CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yue Dai, Zhenghao Li and Xiaokun Yuan, King & Wood Mallesons
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 filing of a litigation 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 pre - serve 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 evidence, or it may adopt a presumption of fact against a party found to have breached the rules. 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 else - where (see 2.9 Burden of Proof in Product Lia- bility Cases ), each party bears the evidentiary burden of proving its claims. However, if a party and its representative find it difficult to obtain a particular piece of evidence due to objective difficulties, that party may apply to the court for investigation and evidence col - lection. For example, in product quality disputes, if the consumer is unable to obtain a vital inspec - tion report regarding product defects kept by the product manufacturer, the consumer could apply
public interest claims, or the relevant institution or organisation does not file a claim. 2.3 Time Limits for Product Liability Claims According to the Civil Code, the statute of limi - tation for a product liability claim is three years. The period of the limitation is calculated from the day when the plaintiff (eg, the consumer or other infringed individuals) knew or should have known the identity of the respondent and that their right had been infringed. In any event, the court will not offer protection to the plaintiff if 20 years have elapsed since the infringement took place. Nevertheless, under special circumstanc - es, 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 Procedural Law, a product liability dispute must meet the following prereq - uisites: • 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 sup - ported 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 procedures under Chinese law. Pre-trial pres - ervation of evidence, which is an optional pre- action procedure, is explained in 2.6 Rules for
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