Foreign-related lawyers refer to lawyers who have excellent domestic and international legal knowledge and are engaged in foreign-related litigation and arbitration. Compared with domestic criminal lawyers, civil lawyers, and administrative lawyers, foreign-related lawyers not only require proficiency in professional domestic and international laws, but also require excellent foreign language skills.

Job responsibilities of foreign-related lawyers

1. Help clients deal with foreign-related economic and commercial litigation or arbitration;

2. Help foreign clients deal with legal matters related to investment in China;

3. Help foreign clients draft and review relevant documents such as corporate articles of association and contracts;

4. Provide legal consulting services for the daily operations of foreign-invested enterprises;

5. Provide legal consulting services for clients in foreign-related business and trade;

6. Help domestic enterprises participate in overseas stock listings and equity transfers, venture capital and other related foreign-related financing projects;

7. The scope of work also includes some other domestic and foreign trade and international accounting processing and other related matters.

Qualifications for foreign-related lawyers

① Pass the national unified judicial examination and obtain a lawyer's qualification certificate. (Lawyers who mainly provide foreign-related litigation or arbitration and foreign-related non-litigation legal services) Bachelor degree or above in international law, private international law or international economic law and other related law majors;

② Familiar with legal knowledge such as foreign investment, international trade, and intellectual property protection;

③ A good foreign-related lawyer must first have a high level of English, which is the most basic prerequisite for entering the field of foreign-related lawyers. Foreign-related lawyers do not have to be particularly fluent in vernacular, but because they need to deal with a large number of Chinese and English legal documents, they have very high requirements for English writing skills;

④ Understand the working style and operation methods of foreign citizens and foreign-funded enterprises, and recognize cultural differences. Provide efficient and high-quality services. Foreign clients and foreign judicial institutions have high requirements for legal texts, and should treat work with a rigorous and responsible attitude, and reflect professional standards in details;

⑤ Have strict logical thinking ability to avoid taking things for granted;

⑥ Good writing skills, careful writing, and excellent analysis, processing and adaptability;

⑦ Be confident and win the trust of customers.

In foreign-related civil and commercial cases, foreign companies, as plaintiffs, file lawsuits with Chinese courts with jurisdiction. Some of the documents submitted for filing must be notarized by the notary public of the country where the foreign company is located and authenticated by the embassy or consulate of the People's Republic of China in that country. What are these documents? GSSTO has sorted out the relevant legal provisions. Please refer to:

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1. Notarization and authentication of the qualification certificate of the foreign company.

Related legal provisions: Article 521 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2022) Foreign enterprises or organizations participating in litigation and submitting identity documents to the people's court shall be notarized by the notary public of the country where they are located and authenticated by the embassy or consulate of the People's Republic of China in that country, or perform the certification procedures stipulated in the relevant treaties concluded between the People's Republic of China and the country where they are located.

2. Notarization and authentication of the identity certificate of the authorized representative of a foreign company.

"Proof of identity of the legal representative of the company" For European countries, they do not have the concept of "legal representative", only authorized representatives, so for them it is "Proof of identity of the authorized representative of the company". This certificate should be signed by all directors of the foreign company and confirm that the authorized representative has the right to sign all documents related to civil and commercial litigation in China on behalf of the company.

3. Notarization and certification of the passport of the authorized representative of the foreign company.

The authorized representative of the foreign company is a natural person, and the passport is a document proving his identity, which also needs to be notarized and certified.

4. Notarization and certification of the power of attorney.

Relevant laws and regulations: "Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" (revised in 2021). Article 271 Foreigners, stateless persons, foreign enterprises and organizations that have no residence in the territory of the People's Republic of China entrust lawyers or other persons of the People's Republic of China to represent them in litigation. The power of attorney sent or entrusted from outside the territory of the People's Republic of China shall be certified by the notary public of the country of residence and authenticated by the embassy or consulate of the People's Republic of China in that country, or after fulfilling the certification procedures stipulated in the relevant treaties concluded between the People's Republic of China and the country of residence, before it becomes effective.

If a foreign company entrusts a Chinese lawyer to participate in a lawsuit as its agent, it should submit a power of attorney. If the power of attorney is formed overseas, it needs to go through notarization and certification procedures.

5. Notarization and certification of evidence formed overseas.

Relevant laws and regulations: Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Evidence in Civil Litigation (Revised in 2019). Article 16 If the official documents and evidence provided by the parties are formed outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, the evidence shall be certified by the notary public of the country where it is located, or the certification procedures stipulated in the relevant treaties concluded between the People's Republic of China and the country where it is located shall be fulfilled.

Evidence involving identity relations formed outside the territory of the People's Republic of China shall be certified by the notary public of the country where it is located and certified by the embassy or consulate of the People's Republic of China in that country, or the certification procedures stipulated in the relevant treaties concluded between the People's Republic of China and the country where it is located shall be fulfilled.

If the evidence provided by the parties to the People's Court is formed in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the relevant certification procedures shall be fulfilled.

According to the new evidence rules, official document evidence and overseas evidence involving identity relations "shall" be notarized and certified by the notary public of the country where it is located. For other evidence formed overseas, notarization and certification procedures are not statutory requirements for such evidence. According to judicial practice, if the parties involved in the case all recognize the foreign evidence that has not been notarized, the authenticity and probative force of such foreign evidence should be recognized.

6. Notarization and certification of indictment/preservation application.

There are no relevant provisions for notarization and certification of indictment and preservation application in the current domestic laws, regulations and judicial interpretations. However, in practice, some local courts will set their own filing conditions and requirements. For foreign-related civil and commercial cases, notarization and certification of indictment and preservation application are often required. Therefore, it is recommended to consult the relevant jurisdiction court before filing a case.

The notarization, Hague certification and consular certification processes in 40 countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, British offshore islands such as Cayman BVI, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, South Africa, etc., are different. The general certification process of GSSTO is 10-30 working days.

The above information is compiled by GSSTO. If there are any adjustments to the relevant provisions, we will not inform you of the facts. Please update the latest consultation yourself. Global notarization and certification information, welcome to follow!