Public Policy and Enforcement of Foreign Awards: An Appraisal of China’s Judicial Practice

This article analyzes how the public policy exception enshrined in Art. V(2)(b) of the 1958 New York Convention has been interpreted and applied by Chinese courts. A critical appraisal is provided of the situations in which the public policy exception has been or may be applied and those in which its application has been ruled out. Specifically, the paper first deals with the principle of residual application of public policy; it then expounds on violations of res judicata, morality and mandatory provisions, as well as with the substantive unfairness of the award; and finally, it deals with the dubious case of the enforcement of awards made abroad with reference to a purely domestic dispute. An in-depth analysis is devoted both to the established principles’ legal underpinnings and to the issues that remain partially unsettled, with a view to contributing to the clarification of these issues. The study demonstrates that, although Art. V(2)(b) has been applied restrictively, public policy remains a vital concept in Chinese judicial practice. However, much uncertainty revolves around its possible contents, so that the outcome of future rulings may seem to some extent unpredictable.