Volume 66

Since the development of the trend of economic globalization, the number of China's overseas investment projects has risen sharply, but at the same time, the potential environmental problems and risks in the investment process have become evident. This essay discusses the environmental legal risks faced by Chinese transnational enterprises in the process of outbound investment and analyzes the specific impact of host country environmental regulation risk and multilateral treaty environmental regulation risk. As global environmental problems become increasingly serious, the investment activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) may be harmful to the local environment while promoting local economic development. This essay summarizes the current status of research on environmental legal in Chinese and international academia, emphasizes that home countries should take responsibility for environmental protection in their investment places when promoting overseas investment. This essay proposes a strategy covering three dimensions--international level, home country and TNCs, in order to promote the sustainable development of TNCs’s overseas investment.

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The China International Commercial Court (CICC) plays a crucial role in the context of the "Belt and Road" initiative, providing a platform for the fair and efficient resolution of international commercial disputes. Despite its strategic importance, the CICC faces significant jurisdictional challenges. These include blurred boundaries of case acceptance, insufficient innovation in distinguishing international cases, overly broad applicability due to exclusionary practices, and inadequate consideration of international investment disputes. This article thoroughly examines these issues and offers comprehensive solutions to enhance the CICC's functionality. Key recommendations include clarifying the CICC's positioning as a one-stop platform integrating mediation, arbitration, and litigation; refining the boundaries of case acceptance through detailed legal provisions and judicial interpretations; strengthening the standards for determining international cases to better reflect the complexity of international commercial activities; and enhancing the mechanisms for resolving international investment disputes. Addressing these challenges will improve the CICC's operational efficiency, bolster its international credibility, and better support the "Belt and Road" initiative.

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In light of the expanding global environmental challenges, multinational corporations (MNCs) are often held accountable for their disproportionate role in environmental degradation. This study looks at how MNCs safeguard the environment and what factors lead to ecological dangers that are related with them. The production volumes of MNCs and their inclination to relocate pollution-intensive industries to developing countries are the specific subjects of the study. A few of the main obstacles that the study identifies to MNCs' environmental responsibility are the deficiency of the current international legal framework, the lack of harmonization of environmental legislation, and the tendency of developing countries' economic priorities to overlook strict environmental measures. To address these issues, the study recommends the following measures: the establishment of robust monitoring and accountability mechanisms; the direct imposition of practicable environmental liabilities; the strengthening of international judicial cooperation; and the clarification of judicial ambiguities regarding MNCs' legal responsibilities in the environmental sector. The paper uses a case study methodology to provide a comprehensive review of best practices and tactics for improving MNCs' environmental management. The findings underline the importance of governments working together to ensure that multinational firms' actions are consistent with environmental sustainability ideals.

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This paper examines the impact of carrier delivery rules on China's Maritime Law in the context of international maritime cargo transportation. It identifies significant issues such as the imbalance of interests between carriers and consignees, the challenges in carrier identification, and the inconsistencies in the duration of carrier responsibilities. Drawing on international conventions such as the Hague Rules, Hamburg Rules, and Rotterdam Rules, this study provides comprehensive recommendations for refining China's Maritime Law. Key proposals include improving the legal definitions and criteria for carrier identification, harmonizing liability periods for container and non-container cargo, and strengthening the fulfillment of carrier obligations through robust inspection and supervision mechanisms. These improvements aim to align China's Maritime Law with international standards, enhance the efficiency and reliability of maritime transport, and support the sustainable growth of China's maritime industry. The findings underscore the necessity for ongoing legal reforms to maintain China's competitive edge in global maritime trade.

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This study explores the utilization and challenges of international laws in resolving global maritime disputes through a detailed analysis of representative cases from South America, Africa, and Asia. It highlights the crucial role of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in providing a legal framework and dispute resolution mechanisms. However, the study also identifies significant challenges, including political interference, legal ambiguity, and enforcement issues. By comparing regional dispute settlement mechanisms, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of multilateral negotiations in South America, regional legal frameworks in Africa, and a combination of multilateral and unilateral actions in Asia. Based on these insights, the study proposes several recommendations to enhance the international legal framework, promote regional cooperation, and innovate dispute resolution mechanisms. These measures aim to ensure fair and effective resolution of maritime disputes, maintain maritime peace and stability, and promote the healthy development of global ocean governance.

