Supreme Court clarifies revised Causes of Action in Civil Cases Provisions

On 18 February the Supreme People’s Court issued the Amending the Causes of Action in Civil Cases Provisions Decision (Fa [2011] No. 41) and the Issuance of the Revised Causes of Action in Civil Cases Provisions Decision (Fa [2011] No. 42). The revised Causes of Action in Civil Cases Provisions came into force on 1 April.

Since the 2008 version of the Causes of Action in Civil Cases Provisions was implemented, laws including the PRC Tort Law, the PRC Anti-monopoly Law, the PRC People’s Mediation Law, the PRC Insurance Law and the PRC Patent Law have been enacted or amended, and many new types of civil cases have emerged in judicial practice. In response to this situation the revised Causes of Action in Civil Cases Provisions have selectively supplemented and improved the original provisions. There follows a brief introduction to the new provisions, their application and their relationship to the PRC Tort Law and the PRC Anti-monopoly Law.

New classification system

The revised Causes of Action in Civil Cases Provisions upgrade causes of action in disputes over tortious liability to first-level causes of action, so that the classification system for first-level causes of action is redivided into a total of 10 parts: (i) disputes over personal rights, (ii) disputes over marriage, family and inheritance, (iii) disputes over property, (iv) disputes over contracts, negotiorum gestio or ill-gotten gains, (v) disputes over intellectual property rights and competition, (vi) labour and personnel disputes, (vii) maritime disputes, (viii) disputes relating to a company, securities, insurance or bills and other related civil disputes, (ix) disputes over tortious liability, and (x) cases requiring special procedures.

Business Law Digest is compiled with the assistance of Haiwen & Partners. The authors can be emailed at baochen@haiwen-law.com. Readers should not act on this information without seeking professional legal advice.