Cartels 2025

CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Qian Xiaoqiang, Yang Yikai and Chu Linxian, Haiwen & Partners

4.6 Issuing Criminal Indictments Only the People’s Procuratorate has the author - ity to initiate criminal proceedings against spe - cific cartel-related activities (see 1.2 Regula- tory/Enforcement Agencies and Penalties ). If the People’s Procuratorate determines that the evidence meets the statutory threshold for pros - ecution, it formally files an indictment with the appropriate People’s Court to commence crimi - nal proceedings. According to the Criminal Procedure Law amend - ed in 2018, jurisdiction over a criminal case lies with the court located either in the place where the crime was committed or where the defend - ant resides, based on which location’s court is deemed more appropriate for the handling of the case. The severity of the crime determines the level at which cases are brought. Minor offences may be heard by a basic People’s Court, while more severe cases may escalate to intermediate or high courts, or even the SPC. Before trial, the People’s Court may convene a pre-trial meeting with the public prosecutor, the defendant, defence counsel, and litigation rep - resentatives to address procedural and eviden - tiary matters. The pre-trial meeting may cover the review of requests for recusal due to poten - tial conflicts of interest or bias and exclusion of Illegally Obtained Evidence, etc. The People’s Procuratorate bears the burden of proof and must present sufficient evidence to establish the defendant’s criminal conduct before the People’s Court. Defendants have the right to request that the People’s Court exclude evidence collected through illegal methods, providing relevant clues or materials to support their claims. The attorney of the defendants may gather information related to the case from consenting entities and can also request the

People’s Procuratorate or the People’s Court to collect and obtain further evidence. Additionally, defendants can apply to the People’s Court to compel witnesses to appear and testify. 4.7 Issuing Civil Complaints In the PRC, according to the Civil Procedure Law, civil proceedings are initiated by submit - ting a complaint to a competent court. This complaint should detail the parties involved, the factual basis of the claim, and the relief sought. Under the AML, civil proceedings could be initi - ated by the entity that suffers losses due to the cartel conduct or by the People’s Procurator - ate at or above the level of a city with subordi - nate districts, in cases where the cartel conduct harms social and public interests. For the hierarchical jurisdiction and territorial jurisdiction, see 6.1 Private Rights of Action . Before trial, the court may hold a pre-trial meet - ing to organise evidence, clarify disputes, and address procedural issues. According to Article 225 of the Interpretation of the SPC on the Appli - cation of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China (Amended in 2022), the pre- trial conference may cover: • clarification of claims and defences; • examining and handling the addition to the parties, application for change in claims and counterclaim proposed, as well as claims regarding the case brought forward by a third party; • deciding the investigation and collection of evidence according to the application of a party, entrusting an expert to conduct exami - nation, requiring the party to provide evi - dence, conducting inspection, and conduct - ing evidence preservation; • exchange of evidence between the parties;

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