Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China (Revised in 2017)

Adopted at the fourth Session of the seventh National People’s Congress on April 9, 1991 and amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China at the 30th session of the Standing Committee of the tenth National People’s Congress on October 28, 2007 and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China at the 28th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress on August 31, 2012, and amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China at the 28th session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress on June 27, 2017.

Table of Contents
Part One General Provisions
Chapter I Purpose, Scope of Application and Basic Principles
Chapter II Jurisdiction
Section 1 Court-Level Jurisdictions
Section 2 Territorial Jurisdictions
Section 3 Referral and Designation of Jurisdictions
Chapter III Judicial Organizations
Chapter IV Withdrawal
Chapter V Participants in Legal Actions
Section 1 Parties
Section 2 Agents Ad Litem
Chapter VI Evidence
Chapter VII Time Periods and Service
Section 1 Time Periods
Section 2 Service
Chapter VIII Mediation
Chapter IX Preservation and Preliminary Execution
Chapter X Compulsory Measures against Obstruction of Civil Actions
Chapter XI Litigation Costs
Part Two Trial Procedure
Chapter XII Ordinary Procedure at First Instance
Section 1 Institution and Acceptance of Actions
Section 2 Pretrial Preparations
Section 3 Trial in Court
Section 4 Suspension and Termination of Actions
Section 5 Judgments and Rulings
Chapter XIII Summary Procedure
Chapter XIV Procedure at Second Instance
Chapter XV Special Procedure
Section 1 General Provisions
Section 2 Cases Concerning Voter Qualifications
Section 3 Cases Concerning the Declaration of a Missing or Dead Person
Section 4 Cases Concerning the Determination of a Citizen as Having No Capacity for Civil Acts or as Having Limited Capacity for Civil Acts
Section 5 Cases Concerning the Determination of Property as Ownerless
Section 6 Confirmation of Mediation Agreement
Section 7 Enforcement of Real Rights for Security
Chapter XVI Procedure for Trial Supervision
Chapter XVII Procedure for the Recovery of Debts
Chapter XVIII Procedure for Public Invitation to Assert Claims
Part Three Execution Procedures
Chapter XIX General Provisions
Chapter XX Application for and Referral of Execution
Chapter XXI Execution Measures
Chapter XXII Suspension and Termination of Execution
Part Four Special Provisions on Civil Actions Involving Foreign Parties
Chapter XXIII General Provisions
Chapter XXIV Jurisdiction
Chapter XXV Service and Time Periods
Chapter XXVI Arbitration
Chapter XXVII Judicial Assistance

Part One General Provisions
Chapter I Purpose, Scope of Application and Basic Principles
Article 1 The Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China is formulated on the basis of the Constitution and in light of the experience and actual circumstances of the trial of civil cases in China.
Article 2 The purpose of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “the Law”) is to protect the parties’ exercise of their procedural rights, to ensure that the people’s courts ascertain facts clearly, distinguish right from wrong, apply the law correctly, try civil cases promptly, affirm civil rights and obligations, impose sanctions for civil offences, protect the lawful rights and interests of the parties, educate citizens to observe the law conscientiously, maintain the social and economic order and safeguard the smooth progress of socialist construction and development.
Article 3 In dealing with the civil actions arising from disputes on property and personal relations between citizens, legal persons or other organizations and among citizens, legal persons and other organizations, the people’s courts shall apply the provisions of the Law.
Article 4 All those who are engaged in civil actions within the territory of the People’s Republic of China shall abide by the Law.
Article 5 Aliens, stateless persons and foreign enterprises and organizations that institute or respond to proceedings in a people’s court shall have the same procedural rights and obligations as citizens, legal persons and other organizations of the People’s Republic of China.
If the courts of a foreign country impose restrictions on the civil procedural rights of citizens, legal persons and other organizations of the People’s Republic of China, the people’s courts of the People’s Republic of China shall implement the principle of reciprocity in respect of the civil procedural rights of citizens, enterprises and organizations of that foreign country.
