CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yue Dai, Zhenghao Li and Xiaokun Yuan, King & Wood Mallesons
caused by the product flaw to the product itself, and damages to personal or property safety: • the Civil Code; • the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests (PCRI); and • the Product Quality Law. Over the years, the Supreme People’s Court of China (SPC) has also issued a series of judi - cial interpretations in relation to specific issues arising in product liability cases. These judicial instruments guide courts in their interpretation of key statutory definitions and concepts. Since China is a civil law country, the principle of stare decisis does not apply in product liability litigation. However, judges may still be guided by precedents, particularly if found in judgments of the SPC or other superior courts addressing similar facts or legal issues, or if the area of law is unsettled. Among these judgments, “Guid- ing Cases” , as designated by the SPC or the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, are of prec - edential value and should be referenced and followed by courts when adjudicating similar cases. Apart from civil liability, product quality disputes may also give rise to administrative liabilities. In this regard, the Product Quality Law, the PCRI and other laws and regulations for specific prod - ucts set out the power of the administrative authorities to supervise product liability and to issue administrative penalties. Lastly, criminal penalties could also be triggered in cases where the product quality issue has resulted in severe and far-ranging consequenc - es. As mentioned above, Chapter 3, Part 2 of the Criminal Law contains a section titled “Crimes of Manufacturing and Selling Fake and Shoddy
Goods” . This section specifically provides strict criminal penalties in respect of the manufactur - ing and selling of fake or defective products that severely infringe upon consumers’ interests. 2.2 Standing to Bring Product Liability Claims In China’s legal system, consumers and other infringed individuals or entities have standing to bring claims for product liability if their rights or interests are impaired. An individual or entity can file a litigation against the manufacturer or seller in court based on a contractual relationship or an act of infringement. Multiple injured individuals involved in a product liability case may have standing to bring repre - sentative litigation. If the number of injured indi - viduals is unspecified, the court could publish an announcement to notify potential plaintiffs to register as plaintiffs. The registered plaintiffs can nominate co-plaintiffs to be their representatives and participate in the litigation on their behalf. The judgment issued in these cases will bind all registered plaintiffs. If unregistered parties file additional claims, the original judgment will apply and bind the unregistered parties in those claims as well. Lastly, public welfare institutions, organisations or the state procuratorate may file public interest litigations when the legitimate rights or interests of multiple consumers have been harmed. For example, the China Consumers Association and consumer associations at the provincial level are eligible to initiate a public interest litigation in consumer disputes. An amendment to the Civil Procedure Law in 2017 introduced the new mechanism of public interest prosecution, allow - ing the procuratorate to prosecute a case relat - ing to food and drug safety if there is no relevant institution or organisation with the power to file
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