Shanghai International Commercial Court Reports USD4.2 Billion in Case Value in Debut Year

(Yicai) Feb. 9 -- The Shanghai International Commercial Court accepted over 2,160 cases of various types in 2025, its first full year of operation, with a combined subject matter value exceeding CNY30 billion (USD4.2 billion), and concluded a bit more than 1,740 cases in total.The figures were disclosed in the 2025 Annual Work Report of the Shanghai International Commercial Court released today. The court was officially established at the end of 2024 and began accepting cases in early January 2025.Xi Xuefeng, vice president of the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, said at the report’s launch event that parties involved in cases heard by the court last year came from 56 countries and regions across five continents. The cases included disputes over international sales contracts of goods, foreign-related service contracts, foreign-related work-for-hire contracts, foreign-related equity transfer contracts, and foreign-related loan contracts.Industries with relatively high numbers of cases in the court’s first year included integrated circuits, with 120 cases, biomedicine, with 119 cases, and shipping and logistics, with 73 cases, according to the report.Xi noted that promoting international mutual recognition is a key task in international commercial adjudication, including through the implementation of international judicial assistance mechanisms and the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and arbitral awards. He said the court accepted 30 international judicial assistance cases last year, involving a combined subject matter value of CNY3.8 billion (USD536.2 million).The court also participated in the development of international commercial rules in 2025. Thirteen cases concluded during the year were selected for inclusion in internationally recognized databases, including the official website of the CISG Advisory Council, the i-Law database, and the CISG-online database of the University of Basel, Xi said.He added that the 2025 Top 10 Typical Cases of the Shanghai International Commercial Court report, also released today, highlights the court’s handling of issues such as the interpretation and application of international conventions, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, identification of atypical foreign-related elements, exercise of foreign-related jurisdiction, and the ascertainment and application of foreign laws.Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine