'International Judiciary' Complete Revision Bill Passed by National Assembly... 35 New Provisions on International Jurisdiction Established

Ministry of Justice, Government Gwacheon Complex.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The international private law, which sets the standards for jurisdiction and applicable law in civil and commercial trials involving foreigners or foreign companies, is undergoing a major revision.

On the 10th, the Ministry of Justice announced that the full revision bill of the international private law, which reorganizes 7 of the current 62 provisions and newly establishes 35 provisions related to international jurisdiction, passed the National Assembly plenary session the day before.

The focus of this revision is to specify in detail which country's court has the authority to adjudicate civil cases related to foreign countries, that is, international jurisdiction.

The current law has relatively detailed provisions on the applicable law (choice of law) between Korean law and foreign law in civil cases involving foreign elements.

However, regarding which country's court has jurisdiction, there was only one principle provision in Article 2 (International Jurisdiction).

Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the current international private law states, "A court has international jurisdiction if the parties or the matter in dispute have a substantial connection with the Republic of Korea. In this case, the court shall determine the existence of a substantial connection based on reasonable principles consistent with the idea of allocating international jurisdiction."

Paragraph 2 of the same article states, "The court shall consider the domestic jurisdictional provisions when determining the existence of international jurisdiction, and shall fully consider the special nature of international jurisdiction in light of the purpose of Paragraph 1."

The revision bill specifically lists the factors that serve as criteria for courts to determine the existence of a "substantial connection" when deciding jurisdiction, such as fairness between parties, appropriateness of the trial, promptness, and economy. These criteria are based on precedents accumulated by the Supreme Court and are now explicitly stated in the law.

In addition, the revision bill newly establishes 15 general provisions and 20 specific provisions related to international jurisdiction.

The newly established general provisions correspond to civil procedure law provisions such as general jurisdiction, jurisdiction over related cases, counterclaim jurisdiction, agreed jurisdiction, hearing jurisdiction, exclusive jurisdiction, as well as international lis pendens, non-exercise of jurisdiction for reasonable international jurisdiction allocation, and jurisdiction over provisional dispositions and non-contentious cases.

The revision bill stipulates general jurisdiction over lawsuits against "persons with habitual residence in the Republic of Korea" or "corporations with principal offices or places of business in the Republic of Korea." It also establishes special jurisdiction allowing lawsuits related to the business of offices or places of business located in Korea against persons, corporations, or organizations with offices or places of business in Korea.

When the property that is the object of the claim or security is located in Korea, or when the defendant’s property subject to attachment is located in Korea, the court in Korea where the property is located shall have special jurisdiction.

Furthermore, the revision bill newly establishes 20 special jurisdiction provisions by case type, including cases such as declaration of disappearance, lawsuits concerning members, intellectual property contract and infringement cases, contract and tort cases, family and inheritance cases, promissory notes and checks cases, and maritime cases, and revises two existing provisions.

The international private law was created in 2001 by a complete revision of the previous "conflict of laws" law. At that time, legislators provided detailed provisions on the choice of law, which was already mature in international discussions, but only general principles on international jurisdiction, which was still under discussion, according to the Ministry of Justice.

As a result, until now, it was difficult to know for certain which country's court had jurisdiction in legal disputes involving foreign elements, especially whether Korean courts could hear the case, until a court ruling was obtained.

Therefore, if a lawsuit was filed in a Korean court and the court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, the plaintiff had to file the lawsuit again in another country's court. The lack of predictability regarding international jurisdiction caused unnecessary legal costs and raised concerns that Korean companies and citizens were disadvantaged.

The Ministry of Justice began research on revising the international private law in 2012 and, after about six years of in-depth discussions with academia and the judiciary, prepared this revision bill.

The Ministry of Justice stated, "With this revision, the previously incomplete system of international private law regarding international jurisdiction, unlike the choice of law, has been completed. This will increase predictability about whether disputes involving foreign elements can be adjudicated in Korean courts, reduce legal costs, and enhance the benefits for Korean companies and citizens."

It added, "To ensure smooth implementation of the revised law, we plan to publish explanatory materials and take follow-up measures, and we will do our best to establish the international jurisdiction rules."

The revised international private law will be promulgated after the president’s approval and will take effect six months after promulgation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.