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China has now established a system of punitive damages, with the Civil Code as the main body, supplemented by other separate laws. This paper posits that the punitive compensation system addresses the shortcomings of the current private law system. With the blurring boundaries between public and private law, the punitive compensation system is more conducive to preventing social risks and providing comprehensive and adequate relief to the rights and interests of the infringed. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the historical origin and function of the punitive damages system, to summarize the process of its localised application in China, and then to analyse the status and existing problems in the application, and to put forward the improvement methods for the existing problems. The research value of this paper mainly includes two aspects: theoretically, it helps identify defects and deficiencies in the application of the punitive damages system; practically, it aids in reducing the judiciary's subjective arbitrariness.

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Under the background of an increasing number of multinational corporations, it is noteworthy that they can bring great benefits and harm to host states at the same time. Consequently, it is necessary for host states to build up effective regulations to deal with potential risks. This essay chooses to take China as an example. As the biggest developing country in the world, how to regulate foreign investments has become an imperative issue if China wants to achieve further and sustainable development. By introducing its current legislative system and displaying cases, this essay analyzes the deficiencies of the current regulation system from legislative and judicial aspects. Based on the above analysis, this paper also attempts to explore possible solutions to make up for the weaknesses. Ultimately, the author agrees to construct a more exclusive and comprehensive legal system for MNEs in China and refine the prevailing judicial remedies. The main methods used in this paper are literature analysis and comparative analysis.

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The litigation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a vital avenue for peacefully resolving legal disputes between nations and fostering positive international cooperation. ICJ’s aim is to refine and develop its methodology for properly handling and adjudicating various legal disputes among countries, and to optimize the related codified rule framework accordingly. Concurrently, the ICJ harbors the vision of broadening its jurisdiction and gaining recognition from more countries, striving to better maintain international peace, promote the proper resolution of international disputes, and advance the continuous progress and development of the international judicial system. However, in the context of the evolving and progressing international community, the ICJ has encountered numerous challenges in the actual exercise of its jurisdictional authority. This study examines these challenges in depth, focusing on issues related to admissibility, optional compulsory jurisdiction, and delayed jurisdiction. Through this analysis, a series of targeted recommendations are proposed to address these practical dilemmas and to support the ICJ in fulfilling its crucial mandate more effectively.

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In 2006, the ILO adopted the Maritime Labour Convention, which has had an important impact on the rights of seafarers worldwide and the promotion of the international maritime industry. In recent years, China's labor and social security legal system has been gradually improved, and legal norms such as the Regulations on Seafarers and the Maritime Traffic Safety Law have been promulgated and implemented successively, laying a certain foundation for the system of labor norms for seafarers. However, these special legislation has some limitations, such as not strong operability and not identical with the international treaty system. This paper mainly studies the framework structure and implementation mechanism of maritime labor conventions, finds out China's application method of international law, and puts forward the shortcomings of China's implementation process and corresponding countermeasures and suggestions suitable for the current situation of Chinese seafarers. By combining theory with practice, this paper uses literature analysis and analysis deduction to find out the strategies that can optimize the implementation mechanism in China. At present, China has made a lot of preparations for the implementation of maritime labor conventions, carried out a lot of legislative activities, and has already acquired relevant legislative experience and technology. Improving the labor supervision system and making full use of the tripartite mechanism platform and industry associations are the top priorities for China to better implement international conventions and protect the rights and interests of seafarers in the next stage.

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International trade has entered the digital economy era due to the sector's rapid development. In order to avoid paying taxes on a global scale, multinational corporations use loopholes in conventional international tax laws. This severely damages the tax bases of many nations, results in significant financial losses, and undermines the fairness of international taxation. Various reform initiatives have developed to address the tax difficulties posed by economic digitalization. The OECD has introduced two significant solutions based on the BEPS action plan, collectively referred to as the "Two-Pillar" solution, to address the issues of tax base erosion caused by the transfer of profits of multinational enterprises and the inability of source countries to tax the profits of certain multinational enterprises in the context of the digital economy. Pillar One breaks through the entity presence rule emphasized in the existing international tax system and redistributes the profits and taxing rights of eligible large multinational enterprises to the market countries to ensure that eligible large multinational enterprises can undertake fairer global tax obligations in the context of economic digitalization. Pillar Two starts from the effective corporate income tax rate and introduces a global minimum tax system to combat the behaviors of multinational enterprises aimed at avoiding tax obligations. China is in favor of promoting the "Two-Pillar" approach as a participant in the OECD "Two-Pillar" declaration, a member of the G20, and the BEPS Inclusive Framework. Facing the new international tax rule system that is about to be implemented, China should be well-prepared in different aspects.

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