MACAU SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: João Nuno Riquito, Bruno Almeida, Bernice Kwok and Daniel de Senna Fernandes, Riquito Advogados
ble-registered mail, or through their attorney or another judicial representative, per request of the plaintiff. If delivery of the mail is unsuccessful, summon- ing will be made directly by the court clerk before the defendant. If the defendant’s location is unclear, sum- moning will take place by means of edicts and announcements, which will be drafted in the presumed language of the defendant, or in the Macau SAR official languages. A party can be sued outside the jurisdiction, in which case the court shall summon the defend- ant as per international conventions applicable to the Macau SAR. If none is applicable, the defendant will be summoned by double-regis- tered mail. If it is not possible to summon the defendant by post, they will be summoned by rogatory letter (which shall be served with the assistance of the courts of the country of resi- If the defendant does not respond to a lawsuit, nor constitute attorneys or intervene in any form in the proceedings, the court shall first verify if the summons was carried out in accordance with the legal rules. The court will summon the defendant again if irregularities are found. If the court considers the defendant duly sum- moned, the facts alleged by the plaintiff will be considered admitted by the defendant (with cer- tain limitations) and the action will proceed for submission of the final arguments and judgment. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions Associations or foundations (the purpose of which relates to the interests in dispute), the dence of the defendant). 3.6 Failure to Respond
Public Prosecutor’s office, and any citizen enti- tled to civic and political rights, are permitted to initiate lawsuits for protection of the following collective or representative interests:
• public health; • environment;
• quality of living; • cultural heritage; • the public domain; • the protection of goods and their consump- tion; and • services provision. All of these entities are equally able to initiate these actions. 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate Court fees and costs can be estimated in advance by lawyers, depending on the nature and expected complexity of the proceedings. At the request of clients, lawyers will also pro- vide an estimation of their fees, the calculation of which is subject to multiple factors, such as: • the time spent; • the complexity of the case; • the importance of the services provided; • the financial situation of the interested party; • the results obtained; and • the general practice of the lawyers.
4. Pre-trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
Pending proceedings, parties may request inter- im relief measures, and they may also submit an array of specified or unspecified requests to the court, depending on the particulars of the case. These include requests:
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