China Justice Observer

中司观察

EnglishArabicChinese (Simplified)DutchFrenchGermanHindiItalianJapaneseKoreanPortugueseRussianSpanishSwedishHebrewIndonesianVietnameseThaiTurkishMalay

China Amends Civil Procedure Law with Focus on Online Litigation

Sat, 22 Jan 2022
Categories: China Legal Trends

On 24 Dec. 2021, the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress of China approved amendments to the PRC Civil Procedure Law (CPL). The new CPL came into effect on 1 Jan. 2022.

The CPL amendments mainly touch upon judicial confirmation procedures, small-amount litigation procedures, summary procedures, single-judge trials, online litigation, etc. The amendments add seven new articles, and revise 26 articles, and 13 of which are changed to be consistent with the expressions of the Civil Code.

The core of the new CPL is to improve the efficiency of litigation in order to alleviate the litigation explosion currently faced by Chinese courts.

Among others, the amendments focus on online litigation. For example, it stipulates that:

  1. civil proceeding activities conducted through online litigation shall have the same legal effect as civil proceeding activities conducted offline;
  2. subject to the consent by all parties concerned, civil proceedings can be conducted online through an information platform; and,
  3. subject to the consent of the person to be served, the people's court may serve the document by electronic means if it can confirm the receipt thereof by the person being served.

 

 

Cover Photo by Kenneth Yang on Unsplash

Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team

Save as PDF

Related laws on China Laws Portal

You might also like

SPC Launches Diversified Dispute Resolution Case Database

In February 2025, China's Supreme People's Court launched a public “Diversified Dispute Resolution Case Database” with over 200 cases, showcasing mediation and arbitration examples across various dispute types to guide alternative dispute resolution.

Beijing Passes Autonomous Vehicle Regulation

In December 2024, Beijing passed the "Beijing Autonomous Vehicle Regulation", effective April 1, 2025, to promote development and safety, allowing self-driving cars in taxis, buses, and more after rigorous testing.

SPC Revises Rules on Mainland China - Taiwan Judgment Recognition

China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has amended regulations on the mutual recognition and enforcement of civil judgments between Mainland China and Taiwan, clarifying application procedures, exceptions, and jurisdictional conflicts, effective January 1, 2025.

China Establishes Shanghai International Commercial Court

The Shanghai International Commercial Court was established in December 2024 as a division of the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court, with exclusive jurisdiction over foreign-related commercial cases and arbitration judicial review, along with newly released jurisdictional regulations and model clauses.

SPC Issues Guiding Cases on Gig Worker Protection

In December 2024, China’s Supreme People’s Court issued its first guiding cases on gig worker labor disputes, clarifying criteria for determining employment relationships with platform companies.