Some differences between civil procedures in China and in California

If you as a business person go from one side to the other and are curious about how differently civil procedures, i. e. the way civil litigation is conducted, in China and in California, as a practical matter, here are a few examples.

• In China, the Civil Procedural Law is clear and straightforward, containing all basic rules one needs to handle a basic civil litigation, though more complex cases may require further and deeper research on connected laws especially People's Supreme Court interpretations. In contrast, though California does have a California Civil Procedure Code, even a basic civil litigation is too difficult for a layperson to handle without effective legal counsel.

• One reason for the different difficulties is the sheer types and amounts of motions that California has.

• Another reason is the discovery process in U.S., which does not exist in China.

• A more widely known difference may be the jury trial in some civil cases in the U.S. but not in China.

• In China, courts or judges play a more proactive role than in the U.S. In the U.S. the opposing parties must make their cases and the judge acts like a referee of rules and usually does not investigate the facts except under rare circumstances, whereas in China the court may inquire into the details of the fact and should investigate on more occasions than in the U.S.

• Attorneys have much smaller and more limited power to investigate in China than in the U.S. For one thing, private detectives are illegal in China.

These are only a few examples to show that you probably should not assume that you can translate your knowledge or experience with one side into the other.