On 7–8 November 2025, the 2025 Professional Exchange Conference on ‘Judicial Practice and Theoretical Research in Commercial Torts’ organised by the Civil Law Committee of the All China Lawyers Association was successfully convened in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. Hosted by the Civil Law Committee of the All China Lawyers Association and organised by the Jiangxi Provincial Lawyers Association, the conference aimed to thoroughly examine practical challenges and theoretical frontiers in commercial tort litigation, thereby advancing the professional development of civil and commercial legal services.
Ms. Cao Chunfang, Member of the Civil Law Committee of the All China Lawyers Association and Executive Director of JAVY Law Firm, was invited to attend and delivered a keynote address entitled ‘Analysing Practical Challenges and Theoretical Innovations in Commercial Torts: Focusing on Shareholders' Abuse of Control to Blur Property Boundaries’.
Ms Cao first elucidated the distinctive characteristics of commercial torts from a theoretical perspective. She noted that, compared to traditional civil torts, commercial torts involve profit-seeking and specialised entities, occur within commercial activities, and entail complex liability forms with stringent standards. The Civil Code provides the foundational legal basis for determining commercial tort liability, while the revised Company Law strengthens shareholder responsibilities, refines corporate governance structures, and safeguards both company operations and shareholder interests.
Subsequently, Ms Cao used a real-world case involving the commingling of corporate and shareholder assets as a starting point to meticulously analyse the judicial logic for determining such commingling in practice.
She emphasised that establishing commercial tortious conduct is complex, requiring comprehensive assessment across financial, operational, and personnel dimensions. When determining causation in commercial torts, the specialised nature of commercial activities and the multitude of involved parties and processes render relationships highly complex, necessitating comprehensive judicial assessment across multiple factors. In defining compensation scope, damages encompass both direct financial losses and intangible losses. The latter, such as damage to commercial reputation, lacks clear delineation standards, requiring multifaceted consideration when establishing compensation for lost profits.
Addressing these challenges, Attorney Cao proposed a new judicial framework based on ‘commercial adjudication thinking’. He advocated that lawyers should analyse cases grounded in this approach, while judges must thoroughly examine the substance of cases during adjudication. He further emphasised the need for reasonable allocation of the burden of proof, enhanced court-led evidence gathering, improved evidentiary rules with oversight of judicial discretion, and strengthened collaboration between courts, administrative bodies, and different judicial divisions within the court system.
JAVY Law Firm remains steadfast in advancing commercial legal theory innovation and practical development. Looking ahead, the firm will deepen collaborations with academia and practitioners, contributing professional expertise through case studies and legislative proposals to refine the commercial tort legal framework and optimise the rule-of-law-based business environment. Leveraging its profound professional expertise and relentless exploratory spirit, JAVY Law Firm provides robust support for China's rule-of-law development.
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