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Leading Cases from Chinese Courts
US Minmetals, Inc. v. Xiamen United Development (Group) Co., Ltd. (on Debt Dispute), Supreme People's Court Judgment on Civil Matters, Final Judgment No. 4 (2004) of the Fourth Civil Tribunal2
An enterprise with qualification of legal person which has been approved and registered by the competent state authority shall independently bear its civil liabilities in accordance with law. In order to determine whether the organization that has set up the enterprise should bear civil liabilities for the debt of the enterprise, thorough examinations should be carried out on the investment to the enterprise by the organization and on whether there are circumstances in which the organization withdraws the registered capital of the enterprise or maliciously transfer the property of the enterprise. If the organization has no fault in the abovementioned aspects, it shall not bear joint liability for the debts of the enterprise.
1 In order to provide guidance to the courts around the country, the Supreme People's Court has undertaken to compile and publish a body of leading cases from courts at all levels in China. The leading cases are mostly cases of first impression and/or of reference value to other judges sitting in similar cases in the future. The Court plans to have selected leading cases involving foreign elements arranged for translation into English and published in this Journal from time to time.
2 The Chinese original of this Judgment appears at: Zhonghua Renmin Dongheguo Zuigao Renmin Fayuan Gongbao (Gazette of the Chinese Supreme People's Court), 2005, No. 12, 24–28. Paragraph numbers are added. The English translation is provided by the Chinese Supreme People's Court. The official Chinese version is authoritative.