The Supreme People's Court ("SPC") has recently issued the Provisions on Procedures for Handling Cases Involving National Judicial Assistance by People's Courts (for Trial Implementation) (the "Provisions") which have taken effect from February 1, 2019 and meanwhile distributed the Templates of Documents of People's Courts for National Judicial Assistance (for Trial Implementation) and the Work Rules for the Judicial Assistance Committee of the Supreme People's Court (for Trial Implementation).
Encompassing 27 articles, the Provisions are mainly intended for: 1. making clear the principles in respect of the establishment of and the jurisdiction over judicial assistance cases derived from original cases; 2. requiring people's courts to make public in different ways templates of relevant documents, including the must-know information for applicants and the application form; 3. offering two ways to seek judicial assistance, in which people's courts will notify, within their authority, the parties concerned of their rights to claim judicial assistance or the parties concerned may claim judicial assistance on their own, and clarifying requirements for the entire process of case handling, including the acceptance and establishment of cases, and the timeframe set aside for each stage of the entire process; 4. specifying the assignment of respective duties of departments handling the original cases, departments establishing the cases, and the office of the Judicial Assistance Committee, and the division of authority between the Judicial Assistance Committee and its office; and 5. allowing all high courts to work out implementing rules based on these Provisions and in consideration of actual situations within their respective jurisdictions, which leaves certain room for local courts' efforts to conduct their work creatively.