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China’s Civil Procedure Law Amendments

Time:2022-02-16 09:29:07Browse:

On December 24, 2021, the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress of China released the deliberation on Amending the Civil Procedure Law of the PRC at its 32nd session. The revised law came into effect on January 1, 2022.

📌 What has changed for foreign companies?

The revision is aimed at speeding up the litigation process and improving the efficiency of civil proceedings. Therefore, the amended content mostly concerns the timing of trial procedures introducing deadlines, including a two-month deadline for the conclusion of small claims procedure (Art.169); digital tools; greater use of “small claims procedure”; and one-session or single-judged trials exclude cases that involve national interest, societal public interest pursuant to Art. 42, etc. Regarding foreign investors, Article 166 states that “small claims procedure shall not apply to civil cases involving foreign interests.” Thus, when foreign interests are involved, foreign companies will not benefit from the two-month deadline within which the trial must be concluded, as provided by Article 169 for small claims procedure. As a result, the trial period will be longer. However, for Chinese companies with foreign capital, Article 169 shall apply. Therefore, if you have a small trading company that makes numerous but small purchases in China, we recommend you open a small branch in the country for quality control and potential civil disputes, that can be followed in loco and enjoy the small claims procedure status.

📌 Moreover,

-Subject to both parties’ consent, civil litigation activities conducted online through information network platforms have the same legal effect as offline activities (Art. 16);

-Subject to the interested parties’ consent, procedural documents may be served by way of facsimile, electronic mail, or any other means through which the receipt of the documents may be acknowledged (Art. 90);

-When applying the small claims procedure for trial, procedures (complaint, response, service, and trial) may be simplified, and the content of judgments may also be simplified. Moreover, certain civil cases, including those involving property right verification, shall apply small claim procedures. The latter may be concluded in one session and sentenced in court (Art. 168).

The abovementioned amendments undoubtedly aim at speeding up the trials of civil cases without hindering the growth of Chinese companies and the Chinese market. 

At Wang Jing & GH Law Firm we are always ready to assist our clients regarding new trends and rules that may have a major impact on your business in China and abroad. If you believe that you could be subject to the above regulations, please don’t hesitate to reach us for a consultation.

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