Price Bureau Uncovered and Punished a Price-Fixing Cartel under the Leniency Program

By King & Wood on October 29, 2012

By Susan Ning, Kate Peng and Yunlong Zhang

The Price Bureau of Guangdong Province (“GDPB“) recently published an article about an investigation in a price-fixing cartel among sea sand dredging companies on its official website ¹. According to the article, the price of sea sand in Guangdong province rose from around RMB20 per cubic meter to over RMB40 per cubic meter since 2009, which seriously affected the progress of many major infrastructure projects of the State. This unusual trend attracted the attention of the government of Guangdong province. In order to find out the reason behind the price increase, GDPB initiated an investigation in February 2012 under the guidance of the Price Supervision and Anti-monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC“). Continue Reading Price Bureau Uncovered and Punished a Price-Fixing Cartel under the Leniency Program

跨国公司应对在华公司诉讼的特点——跨国公司在华诉讼系列(Ⅸ)

By King & Wood on October 22, 2012

Posted in Dispute Resolution

作者：张保生金杜律师事务所争议解决组

正所谓“知己知彼，百战不殆”，作为境内投资者，如果希望从容应对与跨国公司的公司纠纷或诉讼，首先要了解跨国公司处理在华公司诉讼的特点。

一、跨国公司在主动提起公司诉讼时一般非常慎重

（一）跨国公司主动提起公司诉讼时，一般经过认真的分析、论证

跨国公司是由分布在各国的诸实体所组成，其内部各实体之间，特别是母公司和子公司之间存在着密切的联系，当诉讼发生时，往往会产生“牵一发而动全身”的效果。因此，跨国公司不但经营管理具有全球性和集中性，不仅是从某个分公司、某个地区着眼，而是从整个公司的利益出发，从全球范围考虑公司的政策和策略，在纠纷解决时，也会十分谨慎和慎重，会从跨国公司的全球战略考虑纠纷的处理思路。 Continue Reading 跨国公司应对在华公司诉讼的特点——跨国公司在华诉讼系列(Ⅸ)

A guide to doing business in Australia

By King & Wood on October 19, 2012

Posted in Global Network

By King & Wood Mallesons

King & Wood Mallesons has updated its guide to doing business in Australia.

Australia welcomes and encourages foreign investment and has a favourable investment environment. Investments that create exports, replace imports, introduce new technology or create employment are

particularly welcome.

Australia offers significant benefits for foreign investors, including:

a resilient and diverse economy with low inflation;
a transparent and liberal process for approval of foreign investment;
low barriers to trade and investment, with business-oriented corporate regulation;
a competitive company tax rate; and Continue Reading A guide to doing business in Australia

Insight into China’s Revision on Civil Procedure Law

By King & Wood on October 15, 2012

Posted in Dispute Resolution

by Ariel Ye King & Wood Mallesons‘ Dispute Resolution Group

Introduction

On 31 August 2012 a revision of the PRC Civil Procedure Law (the “CPL”) was adopted and is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2013. This is the third revision of the CPL to be adopted and affects 85 articles, which cover a wide range of matters including case filing, evidence and enforcement procedure. Several new procedures have also been added which cover public interest litigation, small claims litigation, mediation agreements and other topics.

Background and Policy Objectives

The National People’s Congress Committee on Law commenced revision of the CPL in 2010. Continue Reading Insight into China’s Revision on Civil Procedure Law

中国《民事诉讼法》最新修订

By King & Wood on October 15, 2012

Posted in Dispute Resolution

作者：叶渌金杜律师事务所争议解决组

修订综述

2012年8月31日，全国人民代表大会常务委员会通过了关于修改《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》的决定。新修订的《民事诉讼法》将于2013年1月1日1起施行（下称“新法”）。此次修订是对《民事诉讼法》的第三次修订，涉及条文85条，修订内容较多，覆盖民事诉讼立案、证据、执行程序等诸多方面。同时，引入、增加了公益诉讼、小额诉讼、第三人撤销之诉、行为保全、调解协议的司法确认等新的程序。

