MACAU SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: João Nuno Riquito, Bruno Almeida, Bernice Kwok and Daniel de Senna Fernandes, Riquito Advogados
Parties may submit complaints and clarifications against the decision on the facts. After a deci- sion on such queries, the parties shall present their legal arguments, in writing, or subject to agreement, verbally. The judge shall then issue the final judgment. 7.2 Case Management Hearings Case management hearings are allowed by the Code of Civil Procedure, but are not com- mon practice in the Macau SAR, where most of the ruling is made in writing by the judges. An attempt at conciliation may take place prior to the trial, at the request of the parties or by a summons to appear before a judge. A summons to appear before a judge may also be issued at any other stage of the proceedings, provided the parties have not previously requested an attempt at conciliation and the summons is issued no more than once. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases According to Macau SAR’s Code of Civil Proce- dure, trial by jury is not available. Instead, civil court proceedings are either decided at first instance by one single judge or by a panel of three judges, depending mostly on the value of the proceedings. In the superior courts, judgments are in general issued by a panel of three judges, although the presiding judge has powers to rule by them- selves on procedural matters and, in limited cir- cumstances, decide on the merits. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence All relevant evidence should be submitted or requested during the written submissions stage. The parties have a further opportunity to amend and complement these requests, when the court (after the written submissions and prior to the
trial) decides on the facts that are already estab- lished and those which need further assessment during trial. Documents, witnesses and other evidence may be further added during trial, with limitations. Depositions from the plaintiff and the respond- ent, expert testimony and the hearing of witness- es will typically take place during the trial, unless circumstances make it impossible to do so, in which case they will be produced beforehand (including in writing). The key principle, in terms of admission of evi- dence, is that no evidence shall be considered without the counterparty having an opportunity to analyse and contradict it. 7.5 Expert Testimony The court and/or any of the parties may select a subject or matter which they feel requires expert opinion or guidance due to its highly special- ised nature and request that such expertise be provided, for the purpose of which one or more experts will be appointed. In this event, although the expert’s report is produced out of court and delivered before the trial, the expert may be called to testify before the court during the trial regarding any question or request for clarifica- tion arising from their report. In certain circumstances, the court may order the production of a second expert opinion. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public See 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings . Furthermore, although hearing and trial minutes are produced in writing, detailed transcripts are not prepared or kept.
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