Meaning
Judicial interpretations issued by the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China clarify evidentiary requirements and procedural execution standards in civil litigation. The instrument designated as fa shi 2016 no 22 provides detailed adjudicative rules governing property preservation measures, pre-judgment asset freezes, and liability limits for wrongful preservation actions. It standardizes preservation amounts, bond requirements, and court response timelines across all basic and intermediate people’s courts nationwide.
Its procedural rules apply strictly to civil property actions, terminating where specialized maritime procedures or criminal asset forfeitures take statutory precedence.
Preservation Caps
Securing pre-litigation asset freezes requires applicants to quantify claims with exact documentary evidence. Under fa shi 2016 no 22, people’s courts must limit property preservation values to the exact financial relief requested in the underlying litigation claim. Freezing commercial bank accounts beyond the claimed amount constitutes wrongful preservation, exposing the claimant to statutory damages.
Courts require clear evidence of contract value, unpaid invoices, or direct loss calculations before ordering enforcement officers to freeze defendant assets. Applicants must identify distinct asset accounts, factory land use rights, or machinery registrations to avoid over-freezing commercial working capital.
Surety Calculations
Filing preservation motions requires providing adequate financial security to shield respondents against potential litigation losses. The procedural framework under fa shi 2016 no 22 permits courts to demand security bonds amounting up to thirty percent of the total value of disputed property. Applicants commonly purchase litigation preservation liability insurance from state-licensed commercial insurers to satisfy this requirement without locking up operational capital.
Intermediate people’s courts review insurer qualifications before accepting preservation surety letters, rejecting non-compliant policies outright.
Execution Discipline
Judicial execution teams must observe strict deadlines when serving freeze notices across financial institutions and property registries. Execution bureaus must implement property preservation actions within five days after issuing a formal preservation ruling. Financial accounts remain frozen for twelve months, personal property for two years, and real estate assets for up to three years under standard judicial freeze orders.
Claimants must apply for extension freezes before statutory expiration windows close to maintain continuous priority over other judgment creditors. These procedural mechanisms provide structured predictability across commercial asset disputes.
