John Liebeskind met with WANG Weijun, General Secretary of the Shanghai International Economic & Trade Arbitration Commission (A.K.A. Shanghai International Arbitration Center, SHIAC), and HAN Gang, SHIAC’s Deputy General Secretary and Secretary General to SHIAC Hong Kong, in Shanghai on 2 July 2026. They discussed the promotion of SHIAC arbitration and of Chinese law. They …
The Chinese legislator has issued a novel regulation on public procurement effective since 1 January 2026 introducing a 20% price preference for products made in China, meaning that the offers of suppliers of such product will be evaluated at 80% of their nominal price as compared to their competitors. In other words, this new rule …
Continue reading “Recent developments in public procurement law in China”
John Liebeskind met with WANG Chengjie, Secretary General of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), in Beijing on 24 June 2026, and LU Fei, CIETAC’s Director of Business Development Division and Secretary General of CIETAC European Arbitration Center. They discussed the promotion of CIETAC arbitration and of Chinese law. They also addressed …
John Liebeskind attended CIETAC’s European Arbitrators Symposium & Certificate Presentation Ceremony in Vienna on 9 June 2026.
On 28 September 2025 the Chinese legislator issued a novel Notice Regarding Implementing the Standards for Domestic Products and Relevant Policies in Government Procurement 国务院办公厅关于在政府采购中实施本国产品标准及相关政策的通知 guówùyuàn bàngōng tīng guānyú zài zhèngfǔ cǎigòu zhōng shíshī běnguó chǎnpǐn biāozhǔn jí xiāngguān zhèngcè de tōngzhī. The Notice is effective since 1 January 2026. It is relevant for foreign …
The Chinese legislator recently established a nationwide framework for commercial dispute mediation in China. The regulations promulgated on 31 December 2025 by the State Council cover disputes in areas including trade, investment, finance, transportation, real estate, engineering construction, and intellectual property, while excluding matters such as marriage and family, inheritance, guardianship, labour/personnel, and consumer rights that must …
On 20 April 2026 John Liebeskind was invited by Prof. Daniel Kraus to deliver a lecture on the Chinese law of innovation at the University of Neuchâtel UNINE within the Master in Innovation program under the Faculty of Law. John outlined the Chinese legal framework governing innovation and technology in private law, administrative law, public …
John Liebeskind attended the PAW from 23 to 27 March 2026 where he met with the two main Chinese arbitration bodies, CIETAC and SHIAC, as well as with EEAC, the European-Chinese Arbitrators Association.
John Liebeskind sat as arbitrator at the Moot Shanghai 2026 on 11 March 2026 at SHIAC in Shanghai. The Shanghai Moot is the 2nd largest pre-Moot after Vienna and before the finals at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot which traditionnally takes place every year in Hong Kong.
John Liebeskind met with SHIAC in Shanghai on 10 March 2026 for discussing SHIAC’s development.
John Liebeskind met CIETAC in Beijing on 2 March 2026, where he discussed CIETAC’s development.
Staempfli, the Swiss legal publisher, is due to publish “Chinese Business Law” by John Liebeskind, a commentary on the new Chinese business law regime. This book addresses the important development of Chinese business law over the recent years. It is primarily aimed at foreign investors, but also at Chinese lawyers assisting them, by facilitating the …
Continue reading “Soon to be published: Chinese Business Law”
John Liebeskind is teaching Chinese business law within the Master of Science in Business Administration (MSc BA), Major in Business in Eurasia, at the University of Applied Sciences & Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO) in Neuchâtel (HE-Arc), Switzerland, since 2022.
John Liebeskind represented a group of workers laid off by their oil major employer after they refused the modification of their contract. Although the employer was registered in Switzerland, the place of work of one of them was China. The company operated under a dummy contract under Chinese law for meeting the latter’s requirement, while …
Nicolas Rouiller, Founding Partner of Swisslegal Rouiller Avocats Corp., has published “International Business Law” with Staempfli, a major Swiss legal publisher, in 2025. “International Business Law” is an introduction to the legal instruments and to the legal environment of business from the perspective of international law. Chinese investors in Switzerland can, therefore, benefit the combination of John …
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John Liebeskind assisted a Middle-Eastern pharmaceutical group in an arbitration resulting from the revocation of its contract for the research and development (R&D) of a new drug with a foreign developer. Although the arbitration tribunal ruled that the principal had been at fault, it reduced the multi-million quantum by 80% on the basis of John’s …
John Liebeskind and his team performed the reputation & risk due diligence of a Chinese group borrower on the request of a Geneva bank which was part of the lender’s syndicate for a multi-million loan and advised the bank about the extent of its obligations. The DD revealed that the target had been fined repeatedly …
John Liebeskind lectured on “Objections in Arbitration: Theory & Practice” at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law (SHUPL) 上海政法学院 shànghǎi zhèngfǎ xuéyuàn on 28 November 2024.
John Liebeskind and his team performed the legal due diligence of a Chinese group borrower on the request of a Geneva bank which was part of the lender’s syndicate for a multi-million loan and advised the bank about the extent of its obligations. The DD extended to the corporate-, economic beneficiaries-, documentary- and legal due …
Nicolas Rouiller, Founding Partner of Swisslegal Rouiller Avocats Corp., has published “Droit des sociétés” with Staempfli, a major Swiss legal publisher, in 2024. “Droit des société” is a comprehensive commentary of Swiss company law. Chinese investors in Switzerland can, therefore, benefit the combination of John Liebeskind’s Chinese law practice with the expertise of Swisslegal, with …
John Liebeskind lectured on the freezing of assets from a Sino-Swiss perspective at SwissCham Beijing on 18 April 2024.
John Liebeskind advised a whistle blower in a case involving suspected scientific spying to the benefit of the suspected spy’s country and assisted the whistle blower until the highest echelons of the spied country. 916122
John Liebeskind won a freezing order from the court in Shanghai against a bad debtor and, eventually, the remittance of the frozen assets. The debtor had instructed the client, towards whom the debtor was indebted, as agent for the sale of an apartment in Shanghai. They entered a fee agreement entitling the creditor to pay …
John Liebeskind assisted Global Law Office advising and representing a major Chinese automobile manufacturer against a foreign yet Chinese-controlled joint-venture (JV) partner in an arbitration filed by the latter for breach of the JV contract which was governed by Swiss law. The dispute involved several issues of Swiss contract law diverging from Chinese legal concepts …
Nicolas Rouiller, Founding Partner of Swisslegal Rouiller Avocats Corp., has published “La société anonyme suisse” with Staempfli, a major Swiss legal publisher, in 2022. “La société anonyme suisse” is a comprehensive commentary of the Swiss company law of corporations, A.K.A. shareholding or stakeholding company. It covers commercial-, accounting-, liability-, M&A-, stock exchange- and tax law. Chinese investors in …
John Liebeskind and Global Law Office advised and assisted a Swiss inspection and certification company for the acquisition of three Chinese companies. They conducted the due diligence, advised the client about the legal setup and drafted the related contractual documents. 517446 695724 796256
John Liebeskind advised a Geneva bank about the scope of the Chinese exchange control with respect to deposits of Chinese customers, and about the specificities of the bank’s “know your customer” (KYC) duties related to Chinese customers.
John Liebeskind advised a Swiss bank about the drafting and the translation of its general conditions of sale in Chinese and their compliance with Chinese banking law and regulations.
La Chine maintient un contrôle des changes strict. Elle a récemment intensifié sa lutte contre la fuite de capitaux. La question n’est pas théorique puisqu’on on mentionne des trillions de yuans représentant un pourcentage à deux chiffre des réserves de devises chinoises. En Suisse, l’art. 47 du Code de diligence interdit aux banques de prêter …
Continue reading “The PRC Exchange Control: Compliance and Circumvention”
John Liebeskind advised a major Swiss retailer about counterfeit shampoo sold in China by an ex-employee. The client had neglected to protect itself in China with an adequate trademark registration and the related licenses. John halted the counterfeiter and implemented such protection.
