CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yue Dai, Zhenghao Li and Xiaokun Yuan, King & Wood Mallesons
The “People’s Juror” Since China has a legal system based on civil law, there is no trial by jury in Chinese courts. However, there is “People’s Juror” system, by which a non-judge citizen can serve on the hear - ing panel in a case governed by normal proce - dure, with the same power as a judge. The juror can participate in fact-finding, the application of law and the decision-making process. 2.11 Appeal Mechanisms for Product Liability Claims The rules for appeal in product liability disputes are the same as in other civil proceedings gov - erned by the Civil Procedure Law and its judi - cial interpretations. The judgments or certain rulings made by the court of first instance may be appealed on grounds including fault in fact- finding, incorrect application of laws, and seri - ous procedural violations. Once the court of first instance delivers the ruling or judgment, either party may file an appeal with the People’s Court at the higher level within 15 days from the date of service of the judgment, or ten days from the date of service of the ruling. The appellate court may decide to uphold, with - draw or revise the original ruling or judgment, or remand the case back to the lower court. 2.12 Defences to Product Liability Claims Under Chinese law, the defendant in a product liability dispute can raise procedural and sub - stantive defences. In contractual claims arising from product flaws that do not pose a safety hazard, the seller may argue that the buyer (or consumer) was explic - itly informed of such a flaw and therefore the seller should be exempt from liability for breach of contract.
In tort claims over damage caused by product defects, product quality laws and regulations outline the following three statutory defences under which a manufacturer may avoid liability: • the products have not been put into circula - tion; • the defects did not exist when the products were put into circulation (in other words, the manufacturer can demonstrate that the defect was caused by the victim); and • the scientific and technological standards at the time the product was put into circulation did not enable the manufacturer to detect the defect in the product. Additionally, as outlined in 2.1 Product Liabil- ity Causes of Action and Sources of Law , the plaintiff must satisfy the burden of proving three elements in a product liability claim (ie, defects, injuries or damage, and a causal relationship between these). A defendant may also avoid liability by successfully challenging any of these three elements. In legal practice, defendants in general tend to challenge the existence of Compliance on Product Liability Claims Regulatory requirements, especially national standards, play an important role in deciding product liability cases. As stated in 2.1 Product Liability Causes of Action and Sources of Law , “defect” is one of the three elements necessary for the establishment of product liability. Compli - ance with national standards is one of the crite - ria for courts to determine whether a product is defective. “defects” and “causal relationship” . 2.13 The Impact of Regulatory Under the Product Quality Law, where a product is governed by national or industry standards for the protection of health, personal safety or
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