By Moses Chan, King & Wood Mallesons

General situation of PRC law translations in the publication market 

The general situation is: In the past decades, it is “difficult” to locate good quality and timely versions of PRC law translation.

Only the Constitution of the PRC was come with an official English version, and it is not the responsibility of the PRC government to provide its own English translation of all promulgated laws of all levels, from the “basic laws” (e.g. the “Civil Code”, or the “Criminal Code”), to the numerous administrative regulations, and to the implementing rules for both the laws and the regulations. But, in commercial reality, both the non-Chinese reading foreign lawyers and investors needs copies of PRC law in good legal English, not to mention students of foreign law schools which provide “PRC law” classes. 
Continue Reading A Brief Note On PRC Law Research

作者:陈定约 金杜律师事务所

出版物市场上英语版中国大陆法的现状 

现状:在过去几十年间,想要查找到优质及时的中国大陆法律的英文版本比较“困难”。

只有中国大陆的宪法有官方英文译本。至于其他各级法律法规,中国政府不负责提供英文翻译,包括“基本部门法”(例如“民法”或“刑法”),各级行政规章以及法律法规实施细则。然而,在商业领域,不识中文的外籍律师与投资者需要用高质量的法律英语译成的中国大陆法律法规,对于那些在外国法学院学习中国大陆法律的学生来说,这种需求更为迫切。

因此,在市场上出现了提供中国大陆法律质量“尚可”的(即不识中文的外籍律师能读懂的)英文翻译的巨大需求。近来,这些市场主要由西方主流法律出版商垄断,例如律商网、威科先行、万律网等等。在过去几十年间,这些出版商斥重资推出了许多中国大陆法律的高质量英文译本,并将业务由传统纸质版本拓展为在线互联网版本。这些译本主要采用美国法律英语风格,对于一些中国大陆法律中独有的法律术语则使用他们自己特殊的“人工”翻译版本。 
Continue Reading 中国大陆法律研究笔记

By Lucy Lu Lexina Li  King & Wood Mallesons’ Labor Group

lu_lucyThere were increasing labor disputes arising from the termination of employment contract by the employer on the basis of material change of objective circumstance in recent time, which caused many controversies about how to apply this clause in practice. We reviewed the following case happened in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province and would like to discuss the application of this clause on the basis of the judgment of this case.
Continue Reading How to Understand “Material Change of Objective Circumstance”

作者:陆慧文 李馨 金杜律师事务所劳动

lu_lucy近来,因企业主张适用“客观性情况发生重大变化”解除与员工劳动合同而引发的劳动争议越来越多,该条规定如何适用,在实践中引起了较大的争议。以下是一起在江苏苏州发生的案件,结合案件的裁判情况,与大家分享讨论适用规则如下:

一、案件争议

1. 案情回放

丁某自2001年起与苏州某电子技术公司(以下简称“A公司”)订立无固定期限劳动合同并履行至今。2012年起A公司的订单量大减,人员冗余日趋严重,盈利能力大幅下降。在该种情况下,2012年6月26日A公司召开了董事会会议并做出重要决议,决定为应对市场形势和经营状况的急剧变化,做出重大业务调整,与此同时,A公司也将依法安置因业务调整而受到影响的员工。在与公司工会商议,并得到工会的书面认可后,A公司试图与丁某协商解除劳动合同,但协商未果,员工拒绝。8月上旬,A公司又与丁某进行换岗沟通,无果。2012年8月8日,A公司以《劳动合同法》第四十条第三项“客观情况发生重大变化”为由单方解除了与丁某的劳动合同,并支付了经济补偿金及一个月工资的代通知金。
Continue Reading 如何理解“客观情况发生重大变化”

By Xu Xiaodan  Zhang Jingjing, King & Wood Mallesons’ Labor Group

xu_xiaodanThe newly amended Safe Production Law has come into effect as of December 1, 2014. In general, the new legislation elaborated management personnel’s administration responsibilities towards safe production. In the meantime, it also increased penalties on violations of the law. This article will introduce management personnel’s obligations and possible liabilities under the new legislation.

1. Management Personnel’s Obligations

The Safe Production Law specifies management personnel’s statutory obligations, including:
Continue Reading How can Management Personnel Deal with the Newly Amended Safe Production Law?

作者:徐晓丹 张晶晶 金杜律师事务所劳动

xu_xiaodan修订后的《安全生产法》已于2014年12月1日生效。总体而言,新法细化了企业管理人员对安全生产的管理责任,同时也加重了对违法行为的处罚力度。本文将介绍企业管理人员在新法下的义务以及可能承担的法律责任。

一、企业管理人员的义务

《安全生产法》明确规定了以下几种企业管理人员的法定义务,其中包括:
Continue Reading 新《安全生产法》:企业管理人员应如何应对?

