9. Foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related Civil and Commercial Cases Case-filing Notice

Foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related civil and commercial cases are the main components of the cases accepted in Qianhai Court. In order to further enhance the litigation efficiency and protect your legal rights and interests, we have provided you with instructions on the case-filing of foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related civil and commercial cases for your litigation in Qianhai Court. Please read carefully.
9.1. First, you need to Compare the Following Criteria to your Case to Find out if your Case Belongs to the Jurisdiction of Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People's Court.
9.1.1. Foreign civil and commercial cases refer to civil and commercial cases where a party or both parties are foreign nationals, foreign legal persons or other organisations, stateless persons, a party or both parties’ habitual residence is located outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, the litigation matters are located outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, or the legal fact of production, modification and elimination of legal relationship occurs outside the territory of the People's Republic of China.
9.1.2. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related civil and commercial cases are conducted in accordance with foreign civil and commercial litigation procedure.
9.1.3. Foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related civil and commercial cases (including foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related private lending cases) of first instance within the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone are centrally governed by the Court. The amount of litigation matter is less than, but not equal to, 50 million Chinese Yuan.
9.2. The Matters you shall Record in Foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related Civil and Commercial Indictments
In order to allow the court personnel to understand the basic circumstances of the case accurately, deliver the relevant legal documents to the defendant, and smoothly conduct the proceedings, please clearly and fully complete the relevant matters in the indictment such as the identity of the defendant, the facts and evidence of the case and the litigation request:
9.2.1. The plaintiff’s name, sex, age, nationality, occupation, work unit, domicile, contact details, the names and the domicile of the legal person or other organisation, and the name, the title and contact details of the legal representative or the principal person in charge;
9.2.2. The defendant’s name, sex, work unit, domicile and the names and domicile of the legal person or other organisation;
9.2.3. The litigation claims, and the facts and reasons on which it is based;
9.2.4. The evidence and sources of evidence;
9.2.5. Information of any witnesses such as the name, domicile and contact details.
9.2.6. The standardisation of proceedings is one of the basic requirements of faithful litigation. In addition to the aforementioned contents, there are also mediation opinions, applicable legal interpretation and other aspects. Please read in detail the Notice of the Standardisation of Proceedings to avoid bearing adverse consequences.
The Court provides the prosecution application and a list of proceeding materials for parties upon request, or it can be downloaded from the official website of the Court (http://szqhcourt.gov.cn).
9.3. The Proceeding Materials the Parties of Foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related Civil and Commercial Cases shall Provide
9.3.1. Where a party is a foreign national or organisation, stateless individual, or natural person or legal person of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the plaintiff shall submit proof of basic information and evidence to support the case and certification, authentication or other proof documents that are required in accordance with the law.
9.3.2. If the plaintiff is a legal person or other organisation from a foreign country or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the plaintiff shall also submit an agreement of litigation from the shareholders, the board of directors, partners or persons in charge, and carry out the relevant certification and authentication procedures.
9.3.3. In case of entrusted litigation, relevant materials such as the Power of Attorney and the proof of identity of the agent shall be submitted.
9.3.4. Information such as the name or domicile that can sufficiently distinguish the defendant from others.
9.3.5. The original copy of the indictment, and the number of copies that correspond to the number of defendants and other parties in total;
9.3.6. The evidence or proof materials related to the litigation claims.
9.4. Circumstances the Court Refuses to File a Case
Although China has now changed the system from the case-filing review system to the case-filing register system, in order to maintain the normal order of litigation, in some special circumstances, the Court can refuse to accept the following related cases:
9.4.1. Unlawful litigation or litigation inconsistent with the law;
9.4.2. Cases undermining national sovereignty and territorial integrity;
9.4.3. Cases undermining national security;
9.4.4. Cases undermining national integration;
9.4.5. Cases undermining the country's religious policy;
9.4.6. The matter of prosecution is not subject to the People's Court.
If there is verbal abuse and personal attacks in the indictment, the parties shall amend it before litigation.
9.5. Circumstances that Allow for the Application to File a Hearing
If you object to the Court's refusal to file a case, you may apply for a hearing in accordance with the legal procedures to safeguard your legal rights and interests.
9.5.1. Cases that inadmissible in accordance with the law;
9.5.2. The plaintiff has objection to the notice related to the remedy and supply of the prosecution material, but insists on not remedying and supplying;
9.5.3. Conditions of case acceptance are not satisfied even after the plaintiff has remedied and supplied the prosecution material;
9.5.4. Other circumstances in which the plaintiff’s opinion needs to be heard in person.
In the hearing proceedings, the plaintiff has the right to apply for withdrawal and to make a statement, to plead and to present evidence in terms of whether the litigation conforms to the conditions of case acceptance.
9.6. You can Choose a more Efficient and Economical Approach to Resolve Disputes
In order to facilitate your economical and efficient resolution of disputes, reduce your litigation risk and litigation costs, Qianhai Court set up a litigation-mediation connection centre and adhere to the principles of free will, legality, simplicity, flexibility, efficiency and cost-efficiency to help you resolve the dispute as early as possible.
9.6.1. The parties may select mediators from the list of specially invited reconciliation organisations and mediators provided by the litigation-mediation connection centre as well as select mediators from outside the list.
9.6.2. Before registering a case, in appropriate mediation cases, the litigation-mediation connection centre can appoint specially invited mediation organisations, specially invited mediators or mediators of the Court to mediate. If a mediation agreement is reached, the parties may apply for judicial confirmation, in accordance with the law, and the Court shall waive the costs of litigation.
9.6.3. After registering a case, the litigation-mediation connection centre can appoint specially invited mediation organisations, specially invited mediators or mediators of the Court to mediate. If a mediation agreement is reached, a civil mediation document shall be issued by the presiding judge after examination, in accordance with the law, and the parties may apply for the remission of litigation costs.
9.6.4. The mediation period of cases before the filing of the case generally is not more than 30 days; if there is any possible mediation, the mediation period shall not exceed 60 days. If the parties agree to extend mediation period, they shall not be subject to this limitation.
Case mediation after the filing of the case is applicable to the mediation period of 15 days in ordinary procedure or 7 days in simple procedure. If the parties agree to extend the mediation period, they shall not be subject to this limitation and the period extended is not included in the period of trial.
9.6.5. Before the trial, the parties who apply for the withdrawal of the case due to reaching a settlement on their own shall not pay the case acceptance fee.
9.6.6. If the parties do not agree or do not participate in mediation without justified reasons, they may face the adverse consequences of paying litigation fees and lawyer fees.
9.7. You may be Held legally Responsible for the Following Behaviours in Litigation:
Persons filing false litigation, malicious litigation and unreasonable litigation shall be admonished, fined or detained depending on the circumstances; if such act constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated.