近年中国有关外国法查明与适用的理论与实践

Recent Theories and Practice on Application and Ascertainment of Foreign Law in China

近年我国法院审理的涉外民商事案件数量呈逐年增长趋势,法院适用外国法的案件也有所增加。关于外国法的查明,司法实践中已暴露出了一些亟需解决的问题,我国有关外国法查明与适用的制度亟需完善。我国在查明义务上应明确采取法官与当事人查明相结合的方式,明确规定当事人未主张适用外国法时,法官也有义务按照冲突规则的指定适用外国法。现阶段可考虑区别不同性质的案件以及不同法域的法律,采取不同的查明方式。对于外国法的解释,应该依照该外国法加以解释。对于外国法无法查明的判断应该施以合理期限的限制或充分努力的限制,并规定在无法查明时适用法院地法。

In recent years,the number of foreign cases seized by Chinese people's courts is rising.The application of foreign law in people's courts is also increasing.There is an urgent need to improve the practice of proving and applying the applicable foreign law.The author holds that it is fair to adopt the model of mixed methods,i.e.,foreign law should be ascertained by the parties,except where it is seriously difficult for the parties pleading and proving of foreign law.At present,it may be a good choice to take different methods to different cases or laws from different jurisdictions.It is desired to limit failure of proof of foreign law to reasonable period or sufficient efforts,and provide to apply lex fori in case of failure of proof of foreign law.