Chinese Supreme Court issues Guiding Opinion No. 3 for trials of COVID-19 cases

On 16 June 2020, the Supreme Court of the People's Republic of China has published its Guiding Opinion No. 3 on Several Issues concerning the Proper Trial of Civil Cases Related to the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (COVID-19) Epidemic.

In section 4 of the Guiding Opinion on the applicable law, the Chinese Supreme Court highlights that the Chinese reservation under Article 96 CISG (concerning writing requirements) was withdrawn in 2013, while the reservation under Article 95 CISG (non-application of Article 1(1)(b) CISG) continues to be in effect for China.

Moreover, the Supreme Court notes the potential relevance of Article 79 CISG in the context of COVID-19-related disputes, and emphasizes the non-binding character of the CLOUT Digest.