Generally speaking, the ground level people’s court shall have the authority to hearing the case of first instance. but Still, the level of jurisdiction will take two factors into consideration: the nature of the case and the size of the claim.

  The Intermediate People’s Court is competent to rule on the first instance, to rule on the major cases involving foreign elements, or cases of great impact within its jurisdiction or cases determined by the Supreme People’s Court.

  The regional jurisdiction stipulation is more useful for the plaintiff when filing a case to a competent court. A civil law suit against a citizen or a legal person is usually under the jurisdiction of the People’s Court at the place where the defendant is located. However, if the action is concerning the identity of a person who does not reside in People’s Republic of China; or against a person whose whereabouts is unknown or in prison, the place where the plaintiff is located has the jurisdiction.

  When signing a contract, the two parties may determine which court has the competent jurisdiction over the dispute arising from the performance of the Contract. The options are as follows:

a) where the defendant is domiciled;

b) where the plaintiff is domiciled;

c) the place where the contract is performed;

d) the place where the contract is executed;

e) the place where the object of the action is placed.

   Without the mutually agreed jurisdiction over the dispute by both parties, the dispute regarding the contract performance shall be under the jurisdiction of the Court where the defendant is domiciled or where the contract is performed.

Notwithstanding the forging, there are still some exclusive jurisdiction stipulations over certain cases such as follows:

a) an action initiates on account of disputes over immovable property shall be under the jurisdiction of the people’s court at the place of the immovable property;

b) a lawsuit concerning disputes arising from harbor operations shall be under the jurisdiction of the people’s court at the place of the harbor;

c) a lawsuit concerning disputes over inheriting property shall be under the jurisdiction of the people’s court at the place of the residence of the benefactor at the time of his death or the place where the principal part of the property is located.