CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yue Dai, Zhenghao Li and Xiaokun Yuan, King & Wood
2.7 Rules for Disclosure of Documents in Product Liability Cases Unlike common law jurisdictions, there is no general process of document production during civil litigation in Chinese courts. Except where the burden of proof is specifically allocated elsewhere (see 2.9 Burden of Proof in Product Liability Cases ), each party bears the evidentiary burden of proving its claims. However, if a party and its representative find it dif - ficult to obtain a particular piece of evidence due to objective difficulties, that party may apply to the court for investigation and evidence collection. For exam - ple, in product quality disputes, if the consumer is unable to obtain a vital inspection report regarding product defects kept by the product manufacturer, the consumer could apply to the court to collect the report from the manufacturer. In addition, if a party refuses to provide evidence without any proper justification, despite indications that the evidence is in its possession, and the other party bearing the burden of proof for a particular fact claims that the evidence is unfavourable to the party that possesses it, a court may presume that the rel - evant claim has been established. 2.8 Rules for Expert Evidence in Product Liability Cases To resolve technical issues in a product liability dis - pute, the court may instruct a qualified institution or person to inspect and test the product in detail upon application by a party or on its own motion. The per - son responsible for the inspection may be present during the hearing to give testimony on the results of inspection, upon the application of a party or if the court considers it necessary to hear the testimony. The judge hearing the proceedings may pose questions to the expert, and any party may cross-examine the expert. Either party may also introduce other experts to provide professional opinion on the inspection or other technical issues during the hearing. Where per - mitted by the court, experts may address each other regarding issues arising in the proceedings. 2.9 Burden of Proof in Product Liability Cases For contractual claims arising from non-conformity of products, the plaintiff normally bears the burden of
tion to the plaintiff if 20 years have elapsed since the infringement took place. Nevertheless, under special circumstances, the court may decide to extend the period upon the application of the plaintiff. 2.4 Jurisdictional Requirements for Product Liability Claims According to the Civil Procedure Law, a product liabil - ity dispute must meet the following prerequisites: • the plaintiff is a citizen, legal person or any other organisation with a direct interest in the case; • there is a specific defendant; and • the plaintiff has made a specific claim supported by facts and reasons. In addition, the plaintiff has to file the claim before the court that has jurisdiction (see 2.10 Courts in Which Product Liability Claims Are Brought ). 2.5 Pre-Action Procedures and Requirements for Product Liability Claims To date, there are no mandatory pre-litigation pro - cedures under Chinese law. Pre-trial preservation of evidence, which is an optional pre-action procedure, is explained in 2.6 Rules for Preservation of Evidence in Product Liability Claims . 2.6 Rules for Preservation of Evidence in Product Liability Claims If any evidence may be lost or subsequently become hard to obtain, a party to the dispute can apply for the court to issue an evidence preservation order, either during the proceedings or before the litigation is filed under urgent circumstances (the latter is also known as pre-trial preservation of evidence). Evidentiary preservation measures ordered by the court may include making copies in advance, sealing evidence or taking other actions to preserve evidence, depending on the format and location of the evidence in individual cases. The court may impose a fine or detain anyone who forges or destroys important evi - dence, or it may adopt a presumption of fact against a party found to have breached the rules.
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