Jing Gao Fa Fa [2020] No. 102

To No.1 Intermediate People's Court, No.2 Intermediate People's Court, No.3 Intermediate People's Court, No.4 Intermediate People's Court, and Beijing Intellectual Property Court;

To the people's courts of all districts and Beijing Internet Court:

To all departments of Beijing Municipal High People's Court:

The Judicial Committee of Beijing Municipal High People's Court discussed and adopted the Provisions of Beijing Municipal High People's Court on Regulating the Adjourned Trials and Other Matters of Civil and Commercial Cases (Trial) (the Provisions) at the 5th Meeting of 2020. The Provisions is hereby issued for your earnest implementation.

Beijing Municipal High People's Court

March 11, 2020

Provisions of Beijing Municipal High People's Court on Regulating the Adjourned Trials and Other Matters of Civil and Commercial Cases (Trial)

The Judicial Committee of Beijing Municipal High People's Court Discussed and Adopted at the 5th Meeting of 2020

In order to regulate adjourned trials of civil and commercial cases, properly shorten the trial cycle, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of the parties, and optimize the capital's business environment, the Provisions is formulated in according with the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Strictly Regulating the Issues of Continuances and Adjournments for Civil and Commercial Cases (2019 Revision) and in the light of the actual trial work of Beijing courts.

Article 1 When hearing civil and commercial cases, all courts of Beijing shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and judicial interpretations, strictly manage the time limit for trials, standardize adjourned trials, and improve court trial efficiency; optimize trial procedures, properly shorten trial cycles, and speed up case turnover.

Article 2 When primary people's courts hear civil and commercial cases, in principle, the judge assistant and the clerk shall uniformly schedule the court trial within the trial team, and reduce the pre-trial process and duration of the case.

Article 3 After the expiry of defense period, all courts of Beijing can make preparations for the trial by organizing evidence exchange and convening pre-trial conferences.

The pre-trial conference shall be presided over by a judge or a judge assistant under the judge's guidance.

For civil and commercial cases to be tried under formal procedures, the pre-trial conference is normally held once if it is required; and it shall not be held more than twice if the conference needs to be held again. For civil and commercial cases to be tried under simplified procedures, pre-trial preparation procedures such as evidence exchange and pre-trial conferences shall be conducted together with the trial procedures, and shall not be organized separately.

Article 4 For civil and commercial cases where pre-trial preparation procedures such as evidence exchange and pre-trial conferences are not separately organized, judges and their assistants are encouraged to understand the demands of the parties by telephone and other means before the court, and explain to the parties the requirements and legal consequences of proof, in order to increase the success rate of one-time trial and reduce the occurrence of adjourned trials.

Article 5 When hearing civil and commercial cases, all courts of Beijing shall strictly regulate the circumstances where adjourned trials apply. Except for the circumstances stipulated in Article 146 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the trials cannot be adjourned.

"Other circumstances that require an adjournment" stipulated in Paragraph 4, Article 146 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China refer to situations in which the court trial cannot be carried out due to force majeure or accidents.

Article 6 After the courts of Beijing hear the civil and commercial cases, if they consider it is necessary to adjourn the trial, they shall determine the time for the next trial in time and notify the parties of the time according to law, and the reasons for the adjournment shall be recorded when the courtroom is booked again in the trial system.

Article 7 For the civil and commercial cases requiring an adjourned trial, the interval between two trials shall not exceed one month, unless due to force majeure or the consent of the parties.

In the case of force majeure or with the consent of the parties, the reasons for the interval between the two trials exceeding one month shall be recorded when the courtroom is booked again in the trial system.

Article 8 All courts of Beijing shall use information technologies to strengthen the management of adjourned trials and strictly limit the number of adjourned trials.

For the civil and commercial cases to be tried under formal procedures, the adjourned trials shall not be held more than twice; for the civil and commercial cases to be tried under simplified procedures or small-amount fast-track procedures, the number of adjourned trials shall not be more than once.

Article 9 Where a trial cannot be conducted normally due to force majeure or accidents during the litigation, and it is necessary to apply the provisions of Paragraph 4, Article 146 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China to adjourn the trial, the sole presiding judge or collegial panel shall report to the president of the court or the vice president authorized by the president of the court within three days after discovering the above-mentioned circumstances, and submit an application for adjourning the trial. The president or vice president shall make a decision within two days. Where the above-mentioned circumstances occur in less than five days before the court date, the sole presiding judge or collegial panel shall immediately report to the president or vice president for approval.

Article 10 All courts of Beijing shall promptly disclose to the parties, their legal representative and litigation representative the situation and reason for adjourning the trial in accordance with the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on the Publication of Information on the Judicial Process on the Internet by People's Courts. If the parties, their legal representatives and litigation representatives have objections, they can apply to the court accepting the case for supervision according to law.

Article 11 For simple civil and commercial cases with slight disputes between the parties, it is advisable for judges to sentence a judgment in court, so as to reduce the period of trial after the court session.

Article 12 After the reason for adjourning the trial and that for the interval between the two trials exceeds one month are recorded, the trial system will automatically forward the information to the relevant chief judge of the trial division. The trial division hearing civil and commercial cases shall establish an account of adjourned trials, and the chief judge shall perform the duties of trial supervision and management in accordance with the relevant provisions, and urge the sole presiding judge or collegial panel to speed up the trial process and conclude the case in time.

Article 13 All courts of Beijing shall carry out detailed management and control over the trial procedures of civil and commercial cases. The trial division and the trial team shall carry out management intervention and special monitoring on cases where the response materials have not been successfully serviced more than fifteen days from the date of case filing, and cases that have not been heard for more than one month.

Article 14 The trial management departments of all courts of Beijing shall include adjourned trials into the scope of evaluation and inspection of daily case, and regularly analyze the circumstances of adjournment of civil and commercial cases in its court; supervise and administer the cases with adjournment in violation of the regulations, and give a reminder to the trial division and its judges handling relatively more adjourned trials.

Article 15 Those who cause a delay in case handling by intentionally violating laws, trial discipline, and trial management regulations, or due to negligence, causing serious consequences, shall be punished in accordance with the Regulations on the Disciplinary Actions Against Staff of the People's Court and other relevant provisions.

Article 16 The Provisions shall be implemented as of the date of promulgation.