The Statutory Reform of Chinese Private International Law in Property Rights: A Silent Revolution

This article reviews the statutory reform of Chinese private international law from the perspective of property rights which concludes that notwithstanding the significant improvement, the new Private International Law Act of China are fraught with various defects. In the field of property, Article 37 and Article 38 are particularly problematic as the introduction of unlimited party autonomy into the choice-of-law rules for movables and res in transitu is theoretically indefensible and practically troublesome. Moreover, there are a number of defects or problems with Article 39 and Article 40 of the Act respectively. What’s more, the Act neglects some other important types of property that call for special treatment, such as cultural property, and assignment of debt. In the end, the article puts forward the corresponding suggestions for improvement.