CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Qingyou Wang, Yichen Lu, Chao Tang and Yuhe Gu, Anli Partners
6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant If an injunction is later found to have been wrongfully granted, the applicant bears liability for the respond- ent’s losses. The court may order the applicant to compensate the respondent from the security previ- ously deposited. This liability applies equally to ex parte injunctions. The security mechanism ensures that injunctive relief is used responsibly and discourages abuse of urgent judicial remedies. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief Chinese court orders to freeze assets (asset preserva- tion orders) generally only apply to assets within Chi- na. These orders cannot directly freeze a respondent’s overseas assets. However, through specific judicial assistance arrangements, a Chinese court can help freeze assets in Hong Kong or Macao to support arbi- tration. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief can be obtained against third parties under specific circumstances. This is particularly true for property preservation measures. For instance, when a court orders the freezing of a respondent’s bank deposits or the seizure of assets held by a third party, such as a bank or custodian, that third party is legally bound by the court’s assistance execution notice and must comply. A third party that refuses to assist may face compulsory measures from the court. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance Failure by a respondent to comply with the terms of an injunction carries severe legal consequences. Accord- ing to the Civil Procedure Law of the PRC, the court may impose the following measures. Fines and Detention The court may impose a fine of up to RMB100,000 on an individual or detain them for up to 15 days. For a unit, the fine may range from RMB50,000 to RMB1,000,000 and the principal responsible person may also be subject to detention.
ality concerning all information obtained in the course of their practice. 5.6 Rules Disallowing Disclosure of a Document In civil litigation, parties generally cannot refuse to provide evidence without justifiable reasons. 6. Injunctive Relief 6.1 Circumstances of Injunctive Relief Chinese courts may grant injunctive relief to prevent irreparable harm or secure the enforcement of judg- ments. China’s injunctive relief is embodied in 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions . 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief The processing time for applications depends on their Non-urgent applications may take weeks or even months for a ruling. However, for clearly urgent mat- ters, such as pre-action asset preservation, the Civil Procedure Law imposes a strict 48-hour deadline for the court to issue a ruling. Requesting Expedited Handling nature, complexity and urgency. Standard vs Urgent Processing A party can request priority processing by demon- strating compelling reasons for the urgency, such as an imminent risk of asset transfer or irreparable harm. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis Chinese law allows courts to grant injunctions with- out notifying the respondent when immediate action is necessary to prevent irreparable harm. Ex parte injunctions are commonly used in asset-freezing sce- narios. Applicants must provide a security deposit sufficient to cover potential damages. Once the injunction is issued, the court promptly notifies the respondent and may schedule a hearing if objections are raised.
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