Lawyers trained to handle international lawsuits are becoming
increasingly sought after as an increasing number of transnational
legal disputes are expected in the coming years.
Yang Xiaoyong, chief judge for international cases at the Beijing
No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, said the country needs "a good
number" of qualified lawyers to deal with the expected hike in
transnational disputes.
Such cases have been on the rise in China in recent years. As many
other countries, China permits only domestic lawyers to deal with
international lawsuits filed at home.
The problem so far is that domestic lawyers lack experience in
dealing with suits involving both foreign and domestic parties,
said Yang.
"They (the lawyers) still need two to three years to qualify
themselves and gain more experiences in handling such disputes,"
said Yang.
Yang predicts a serious shortage of such professionals in the near
future.
Qualified lawyers for transnational suits should have a good
knowledge of both domestic and international law, especially laws
related to the World Trade
Organization (WTO), said Zhou Jinlong, one of the founders of
Beijing-based Guo and Partners Attorneys at Law.
An
excellent command of foreign languages is also a requisite for
handling transnational cases, according to Zhou.
The court official Yang noted that lawyers with legal education
backgrounds both at home and abroad usually do better in handling
transnational suits.
"Such lawyers usually better understand international practices and
WTO-related international laws," said Yang.
Zhou's law firm has invited at least six professionals with law
studies backgrounds in Germany, Japan and the United States since
it was founded to prepare for the anticipated upsurge of business
opportunities.
Since it was founded last April, the firm has handled 25
international suits, along with many WTO-related legal
consultations, said Zhou.
The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court launched earlier this
year a special team of judges to deal with expected transnational
disputes following the country's formal entry into the WTO in
December.
The team mainly handles cases concerning loan contracts,
international transport contracts and disputes involving credit
letters, international cooperation and trade transactions with
foreign businesses.
(China
Daily February 16, 2002)