Lawmakers to revise civil procedures for foreign-related cases

Civil procedures for handling foreign-related cases will be modified and improved, an official from China's top legislature, said on Friday.

Yang Heqing, spokesman for Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, told a news conference that lawmakers will focus on amending foreign-related section of the Civil Procedure Law next week, in a bid to advance the building of the country's legal system concerning external affairs.

The draft amendment to the law is scheduled to be reviewed at a session of the NPC Standing Committee, which will be held in Beijing from Monday to Friday.

"Considering that the delivery of legal documents in foreign-related civil lawsuits is difficult, legislators will attach greater importance to revising relevant provisions in the law to improve the efficiency of the procedure and safeguard legitimate rights of litigants," Yang said.

The international judicial assistance system for foreign-related civil cases is also to be optimized, he said, adding that the draft will add content about extraterritorial investigation and evidence collection.

He noted that revising the law is to meet the central leadership's requirement on taking a coordinated approach to promoting the rule of law at home and in matters involving external affairs.

In the next week's session, lawmakers will also review draft amendments to a few other laws, such as the administrative reconsideration law, the company law and the public security administrative penalty law.

In addition, draft laws on foreign countries' state immunity, value-added tax, preschool education and academic degrees, along with a draft decision on extending a pilot program that enables law practitioners from Hong Kong and Macao to practice law in certain cities on the mainland, are also scheduled to be submitted to the session for deliberation, Yang said.

Furthermore, multiple reports, including those on the implementation of this year's budget, food security and anti-domestic violence, have also been put on the session's agenda to be reviewed next week, according to a release of the NPC Standing Committee's Chairperson Council.