CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Hongyu Liu, Shuaifeng Wang, Dongda Wei and Chen Rong, King & Capital Law Firm
family matters, not purely disputes over property rights. Guiding opinions and precedents from the Supreme People’s Court clarify that this approach aims to achieve a “one-stop resolution” for family disputes and avoid forcing parties to initiate multi ‑ ple lawsuits in different locations where properties might be situated. A party who believes the court accepting the case lacks jurisdiction may raise an objection in accord ‑ ance with the law. • Subject and time limit: The party entitled to raise a jurisdictional objection is usually the defendant. The objection must be raised within the statutory period for submitting a defence, which is 15 days from the date the defendant receives the copy of the statement of claim. • Court’s handling: The court will review the jurisdic ‑ tional objection raised by the party. If the objection is upheld, the court will rule to transfer the case to a competent court. If the objection is rejected, the court will rule to dismiss it. Foreign Divorce and Financial Proceeding in a Foreign Jurisdiction A party can apply to stay proceedings to pursue prop ‑ erty division proceedings in a foreign jurisdiction, but the situation becomes more complex when foreign elements are involved. • Application for stay of proceedings: In divorce cases involving foreign elements, it is possible for one party to apply to a Chinese court for a stay of the property division proceedings within China, cit ‑ ing reasons such as the need for the matter to be resolved first in a foreign court or the existence of a jurisdiction agreement between the parties. • Factors considered by the court: When deciding whether to grant a stay, the court will comprehen ‑ sively consider various factors, including but not limited to: the location of the property, the place of residence of the parties, judicial efficiency and fair ‑ ness, and the recognition and enforcement of judg ‑ ments. Generally, if the main property is located within China, Chinese courts tend to exercise jurisdiction to avoid prejudice to the parties’ rights and interests and wastage of judicial resources.
After a couple divorces abroad, if there remains undi ‑ vided property within China, Chinese courts can accept lawsuits regarding the division of such prop ‑ erty. • Establishment of jurisdiction: The primary connect ‑ ing point for Chinese courts to assert jurisdiction over such cases is the location of the property. As long as the property to be divided is located within China, the parties can file a lawsuit with the Peo ‑ ple’s Court where the main property is located. • Recognition of foreign divorce judgment: An impor ‑ tant preliminary procedure is the recognition of the foreign divorce judgment by a Chinese court, if the divorce was obtained through a foreign court judg ‑ ment. The parties need to apply to the competent Intermediate People’s Court for recognition of the foreign divorce judgment. Chinese courts will only accept the subsequent property division lawsuit after recognition is granted. In cases of divorce by agreement, notarised and authenticated divorce documentation needs to be provided. 2.2 Service and Process in Financial Proceedings Service The service of process in divorce property division litigation fundamentally adheres to the general pro ‑ visions of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, aiming to ensure that litigation documents are effectively delivered to the parties involved to safeguard their right to be informed and to defend themselves. Since property division is typi ‑ cally adjudicated together with the divorce case itself, the service rules align with those for divorce cases. The specific methods of service include the following. • Direct service: This is the most basic method, where court personnel personally deliver the litiga ‑ tion documents to the recipient or an adult family member living with them for acknowledgment. In judicial practice, to ensure effective service, judges or court clerks might perform this task with the assistance of local grassroots organisations. • Service by mail: When the recipient lives far from the court, service is often effected through regis ‑ tered mail, such as special court delivery. However, this method can face challenges like incorrect
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