How new judicial interpretations impact foreign-related civil & commercial litigation

On 4 February, the Supreme People’s Court issued a revision of its Interpretations on Application of the Civil Procedure Law. The number of articles in the interpretations increased from the original 320 to 552, adding greater and more comprehensive clarity to the relevant procedures for important systems added and amended in the 2013 revision of the Civil Procedure Law. The interpretations revise provisions that resulted in inconsistent application of standards in civil and commercial trials, and provide judicial basis for the enforcement of the new Civil Procedure Law.

Q: What measures do the interpretations have to facilitate legal actions in foreign-related civil and commercial litigation?

A: In addition to the case filing system, the interpretations specify several systems exclusive to foreign-related litigation cases for concerned parties in foreign-related civil and commercial litigation.

First, the burden on parties to translate foreign language materials in foreign-related legal actions has been reduced.Previously, all translated documents provided by parties to foreign-related civil or commercial litigation had to be translations provided by agencies recognized by the courts.