I. Progress in the negotiation of the Convention and China's proposition

On May 24-29, 2018, Professor He Qisheng, a member of the Chinese government delegation, participated in the Fourth Special Committee of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Court Judgments (hereinafter referred to as the "Special Committee") negotiation. This convention is a project that the Hague Conference on Private International Law (intergovernmental international organization) has been working for for more than 20 years and is the most important international convention in the field of civil and commercial affairs in recent years.

Chinese delegation (including Hong Kong and Macao representatives) (from left to right):

Front row: Xu Guojian, Ms Ilda Cristina Fernandes de Sousa Fereira, Sun Jin (Head), Ding Guorong, He Qisheng

Back row: Wu Qiong, Yan Shu, Ouyang Huiru, Zhou Yong, Xu Baoru

The talks were held at the Peace Palace in Hague. 166 representatives from the Hague Conference on Private International Law and one regional integration organization (EU); two non-members and 11 intergovernmental organizations International organizations with non-governmental organizations participated in the consultations of the Convention.

During the talks, China sent a delegation composed of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Supreme People's Court, the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands, government officials from Hong Kong and Macao SAR, and representatives from the academic and practical circles.

In the negotiation process of the Hague Judgment Convention, the Chinese delegation, under the leadership of Counselor Sun Jin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, excluded the right to privacy, the common court, the non-single legal system, the relationship with other international instruments, the bilateralization of the convention, etc. The position was expressed on the issue and the Special Committee played an important role in the negotiation process.

In order to solve the current divergent problems, the Special Commission has set up five informal working groups, namely: intellectual property rights, the common court, relations with other international instruments, statements related to government judgments, and anti-unfair competition matters. Exclusion.

After the fourth special committee, Christophe Bernasconi, secretary general of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and the famous American private law scholar, Symeon C. Symeonides, took a group photo with the Chinese delegation.

II. The way and intensity of think tank participation in the negotiation of the Convention

Professor He Qisheng has participated in the negotiations of the Special Committee for the fourth time in a row. Whether it is the preparatory stage before the negotiation of the convention or the negotiation of the convention, he actively participated and contributed to the wisdom and strength of the think tank.

First, after the third Special Committee in 2017, seven informal working groups were established. Professor He Qisheng participated in the "Common Court" working group. It is the first time that the international community has discussed the issue of whether a common court of two or more States parties can be recognized and enforced under the future convention mechanism. Because it involves the European Court of Justice, the Uniform Patent Court, the Benelux Court, etc., it has become the focus of negotiations; meanwhile, because these courts involve large differences in intellectual property issues, negotiations are particularly difficult. He Qisheng not only pays close attention to the consultations of the “Common Court” informal working group, but also proposes relevant programs and recommendations in view of the discussions of the informal working group.

Secondly, He Qisheng participated in the negotiation of the Convention on the issue of privacy, and in the consultations of the informal expert group. He introduced the relevant legislation and practice in China, and hoped to adopt the general term ‘privacy’ on the issue of privacy exclusion. His proposal was agreed within the scope of the expert group.

Thirdly, for the recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments in bankruptcy proceedings, some countries have proposed a proposal as a ground for refusal in conjunction with the provisions of the United Nations Commission on Trade Law on the Recognition and Enforcement of Bankruptcy-Related Judgments: Draft Model Law. Since this issue is very professional, Professor He Qisheng has conducted research and submitted a research report to demonstrate the rationality and advantages and disadvantages of the proposal. He made a contribution to the Chinese delegation's position on this issue.

Fourth, during the negotiation process of the convention, Professor He Qisheng actively participated in the discussion of the delegation and provided some suggestions on the core issues such as the effectiveness of the decision of the competent intellectual property authority, procedural costs, non-single legal system, and bilateralization of the convention. It was affirmed by the delegation and fully reflected the role of think tank experts in China's participation in the formulation of international rules.

The Chinese delegation negotiated arduously during the day, and internal discussions at night, work style and professionalism were respected and recognized by other delegations.

III. The future arrangements of the Convention and the work of think tanks

The 2018 General Affairs and Policy Council of the Hague Conference on Private International Law decided to convene a diplomatic conference in mid-2019 to adopt the Convention. This Special Committee initially suggested that the diplomatic conference be held from June 17th  to July 2nd , 2019.

Although the text of the Convention has been basically formed, there are still many complicated legal issues that require in-depth analysis and comparative research. To this end, the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University will continue to support experts in this work.

First, the draft convention for the 2019 Diplomatic Conference will become the official convention text. It is planned to convene the " Judicial Forum of Great Power" during the year to further contact and arrange legal experts and scholars to study the text of the Convention one by one and form a systematic countermeasure plan;

The second is to use the professional advantages of the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University to form a professional team to tackle some of the emerging and key issues in the Convention, such as the common court, intellectual property rights, treaty relations, and non-single legal systems, to provide the most weighty negotiation. Analytical material;

Third, think tanks will continue to track the progress of the Convention. Professor He Qisheng has been involved in the negotiation of the Convention for three consecutive years and is familiar with the Convention. His work on the Convention has been recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others. The think tank will help China actively participate in the formulation of international rules.