China - Central Authority (Art. 2) and practical information
Central Authority(ies):
Ministry of Justice
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Contact details:
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| Address: | Ministry of Justice of China International Legal Cooperation Center No 6, Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyang District Beijing 100020 China |
| Telephone: | +86 10 6515 3113 |
| Fax: | +86 10 6515 3144 |
| E-mail: | ivylee319@vip.sina.com |
| General website: | www.moj.gov.cn; http://www.legalinfo.cn/english/index.htm |
| Contact person: | Zhiying Li |
| Languages spoken by staff: | Chinese, English |
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Practical Information
(The following information was provided by the relevant State authorities or was obtained from the replies to the 2013 Evidence Convention Questionnaire) |
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| Blocking statutes: | |
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Chapter I
(Letters of Requests) |
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| Transmission of Letters of Requests: | Letters of Request are first sent to the Central Authority of the requesting State before being sent to the Central Authority of the requested State. |
| Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): | Central Authority |
| Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): | No declaration. |
| Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): | No declaration. |
| Translation requirements (Arts 4(2) and 33): | No declaration. |
| Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): | Normally no cost required to be reimbursed except for extraordinarily large costs relating to execution of the request. |
| Time for execution: | 6-12 months. |
| Art 23 pre-trial discovery of documents: | Qualified exclusion. See declarations. |
| Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence: | Chapter 7 and 27 of Civil Procedural Law of People's Republic of China. |
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Witness examination under Chapter I
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| Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? | A specific question list is preferred. |
| Is it a public or private hearing? | |
| Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? | |
| Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? | |
| Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? | No. |
| Is an oath generally administered to the witness? | |
| Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? | It depends on the decision made by the judges from the requested counties. |
| Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? | No |
| Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? | The interpreters should be provided by the qualified translation companies, or be accepted by all parties. |
| How is the testimony transcribed? | |
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Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners) |
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| Article 15 | Applicable |
| Article 16 | Not applicable |
| Article 17 | Not applicable |
| Article 18 | Not applicable |
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Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter) |
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Chapter I
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | |
| Technology used: | |
| Level of interpretation required: | |
| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | |
| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | |
| Who pays for the interpretation? | |
| How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? | |
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Chapter II
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | |
| Technology used: | |
| Level of interpretation required: | |
| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | |
| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | |
| Who pays for the interpretation? | |
| Bilateral or multilateral agreements | |
| Useful links: | |
(This page was last updated on 25 July 2014)