Two Sessions 2020: coronavirus lawsuits spur call in China for rethink on state immunity
- Lawmakers say the time right for the country to let Chinese citizens sue foreign governments in its courts
- Submission to NPC comes amid legal claims overseas demanding that Beijing pay compensation for the pandemic
Ma, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Law, said legislation should be enacted to support claims by Chinese plaintiffs against foreign governments, and give Chinese courts the jurisdiction over foreign states’ assets.
He said the absence of such a law in China put the country at great disadvantage when dealing with foreign litigation.
“Due to the lack of legislation, the rights and interests of the parties in our country cannot be guaranteed through the domestic justice system but our government is frequently … a defendant in foreign courts,” Ma said.
03:35
The ‘two sessions’ explained: China’s most important political meetings of the year
As a general principle of international law, a sovereign government cannot be sued in a foreign court. But many countries, such as the United States, do allow for some exceptions such as victims suing state sponsors of terrorism.
Moreover, some Republican congressmen are proposing to modify the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act so that China could be challenged in US courts for damages from the pandemic.
Schmitt said the Chinese government should be held accountable as it lied about the contagious nature of Covid-19, silenced whistle-blowers and did little to stop the spread of the disease.
Various class actions are also in the US court system.
02:57
Coronavirus: world hits ‘tragic milestone’ of 5 million Covid-19 cases
China adheres to “absolute immunity” of states, which makes suing a foreign state in Chinese courts impossible.
Ma said China could introduce legislation “that could be direct retaliation for America’s hostile lawsuits to shift their own responsibility for the Covid-19 to China”.
“Without such legislation, Chinese parties cannot get legal remedy through the domestic justice system, while our government is being sued abroad frequently,” Ma said.
“This problem is particularly significant during the pandemic, sounding an alarm for us to complete the legislation as soon as possible.”
Ma added that the legislation was needed as the Chinese economy became ever more deeply integrated into the global environment and the state was more involved in various international activities.
On Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi dismissed the US lawsuits as “ludicrous” with “zero basis in fact, law or international precedence”, and said litigants were “daydreaming” to think that China should compensate others for the pandemic.
