In accordance with the Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China, contracting parties are allowed to choose a Chinese court in case a dispute. They are also allowed to designate application of foreign law if they so choose. In the eye of a Chinese court, the application of the foreign law does not work in the same way as the application of Chinese laws. In a normal case where Chinese laws should apply, the judge has the final say on which law or regulation should apply in a case, or to say it another way, it is the judge’s job to find the right statute.
However, in a case where the parties choose a foreign law as the applicable law, it is the Plaintiff’s burden to provide such foreign law in admissible form. The failure of providing such foreign law in admissible form will automatically entitle the Judge to apply Chinese law.
As for the form which such foreign law should be in, if it is written statutory law, the publication of such law is admissible, and if it is legal opinions from a common law jurisdiction, the qualification of issuing such legal opinion and the notarization and legalization of the legal opinions will be required.
Of course in either case the foreign law must be appropriately translated into Chinese.
In conclusion, foreign laws can be applied in a Chinese court, however it is the contract parties’ burden to provide such foreign law to the court in a legally required form.