Article 6 Jurisdiction over civil cases shall be exercised by the people’s courts.
The people’s courts shall try civil cases independently in accordance with the law, and shall be subject to no interference by any administrative authority, social organization or individual.
Article 7 In trying civil cases, the people’s courts shall take the facts as the basis and the law as the standard.
Article 8 The parties to a civil action shall have equal procedural rights. In trying civil cases, the people’s courts shall safeguard and facilitate the parties’ exercise of their procedural rights, and shall treat the parties equally in the application of law.
Article 9 In trying civil cases, the people’s courts shall carry out mediation on a voluntary and lawful basis, failing which, a judgment shall be rendered forthwith.
Article 10 In trying civil cases, the people’s courts shall, in accordance with the law, implement the systems of panel hearing, withdrawal, public trial and two-tier trial.
Article 11 Citizens of all ethnic groups shall have the right to use their native spoken and written languages in civil proceedings.
In areas inhabited predominantly by a minority ethnic group or by several minority ethnic groups, the people’s courts shall conduct hearings and issue legal documents in the spoken and written languages commonly used by the local ethnic groups.
The people’s courts shall provide interpretation and translation for participants in an action who are not familiar with the spoken or written languages commonly used by the local ethnic groups.
Article 12 In the trial of civil cases by people’s courts, the parties shall have the right to argue for themselves.
Article 13 Civil proceedings shall follow the principle of good faith.
The parties shall have the right, within the scope stipulated by the law, to deal with their own civil and procedural rights.
Article 14 The people’s procuratorates have the right to exercise legal supervision over civil proceedings.
Article 15 If the rights and interests of the State, a collective body or an individual are infringed, the government authorities, enterprises and public institutions may support the injured unit or individual in instituting proceedings in the people’s courts.
Article 16 The people’s congresses of the autonomous regions of the ethnic groups may formulate flexible or supplementary provisions in accordance with the principles of the Constitution and the Law, and taking into account the specific circumstances of local ethnic groups. Such provisions made by an autonomous region shall be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for approval. Provisions made by autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties shall be submitted to the standing committee of the people’s congress of the respective provinces or autonomous regions for approval, and to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for filing.

Chapter II Jurisdiction
Section 1 Court-Level Jurisdictions
Article 17 Unless otherwise stipulated in the Law, basic people’s courts shall have jurisdiction as courts of first instance over all civil cases.
Article 18 Intermediate people’s courts shall have jurisdiction as courts of first instance over the following types of civil cases:
1. major cases involving foreign parties;
2. cases with significant impact in the areas over which the courts exercise jurisdiction; and
3. cases determined by the Supreme People’s Court to come under the jurisdiction of the intermediate people’s courts.
Article 19 Higher people’s courts shall have jurisdiction as courts of first instance over civil cases with significant impact in the areas over which they exercise jurisdiction.
Article 20 The Supreme People’s Court shall have jurisdiction as the court of first instance over the following types of civil cases:
1. cases with significant impact on the whole country; and
2. cases that the Supreme People’s Court deems it should try itself.
Section 2 Territorial Jurisdictions
Article 21 A civil action instituted against a citizen shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court in the place where the defendant is domiciled; if the defendant’s place of domicile is different from the place of his or her habitual residence, the people’s court in the place of his or her habitual residence shall have jurisdiction.
A civil action instituted against a legal person or any other organization shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court in the place where the defendant is domiciled.
If the places of domicile or habitual residence of several defendants in the same lawsuit come under the jurisdiction of two or more people’s courts, each of those people’s courts shall have jurisdiction.
