Article 12 of the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the People's Republic of China grants Chinese citizens and organizations the right to seek judicial remedies by initiating legal proceedings in a People's Court when their rights and interests are infringed upon by discriminatory restrictive measures imposed by foreign states. Although the law stipulates that affected parties may bring an action for recovery under anti-sanctions, the provision's general and abstract nature presents certain issues in its practical application that further analysis and discussion are needed. Moreover, such litigation is not the sole means of recourse available to the parties; in practice, they may also agree to submit their disputes to arbitration. However, given that sanction measures often implicate public interest and national sovereignty, uncertainty exists as to whether an arbitral tribunal may, according to an arbitration agreement, adjudicate such disputes. With neither current international law nor domestic legislation offering explicit guidance on this conflict, this paper argues that in instances where a conflict arises between litigation jurisdiction and an arbitration agreement, precedence should be given to litigation jurisdiction. This approach facilitates the convenient resolution of disputes in a manner consistent with the underlying objectives of anti-sanction recovery actions.
Jianbin Han (Wed,) studied this question.