts, and military courts, also exist.

  According to the China Civil Procedure Law, judicial proceedings occur in two instances, ie. trial and appeal. A decision made by an appellate court is final, and no appeal therefrom is available. If, however, the appellate decision was in error, a retrial may be requested through the trial supervision procedure.Typically, these proceedings begin in the trial courts, which exercise general trial competence. But, under the CCPL, a higher court, including an intermediate court, higher court, or even the Supreme Court, may hear a case in the first instance if the case has a significant impact in the areas of their respective jurisdictions. International commercial litigation in particular normally begins at the intermediate level, though it may commence at the trial level. This is because most, if not all, cases involving foreign elements are regarded as major cases having significant impact. Therefore, the trial of such cases in the first instance rests with the competent intermediate court. In the Judicial Opinions on CCPL, the Supreme Court defines a major case involving foreign elements as a case in which the dispute involves a large amount in controversy, complicated facts, or in which a large number of parties reside abroad.

Within the courts at the intermediate or higher level, there are special divisions that deal with international commercial litigation.When hearing a case in accordance with the CCPL, the court shall form either a collegial panel conprised of an odd number of both judges and judicial assessors (jurors) or judges alone, except for hearings under summary procedures in which a single judge presides. During a trial involving foreign elements, the foreign party may represent itself, be represented by a foreign agent ad litem, or a foreign lawyer present at the trial as a non-lawyer. The CCPL requires that if a foreigner, stateless person, foreign enterprise, or organization needs a lawyer when litigating in a court, the lawyer must be Chinese citizen.