Article 22 The following civil actions shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the plaintiff is domiciled; if the plaintiff’s place of domicile is different from the place of his or her habitual residence, the people’s court in the place of his or her habitual residence shall have jurisdiction:
1. actions concerning personal relationships instituted against persons not residing within the territory of the People’s Republic of China;
2. actions concerning personal relationships instituted against persons whose whereabouts are unknown or who have been declared missing;
3. actions instituted against persons who are undergoing compulsory correction; and
4. actions instituted against persons who are imprisoned.
Article 23 An action involving a contractual dispute shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the defendant is domiciled or where the contract is performed.
Article 24 An action involving a dispute over an insurance contract shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the defendant is domiciled or where the insured object is located.
Article 25 An action involving a negotiable instrument shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where payment on the instrument was made or where the defendant is domiciled.
Article 26 Proceedings initiated in connection with disputes over the incorporation of a company, confirmation of the eligibility of shareholder(s) of the company, profit distribution or dissolution of the company shall be under the jurisdiction of the people’s court at the domicile of the company.
Article 27 An action involving a dispute over a contract for railway, road, water or air transportation or combined transportation shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place of departure or place of destination or of the place where the defendant is domiciled.
Article 28 An action involving a tort shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the tort was committed or where the defendant is domiciled.
Article 29 An action involving a claim for damages arising from a railway, road, water or aviation accident shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the accident took place, where the vehicle or vessel first arrived, where the aircraft first landed or where the defendant is domiciled.
Article 30 An action involving a claim for damages arising from a collision of vessels or other maritime accident shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the collision took place, where the vessel in collision first docked, where the vessel at fault was detained or where the defendant is domiciled.
Article 31 An action involving maritime salvage expenses shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the salvage took place or of the place where the salvaged ship first docked.
Article 32 An action involving general average shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the ship first docked, where the general average was adjusted or where the voyage ended.
Article 33 The following cases shall come under the exclusive jurisdiction of the people’s courts specified in this Article:
1. an action involving a dispute over immovable property shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the immovable property is located;
2. an action involving a dispute arising from port operations shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place where the port is located; and
3. an action involving a dispute over an inheritance shall come under the jurisdiction of the people’s court of the place of domicile at the time of death of the person whose property is inherited or where the major portion of the estate is located.
Article 34 The parties to a contractual dispute or any other property dispute may agree in writing to be subject to the jurisdiction of the people’s court at the place having connection with the dispute, such as where the defendant is domiciled, where the contract is performed, where the contract is signed, where the plaintiff is domiciled or where the subject matter is located, etc., provided that such agreement does not violate the provisions of the Law regarding court-level jurisdictions and exclusive jurisdictions.
Article 35 When two or more people’s courts have jurisdiction over an action, the plaintiff may institute his or her action in one of those people’s courts; if the plaintiff institutes the action in two or more people’s courts with jurisdiction over the action, the people’s court that first puts the case on its trial docket shall have jurisdiction.
Section 3 Referral and Designation of Jurisdictions
Article 36 If a people’s court discovers that a case it has accepted is not within its jurisdiction, it shall refer the case to the people’s court with jurisdiction, which shall accept the case. If a people’s court to which a case is referred considers that the case does not come under its jurisdiction in accordance with regulations, it shall report to the superior people’s court for designation of jurisdiction and shall not further refer the case at its own discretion.
Article 37 If a people’s court with jurisdiction over the case is unable to exercise jurisdiction due to special reasons, the superior people’s court shall designate jurisdiction.
A dispute over jurisdiction between people’s courts shall be resolved by the disputing courts through consultation. If the dispute cannot be resolved through consultation, it shall be submitted to the people’s court that is the mutual superior people’s court of the disputing courts for the designation of jurisdiction.
Article 38 A superior people’s court shall have the right to try first instance civil cases of an inferior people’s court; where it is necessary for a people’s court as the court of first instance to transfer a civil case to an inferior court, the people’s court shall apply to its superior people’s court for approval.
If an inferior people’s court deems it necessary for a civil case of first instance under its jurisdiction to be tried by a superior people’s court, it may request such people’s court to try the case.