立法背景及政策考量

全国人大法工委民法室2010年便已启动了本次民事诉讼法修订工作。 Continue Reading 中国《民事诉讼法》最新修订

信托实务专题之（二）：通过公证赋予担保合同强制执行效力问题探析

By King & Wood on October 15, 2012

Posted in Corporate, Dispute Resolution

作者：尤杨黄思哲金杜律师事务所争议解决组

公证债权文书执行制度与诉讼、仲裁程序相比，具有免除当事人的诉累、节约权利实现成本的优点，但由于有关立法不完善，适用范围有限且司法实践中的反映不一，因此在实践中没有广泛被采用。近年来，民间借贷和非银行融资（例如通过信托方式融资）活动逐渐增多，越来越多的当事人看到了公证债权文书执行制度简便、快速的优势，选择具有强制执行力的公证债权文书作为实现债权主要方式的情况已经比较普遍。通常情况下，无论是普通的借贷还是各种方式的信托融资，都会要求债务人或关联方为债权提供担保，如果主合同办理了强制执行公证，担保合同往往也与主合同一起办理强制执行公证，以期争议发生时能马上执行担保财产。那么，担保合同是否也能依法通过公证被赋予强制执行效力呢？ Continue Reading 信托实务专题之（二）：通过公证赋予担保合同强制执行效力问题探析

损益相抵规则在买卖合同领域正式确立—-聚焦《最高人民法院关于审理买卖合同纠纷案件适用法律问题的解释》第31条

By King & Wood on October 10, 2012

Posted in Dispute Resolution

作者：夏东霞杨婷金杜律师事务所争议解决组

《最高人民法院关于审理买卖合同纠纷案件适用法律问题的解释》（“解释”）已于2012年3月31日由最高人民法院审判委员会第1545次会议通过，自2012年7月1日起施行。《解释》包括8个部分，总计46条，主要对买卖合同的成立及效力、标的物交付和所有权转移、标的物毁损灭失的风险负担、标的物的检验、违约责任、所有权保留、特种买卖等方面如何具体适用法律作出明确的规定。应当说《解释》的出台，对于提高买卖合同法则的可操作性，及时指导各级人民法院公正审理买卖合同纠纷案件，依法保护当事人的合法权益，规范市场交易行为将会起到重要作用。

《解释》第31条规定：“买卖合同当事人一方因对方违约而获有利益，违约方主张从损失赔偿额中扣除该部分利益的，人民法院应予支持。”该条规定的出台，标志着损益相抵规则在买卖合同领域正式确立，填补了《合同法》^{^[i]}在相关规则方面的空白和漏洞。 Continue Reading 损益相抵规则在买卖合同领域正式确立—-聚焦《最高人民法院关于审理买卖合同纠纷案件适用法律问题的解释》第31条

The Principle of Balancing Benefits and Losses Established – New Judicial Interpretation to the PRC Contract Law

By King & Wood on October 5, 2012

Posted in Corporate, Dispute Resolution

by Xia Dongxia Yang Ting King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group

The Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Issues Concerning the Application of Law for Hearing Cases of Sale and Purchase Contract Related Disputes (the “Interpretation”) was ratified at the 1545th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on March 31, 2012, and became effective on July 1, 2012. The Interpretation, which includes eight parts and forty-six articles, further clarifies the application of laws regarding the establishment and validity of sale and purchase contracts, delivery and transfer of title, risk allocation, inspection and acceptance of the subject matter, liabilities for breach and retention of title, as well as special sales transactions. It is believed that the Interpretation will function significantly in enhancing the practicability of the existing contract rules, providing instructions to the people’s courts of all levels for the fair trial over contract disputes, protecting relevant parties’ lawful rights and interests and regulating market transactions.

Continue Reading The Principle of Balancing Benefits and Losses Established – New Judicial Interpretation to the PRC Contract Law