By Linda Liang and Wen Qin, King & Wood Mallesons’ Labor Group

untitledMs. Li was first employed by Company A as Chief Financial Officer on November 29, 2012. The two parties had signed a three-year employment contract, the term of which is from November 29, 2012 to November 28, 2015, and the probation period is from November 29, 2012 to January 28, 2013. The Company and Ms. Li agreed in the Offer Letter that, the Company is entitled to extend the probation period based on Ms. Li’s performance during that period. On January 16, 2013, the Company conducted a performance evaluation on Ms. Li, and the result showed that the Company needed to extend Ms. Li’s probation period for another one month. Ms. Li had no objection to this decision and the Company extended her probation period to February 28, 2013. When the extended probation period was about to expire, the Company conducted another performance evaluation on Ms. Li, which showed that Ms. Li’s performance was unsatisfactory. Meanwhile, taking Ms. Li’s fake education credentials, frequent lateness and serious absenteeism into consideration, the Company terminated the employment relationship with Ms. Li on February 23, 2013 in accordance with Article 39 (1) of PRC Employment Contract Law. According to this Article 39 (1), if the employee is proved as having failed to meet the recruitment requirements during the probation period, the employer is entitled to dismiss him/her.
Continue Reading Extending the Probation Period?——Don’t Be So Capricious

作者:梁燕玲 秦雯 金杜律师事务所劳动

untitled李女士于2012年11月29日加入A公司担任财务总监,双方签订了一份为期三年的劳动合同,期限自2012年11月29日至2015年11月28日,其中约定试用期自2012年11月29日至2013年1月28日。公司与李女士在《录用通知书》中约定,公司可根据试用期情况考虑延长试用期。2013年1月16日,公司对李女士进行表现考评,考评结果是需要将试用期延长一个月。李女士对此决定无异议,于是公司将其试用期延长了一个月至2013年2月28日。延长的试用期届满前,公司对李女士的试用期考核结果为不合格,同时综合考虑李女士存在虚报学历,上班经常迟到,旷工现象严重的情况。因此,公司依法以《劳动合同法》第三十九条第(一)款“试用期内不符合录用条件”为由,于2013年2月23日解除了与李女士的劳动关系。

李女士对公司的决定不服,于是向劳动争议仲裁委提起仲裁,要求公司支付违法解除的经济补偿。在仲裁阶段,仲裁委裁决公司解除违法。公司不服该裁决诉至一审法院。一审法院判决认为,同一用人单位与同一劳动者只能约定一次试用期,公司延长李女士试用期的行为不合法,因此公司解除李女士时其应视为已经转正,而公司仍以试用期不合格为由与其解除劳动合同,不符合法律规定。公司不服提起上诉,二审法院维持了原判。

本案当中,试用期的约定与延长成为了争议的焦点,其中有以下问题值得我们关注:
Continue Reading 延长试用期?——不可任性而为之

By Huang Jianwen, King & Wood Mallesons’ Investment Group

huang_jianwenOn June 17, 2015, the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (“ChAFTA”) was officially signed by Australia’s Trade Minister Andrew Robb and China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng. ChAFTA will benefit more than a dozen fields including goods, services, and investment. With respect to health services, ChAFTA increases foreign investors’ access to medical services and hospitals, enables certain qualified foreign physicians to offer services in China, permits the establishment of wholly foreign owned aged care institutions, and promotes cooperation in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine (“TCM”) services. 
Continue Reading China-Australia FTA: Implications on the Chinese health industry

作者:黄建雯  金杜律师事务所投资

huang_jianwen2015年6月17日,中国商务部部长高虎城与澳大利亚贸易与投资部部长安德鲁·罗布在澳大利亚堪培拉分别代表两国政府正式签署《中华人民共和国政府和澳大利亚政府自由贸易协定》(“《中澳自贸协定》”)。《中澳自贸协定》涉及货物、服务、投资等十几个领域。在医疗养老等健康类服务贸易领域,《中澳自贸协定》放宽医疗以及医院服务准入、允许外国医师在中国提供服务、允许设立外资独资养老机构并且促进中医药产业合作。

医疗及医院服务 

国家卫计委、商务部2014年发布《关于开展设立外资独资医院试点工作的通知》,允许在北京市、天津市、上海市、江苏省、福建省、广东省、海南省设立外资独资医院。然而2015年修订的《外商投资产业指导目录》(“2015目录”)将医疗机构归属于限制外商投资的产业,只允许外国服务提供者设立中外合资、合作医疗机构。 
Continue Reading 《中澳自贸协定》对外商投资医疗养老产业的促进