A Case of Retrial by the Supreme People's Court, Handled by Director Jiang Qi, Selected for "The Compilation of Typical Civil Procedural Cases" by Beijing Lawyers Association
The article “On the Principle of Moderate Review in Retrials Rising from Objection to Jurisdiction—the Case of Objection to Jurisdiction Concerning the Infringement of Trademark Exclusive Right, the Jinhua Xiaosong Engineering Machinery Ltd. versus Shandong Genyuan Petrochemical Ltd. and Li”, written jointly by Mr Jiang Qi and Mr Qin Zengguang from Beijing DHH Law Firm, was selected for the book “Guidance Series for Lawyers Practice: the Compilation of Typical Civil Procedural Cases".
“The Guidance Series for Lawyers Practice”, comprising 12 volumes, was compiled by the Beijing Lawyers Association and published by Peking University Press. “The Compilation of Typical Civil Procedural Cases” is one book in the Guidance Series. The book selected the most typical cases handled by Beijing law firms, underscoring the practical significance of the cases and demonstrating lawyers’ practical ability and creativity. The book analyses the practical strategies of handling the cases through describing each case, analyzing the court procedure and the trial results.
The case of objection to jurisdiction, concerning the infringement of trademark exclusive rights by Jinhua Xiaosong Machinery Engineering Limited versus Shandong Genyuan Petrochemical Ltd. is one of the successful cases handled by the Dispute Resolution Department 1 of Beijing DHH Law Firm. The case was reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court as a retrial case. Lawyers Jiang Qi and Qin Zengguang handled and finally won the case.
On August 31st, the NPC Standing Committee adopted the decision in amending the Civil Procedure Law of the PRC, effective as of January 1st, 2013. What deserves attention is that the seventh excuse in the current Civil Procedure Law, viz. “mistake of jurisdiction violating laws” for which litigants may apply for a retrial, was canceled in the amendment.
The rapid growth of retrial applications rising from objections to jurisdiction has seriously depleted judicial resources. Some litigants deliberately drag out the procedure, sometimes for several years, by utilizing this excuse, seriously impeding the course of a substantial trial and consequently prejudicing the legitimate rights and interest of the other parties. It is right, therefore, to remove the aforesaid clause as a legal reason for initiating a retrial.
On the other hand, as an instrument for breaking local protectionism and thereby safeguarding litigants’ rights and interests, a retrial based on an objection to jurisdiction is also necessary. Where a serious mistake exists in respect of jurisdiction, and cannot be corrected via second instance, litigants can still appeal to the higher level People’s Court for resolution.
October 2015, Beijing DHH Law Firm was selected as Beijing legal aid law firm. “Beijing Legal Aid Project” was established by municipal government and municipal bureau of justice to offer legal aid to the disadvantaged groups.
The team of DHH legal aid lawyers includes Zhang Lifang, Liu Zhangyin, Du Hehao, Wei Jia, Gao Yuan and Ling Xiao. Since it established, the team has been contributing its strength to the legal aid project, including on duty to provide legal advice for 12 days and reception to more than 60 people. The team of lawyers showed great enthusiasm in their work, and their meticulousness, professionalism, and efficiency earned high recognition and praise from the municipal bureau of justice. Therefore, the team was selected to handle some major and complex cases and undertake the legal consulting in the Beijing Fourth Intermediate People's Court.
The establishment of the legal aid team marks a further step for DHH’s devotion to public service. All the members from the legal aid team will adhere to the tenet of legal aid, offer help to the disadvantaged groups and make contributions to the harmonious society unceasingly.