Civil Procedure and Arbitration (民事诉讼法与仲裁法)
This domain focuses on civil-procedure mechanisms and arbitration: jurisdiction objections, preservation, evidence, trial and appellate review, then arbitration agreements, tribunal, award, set-aside and enforcement. Avoid confusing court litigation with arbitration.
Procedure points
- A jurisdiction objection must be raised during the defense period. The court rules on it, and the ruling may be appealed.
- Property preservation may be sought before or during litigation. Pre-litigation preservation requires security, and the applicant must sue within 30 days or the preservation is lifted.
- Parties must submit evidence within the prescribed period. The court may order production of evidence; evidence obtained by serious violation of law may not be used.
- The second instance reviews facts and law and may mediate. A legally effective judgment may be retried only on statutory grounds.
Arbitration
- An arbitration agreement must be in writing and designate an arbitration commission. If no commission is designated, or the designation is unclear, and the parties cannot supplement it, the arbitration agreement is invalid.
- A valid arbitration agreement excludes court jurisdiction, except for proceedings to challenge its validity.
- The award is final. A party may apply to set it aside within 6 months to the intermediate court where the arbitration commission is located, on statutory grounds such as no valid agreement, exceeding scope, procedural violation, falsified evidence or corruption.
- Enforcement is sought from the competent court; refusal grounds largely mirror set-aside grounds.
Worked example
A contract clause says “disputes shall be resolved by arbitration at the place of contract performance.” No arbitration commission is named. One party sues in court; the other raises an arbitration objection. Because the clause does not designate a commission and the parties cannot agree on one, the arbitration agreement is invalid; the court may hear the case. If the clause had named the Beijing Arbitration Commission, the court would lack jurisdiction.
Traps
- Treating an arbitration clause as valid merely because it says “arbitration.”
- Missing the 6-month set-aside period.
- Confusing an arbitration award with a court judgment subject to ordinary appeal.
- Applying pre-litigation preservation without suing within 30 days.