The Application of International Usages in China in the Era of the Civil Code

With the entry into force of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the General Principles of the Civil Law of the PRC and other single civil laws, which contain norms on the application of law to foreign-related civil relations, have been repealed, resulting in a legal vacuum in the application of international usages in China. International usages in the field of public international law theoretically refer to “general practice” stipulated in Article 38(1)(b) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. In the field of private international law and international economic law, international usages mainly refer to international commercial usages. In the judicial and arbitral practice of China, there are two ways in which international usages are applied: indirect application and direct application, and the latter is the main way of application in practice. In order to fill this legal vacuum, it is recommended to add a provision on the application of international usages when amending the Law of the PRC on the Application of Law to Foreign-Related Civil Relations, and to clarify the indirect application of international usages.