Besides Civil procedure, a civil case trial will also be governed by inner regulations and rules of courts. Commonly these regulations or rules are neither written on paper nor opened to public, but they are important to any civil cases.
1. A court of first instance shall try civil cases by a collegial panel composed of both judges and judicial assessors or of judges alone. The chief judge of a division of the court shall designate a senior judge to serve as the presiding judge of the collegial panel. Commonly, the trial will be handled by this presiding judge, although any decision of the collegial panel shall be discussed by the three judges observing the rule of majority.
2. After court hearing being held, the collegial panel will have a formal meeting to deliberate the case. The deliberations shall be recorded in writing, and the transcript shall be signed by the members of the collegial panel.
3. The presiding judge will then do the drafting job for the judgment. He or she will also draft a “case close report”. Without the double checking made by the other two members of the collegial panel, the presiding judge will submit the draft of judgment and the “ case close report” to the chief judge of the division for sanction.
4. The case will be sentenced after the chief judge of the division ratifying the draft of judgment.
5. For cases that have major impact on the society or cases involving foreign elements, especially those cases with a foreign person ( or legal person) from big a western country as one party, judgment will not be sentenced after the sanction of the chief judge of the division. The draft of judgment and the “ case close report” , with the signature of the chief judge of the division will be submitted to the vice principal of the court who is in charge of this division. Commonly, the presiding judge will apply for a meeting with this vice principal for reporting to him face to face.
The case will be sentenced after getting the sanctions from both the chief judge of the
division and the vice principal. If the chief judge of the division and the vice principal
have different opinions to this case, or when the case has bigger impact to the area,
this case will be submitted to the trial committee of the court, which consists of
principal, all vice principals, and some chief judges in some important divisions of the
court. Trial committee checks important criminal and civil cases and its decision to the
case shall be the final one.
6. Trial committee shall be held by the principal of the court. It makes its decision observing the rule of majority, but the principal can exert more influence than others.
It is argued, the fact that the chief judge of the division, the vice principal, the members of trial committee, the principal, and the representative of the “Political and Law Committee” do not attend the court hearing but have their power to make the final decision for the judgment, will undermine the independent trial right of the judges. So, further reform is needed.