People pay tribute to martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak and compatriots who died of the disease in Qianjiang, central China's Hubei Province, April 4, 2020. (Photo by Wu Yanjun/Xinhua)
Legal experts view these lawsuits more as publicity stunts by entrepreneurial law firms combined with political grandstanding by some politicians, who want to deflect public attention from their own failures to stop the spread of the virus.
by Yang Jingzhong
SYDNEY, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Filing lawsuits against China for compensation for the COVID-19 pandemic is unfair and unfeasible in accordance with international law norms, an Australian expert on law has said.
"Such a case would not set a good precedent," warned Colin Hawes, associate professor with the Law Faculty at University of Technology Sydney, in an email interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.
"Other countries would face similar claims in the future if a virus happened to start in their territory, and viruses don't respect national borders," Hawes said.
Palestinian medical experts attend a video conference with their counterparts in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, at the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on May 14, 2020, on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua)
Most legal experts have expressed strong doubts whether any lawsuit against China seeking compensation will pass even the first hurdle in foreign courts, which is sovereign immunity.
Most countries don't allow lawsuits to be brought in their own courts against a foreign government, said Hawes.
He said legal experts view these lawsuits more as publicity stunts by entrepreneurial law firms combined with political grandstanding by some politicians, who want to deflect public attention from their own failures to stop the spread of the virus.
Anyone who contracted COVID-19 or has experienced losses caused by the virus is a victim, be him/her Chinese or foreigner, he stressed.
Hawes also advised China to actively reduce tensions with other countries and not to react to "political showboaters," especially in the United States, who he said are mainly playing to their own domestic audiences. ■
