Jurisdiction and Choice of Law in Foreign-Related Tourist-Consumer Disputes in China Under the One Belt One Road Initiative-Based on Case Analysis in the Chinese Judiciary

Abstract

One Belt One Road Initiative, as an ambitious trade project, will inevitably promote the development of Silk Road tourism, and accordingly, an increasing amount of foreign-related tourism disputes will arise. Therefore, protecting cross-border tourist-consumer is extremely significant under the OBOR initiative. When it comes to cross-border tourist-consumer protection, multiple dispute resolution mechanisms are available for cross-border tourists, be it traditional court procedures (international litigation), or new non-court procedures (ADR or ODR). International litigation, although sophisticated, expensive and time-consuming, is still the last resort for cross-border tourists to redress their legitimate rights and interests, especially when the claim is in large amount. In this sense, international tourist-consumer protection will always remain to be ‘middle class law’ which focus on conflicts of laws in different jurisdictions. In order to settle foreign-related tourism disputes, jurisdiction and choice of law are two particularly important and also complicated issues in the process of foreign-related civil litigation. In particular, when Silk Road tourism in China is faced with the fast-changing technology and increasingly-popularized internet usage, E-tourism is imposing new challenges upon the traditional jurisdiction and choice of law rules.