Today, the Supreme People’s Court (“the SPC”) issued the Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning Properly Handling Civil Cases Related to COVID-19 Epidemic in Accordance with the Law (I) (“the Opinions”). The Opinions involves ten specific measures aimed to facilitate the properly handling with civil cases related to COVID-19 epidemic in accordance with the law by the people’s courts to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the people and to maintain social and economic order as well as social fairness and justice.

The Opinions points out that the people’s courts at all levels should be fully aware of the major impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on economy and society, and should give full play to the role of justice in regulating social relationships based on the overall planning of epidemic prevention and control and the economic and social development. The people’s courts shall actively participate in the resolution of disputes outside the court, place the alternative dispute resolution mechanism at the forefront, insist on the priority of mediation, and actively guide the parties to settle their disputes through negotiation, share risks, and tide over difficulties so that the disputes can be effectively resolved in the bud and at the grassroots level.

The Opinions clarifies that the application of force majeure rule should be accurate and in strict manner. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, in trying cases of contractual disputes arising from the impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, the people’s courts shall take an comprehensive consideration of the impact of the epidemic on different regions, industries and cases, accurately determine the causation and causative potency between the epidemic or the epidemic prevention and control measures and the inability to perform a contract in order to decide to exempt liability partly or wholly. The party who claims that the force majeure rule should be applied and the liability should be exempted partly or wholly shall bear the burden of proof to prove the fact that the inability to partly or fully perform its civil obligations is caused by the force majeure event. When the inability to perform the contract or the failure to prevent further loss can be attributed to the parties, they should bear the corresponding liabilities in accordance with the law. When the epidemic or the epidemic prevention and control measures only cause difficulty in performance of the contract, the parties can renegotiate. When it is possible to continue to perform the contract, the people’s courts shall earnestly strengthen mediation and actively guide the parties to continue to perform the contract. A party’s request to terminate the contract on grounds of difficulties in performing the contract will not be supported by the people’s courts. When it is obviously unfair for one party to continue to perform the contract, and that party requests amendments to the terms of contract, such as performance period, performance method, payment amount, etc., the people’s courts shall make a decision on a case-by-case basis. When the purpose of the contract cannot be realized as a result of the epidemic or the epidemic prevention and control measures, the people’s courts will not support the request to terminate the contract.

The Opinions stresses on relevant provisions of the Labor Law of People’s Republic of China and the Employment Contract Law of People’s Republic of China. The people’s courts will not support the employer’s request to terminate the employment relationship should be terminated merely on the ground that the employee is a confirmed case of COVID-19, a suspected case of COVID-19, an asymptomatic confirmed case of COVID-19, or a legally quarantined person or that the employee comes from a region with a relatively severe epidemic.

The Opinions requests that the people’s courts at all levels should strengthen the guidance and supervision of the trial of civil cases related to the epidemic and give full play to the role of professional judges’ meeting and adjudication committee. Major, difficult and complicated law application issues shall be submitted to the adjudication committee for discussion and decision. The people’s courts at higher levels shall take measures including issuing typical cases to strengthen the guidance on the people’s courts at lower levels to ensure the unification of the rules of adjudication.  

In addition, the Opinions also makes provisions on the awarding of punitive damages, suspension of limitation period, extension of time limit for limitation, strengthening legal aid and flexible preservations measures, etc.

(Reporter: Sun Hang)

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最高法出台关于依法妥善审理涉新冠肺炎疫情民事案件若干问题的指导意见

*The original text is Chinese and has been translated into English for reference only. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.