Patent Law in Greater China est un ouvrage collectif regroupant les contributions de 25 auteurs dont approximativement la moitié d’appartenance chinoise. Les co-auteurs asiatiques sont enseignants, magistrats, fonctionnaires d’agence étatiques pour la propriété intellectuelle ou encore agents en brevets. Les co-auteurs occidentaux sont principalement allemands; ils exercent les mêmes fonctions ou sont encore juristes au …
John Liebeskind represented a major Swiss NGO sued before Chinese courts by a Chinese employee dispatched by FESCO, a large State-owned dispatching agency. Because of its legal status, the NGO could not directly employ workers, but had to hire them from FESCO. The dispute highlighted the challenges posed by this problematic tripartite relationship.
John Liebeskind advised and assisted a Swiss watch group in obtaining proof of high quality triple-A counterfeit watches in China and using the internal complaint channels of B2C Chinese platforms to halt their sale.
John Liebeskind lectured on the Chinese legal environment at the half-day seminar organized by University of Lausanne (UNIL) on 14 April 2014.
John Liebeskind advised a Swiss company established in China for the downsizing of its workforces. In order to legally circumvent the legal procedure provided by Chinese law for mass layoffs, John advised his client to settle with each worker on the basis of a severance pay package with he individually calculated for each worker.
A representative office using temporary workers is challenging and more burdensome than direct employment, as agencies in practice release all responsibility after workers have been placed. Legal reforms have not clarified the situation, which means it may be time for investors to switch to a WFOE.
John Liebeskind advised a large Swiss bank in Singapore about the compliance of offering e-banking access from abroad in China.
John Liebeskind advised a large Swiss bank in Hong Kong about the legal framework of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme in China.
John Liebeskind advised the Chinese Gymnastics Association (CGA) 中国体操协会 zhōngguó tǐcāo xiéhuì about a disciplinary measure rendered by the Fédération internationale de gymnastique (FIG ; World Gymnastics) in violation of the latter’s procedural rules and the appeal of the related decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
John Liebeskind advised a Geneva company producing transducers in China against an ex-employee who produced copycats and sold them to his ex-employer’s clients. John filed a complaint with the Chinese authorities and halted the counterfeiter.
Even though there are obviously local specificities, Chinese-related dispute resolution is not much different than anywhere else in the world insofar as the following basic, universal principle is respected:“prévenir, c’est guérir”. This discussion of Chinese-related dispute resolution is meant for entrepreneurs in China or in business with a Chinese party, not for lawyers. Along with …
In 2004, Switzerland ranked as the 16th-biggest importer and 21st-biggest exporter of goods and the 10th-biggest importer and 18th-biggest exporter of services worldwide,1 a remarkable figure for a country with a population of less than seven-and a-half million persons. At the same time, it ranked 15th for inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) flows but 9th …
In Part I of this article, I discussed the promotion, the admission and the treatment of whenever trade is hampered or their investment harmed in the importing or host country. the legal remedies available to Swiss exporters and investors for protecting their interests half of this study of the legal framework of Swiss international trade …
With the increasing number of mergers and acquisitions during the last two decades, the letter of intent, which precedes most forms of acquisitions of businesses, has become a widespread tool and, indeed, is often considered as a sine qua non condition of any merger or acquisition (M&A). Nevertheless, this institution still enjoys — or suffers …
John Liebeskind advised Chinese State-owned aeronautical conglomerate about the revocation, by the Chinese party, of a sale contract with a foreign supplier following the discovery that the latter had deceived the former by dissimulating its incapacity to perform, and assisted his client in the ensuing arbitration.
In year 2000 Switzerland signed its one hundredth2 Bilateral Investment Treaty (“BIT”)3, all of which contain dispute resolution provisions…Switzerland’s BITs network thus represents the second largest BITs network in the world.