CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Qingyou Wang, Yichen Lu, Chao Tang and Yuhe Gu, Anli Partners
• a contract is to be performed; or • the harmful event occurred or harm was caused in a tort case. The jurisdictional requirements differ between the various levels of courts, primarily based on the sub- ject matter and the amount in controversy. Special- ised courts, such as maritime or intellectual property courts, have jurisdiction over disputes based on their specific subject matter, regardless of the defendant’s domicile. Parties to a contract may also choose the court that will hear their disputes through a written jurisdiction agreement, provided their choice is connected to the dispute and does not violate rules regarding exclusive jurisdiction or the level of court. 3.4 Initial Complaint A lawsuit in China is formally initiated by filing a State- ment of Claim with a competent people’s court. This document serves as the foundational pleading that outlines the case. It must clearly identify the parties involved, state the specific claims being made, and present the factual and legal basis for those claims. The civil procedure law permits a plaintiff to amend their Statement of Claim after it has been filed. This is typically allowed, but the court retains discretion to approve or deny such amendments, particularly if they are sought at a later stage of the proceedings. 3.5 Rules of Service In China, the court is primarily responsible for effecting service of process, and specific rules vary depending on whether the defendant is within or outside Chi - nese territory. The plaintiff initiates the lawsuit by filing a complaint with a competent court, and the court then takes charge of delivering the legal documents, including the complaint and summons, to the defend- ant. The system incorporates modern methods, such as electronic service, and maintains special proce- dures for cross-border litigation. If all other methods have been exhausted and the defendant’s whereabouts remain unknown, the court will ultimately resort to service by public announce- ment. This involves publishing a notice of the lawsuit
in a newspaper or on a court bulletin board for a legal- ly prescribed period, after which service is deemed complete. A party located outside China can be sued in Chinese courts if the legal dispute has a sufficient connection to China. The court will typically follow the methods outlined in international treaties to which China is a party (such as the Hague Service Convention) or use diplomatic channels. 3.6 Failure to Respond If a defendant fails to submit a response after being properly served with a lawsuit, the court may pro- ceed to a default judgment. This means the case will continue in the defendant’s absence. The court is not obligated to rule in the plaintiff’s favour automatically; instead, it will examine the plaintiff’s claims and evi- dence to determine whether they are well-founded. A defendant who failed to respond has the right to apply to the court to set aside the judgment. To be successful, the defendant must typically provide a legitimate justification for their absence, such as force majeure or other valid reasons beyond their control. The defendant must also demonstrate that they have a meritorious defence to the original claims. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions China’s legal system explicitly provides for collective litigation, primarily through mechanisms established in the Civil Procedure Law and specialised judicial interpretations. For general civil disputes, such as those involving consumers, environmental issues, or product liabil- ity, the standard mechanism is the “representative action”. This model operates on a strict opt-in basis, requiring each potential claimant to actively regis- ter with the court to become a party to the lawsuit. Courts will examine whether the claims share com- mon legal or factual questions and whether all parties in the group have identical or similar legal interests. The representatives may be appointed by parties of the group or by the court. The judgment rendered by the court is legally binding only on those parties who have formally registered and been represented.
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