Civil Procedure Law Related Regulations Selected

Author: Legal Society of Laws and Regulations Center
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Introduction
The Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as "Civil Procedure Law") is the first formally promulgated civil procedure law code in China and is the fundamental law of China's civil procedure system. It stipulates the basic principles, systems, and procedures for adjudicating civil and commercial dispute cases in China. Since its promulgation and implementation in 1991, the law has significantly improved the protection of the rights of parties in litigation, laying a solid foundation for the People's Courts to resolve civil and commercial disputes scientifically, justly, swiftly, and economically in the new era.
From the perspective of legal sources, China is a civil law country, where national legislation is often too abstract and lacks operability, requiring corresponding laws and regulations to supplement and improve it. The Civil Procedure Law is the procedural code for adjudicating civil cases in courts. Therefore, other related legal norms that regulate the civil procedure system are not administrative regulations or departmental rules but rather a large number of Supreme People's Court judicial interpretations. Based on the different fields of application, these judicial interpretations can be categorized into several types, such as comprehensive, procedural, evidence, execution, and cost.
Among the comprehensive judicial interpretations of the Civil Procedure Law, the two most important are:
1. Supreme People's Court Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (July 14, 1992);
2. Supreme People's Court Provisions on Strictly Implementing the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China in Economic Trial Proceedings (December 22, 1994).
These judicial interpretations have made necessary supplements to various aspects of the Civil Procedure Law in response to issues exposed in judicial practice and are now indispensable legal references for the civil adjudication activities of the People's Courts.
Procedural
Supreme People's Court Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Reform of Civil and Economic Trial Procedures (July 6, 1998) and Supreme People's Court Provisions on the Application of Simple Procedures for Adjudicating Civil Cases (September 10, 2003) are specialized judicial interpretations that regulate civil trial procedures. The two judicial interpretations reflect the achievements of China's civil judicial reform over the past decade, especially in the reform of trial procedures. The former highlights the Supreme People's Court's efforts to strengthen the function of court trials, while the latter refines and improves the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law regarding civil simple procedures, playing a significant role in the division of case complexity.
Evidence
Evidence is the foundation of judicial fairness. In response to the overly simplistic provisions of the Civil Procedure Law regarding the evidence system, Supreme People's Court Provisions on Several Issues Concerning Civil Procedure Evidence (December 21, 2001) have detailed many important issues of the civil evidence system, such as: clarifying the burden of proof for parties, stipulating eight situations where the burden of proof may be reversed, establishing a system for the time limit for presenting evidence, and addressing the validity of illegal evidence.
Execution
"The difficulty of enforcement" has long been a major issue plaguing China's enforcement work and has affected the actual effectiveness of civil litigation in regulating social relations. In 1998, which was designated as the "Year of Enforcement" for courts, the Supreme People's Court Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Enforcement Work of People's Courts (July 8, 1998) were promulgated on the basis of existing laws and judicial interpretations, further providing legal support for court enforcement work. In addition, China's independent enforcement law is currently under drafting.
Cost
The amount of litigation costs is a very important factor for ordinary citizens when choosing a dispute resolution method. The Civil Procedure Law does not specify the standards for litigation costs, and the main judicial interpretations specifically addressing litigation fees include: Provisions of the People's Courts on Litigation Fees (July 12, 1989) and Supreme People's Court Supplementary Provisions on the Provisions of the People's Courts on Litigation Fees (July 28, 1999). It should be noted that although the Provisions of the People's Courts on Litigation Fees were promulgated before the Civil Procedure Law, it remains the most important legal basis for litigation fees in civil litigation.