Fa [2020] No. 202

 

Supreme People's Court

Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Review of Entrusted Appraisals in Civil Proceedings by People's Courts

Several Provisions on the Work of Entrusting Appraisal in Civil Proceedings of People's Courts

 

In order to further regulate the entrusted appraisal work in civil proceedings and promote judicial fairness, in accordance with the "Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning Evidence in Civil Proceedings", and other laws and judicial interpretations, and in light of the actual work of the people's courts, these provisions are formulated.

　

I. Review of Appraisal Matters

 

1. Strictly review whether the proposed appraisal matters fall under the specialized issues of ascertaining the facts of the case. Under any of the following circumstances, the people's court shall not entrust the appraisal:

(1) Facts that can be inferred through common sense and rules of experience;

(2) Issues not related to the facts to be proved;

(3) Issues that are meaningless for proving the facts to be proved;

(4) Non-specialized issues that should be proved by the parties;

(5) Facts that can be ascertained through court investigation, inspection, and other methods;

(6) Determination of the division of responsibilities of the parties;

(7) Issues of law application;

(8) Lie detection;

(9) Other circumstances where it is not appropriate to entrust appraisal.

 

2. If there is a large dispute over the appraisal technology and methods involved in the proposed appraisal matters, the scientific reliability of its appraisal technology and methods should be reviewed first. If the appraisal technology and methods involved are not scientifically reliable, the appraisal shall not be entrusted.

　

II. Review of Appraisal Materials

 

3. Strictly review whether the appraisal materials meet the appraisal requirements. The people's court shall inform the parties of the legal consequences of not providing appraisal materials that meet the requirements.

4. Materials (including supplementary materials) that have not been cross-examined in court shall not be used as appraisal materials.

If the party cannot be contacted, service is made by announcement, or the party waives cross-examination, the appraisal materials shall be confirmed by the collegial panel.

5. For materials disputed by the parties, the people's court shall make a determination and shall not directly hand them over to the appraisal institution or appraiser for selection. 　

 

III. Review of Appraisal Institutions 　

 

6. When selecting an appraisal institution, the people's court shall review the qualifications, business scope, and other matters of the appraisal institution in accordance with laws, judicial interpretations, and other regulations.

7. If the parties agree to choose an appraisal institution, the people's court shall review whether the negotiated appraisal institution has the appraisal qualifications and complies with laws, judicial interpretations, and other regulations. If it is found that the choice of both parties may harm national interests, collective interests, or the interests of third parties, the negotiation and selection procedure shall be terminated, and a random selection method shall be adopted.

8. The people's court shall require the appraisal institution to submit an appraisal plan, fee standard, appraiser information, and appraiser's commitment letter within 5 working days after accepting the entrustment.

The submission period may be appropriately extended for major, difficult, and complex appraisal matters.

If the appraiser refuses to sign the commitment letter, the people's court shall require the appraiser to be replaced or entrust another appraisal institution.

 

IV. Review of Appraisers 　

 

9. If the people's court entrusts the appraisal institution to designate an appraiser, it shall strictly review the appraiser's professional ability, work experience, industry evaluation, business scope, appraisal qualifications, validity period of the qualification certificate, and whether there are any circumstances for recusal in accordance with laws, judicial interpretations, and other regulations.

In special circumstances where the people's court directly designates an appraiser, the review shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

 

V. Review of Appraisal Opinions 　

 

10. The people's court shall review whether the appraisal opinion contains the content stipulated in Article 36 of the "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning Evidence in Civil Proceedings".

11. If the appraisal opinion has any of the following circumstances, it shall be deemed that the entrusted appraisal matter has not been completed, and the people's court shall require the appraiser to supplement the appraisal or re-appraise:

(1) The appraisal opinion and other parts of the appraisal opinion are contradictory;

(2) The same determination opinion uses uncertain expressions;

(3) The appraisal opinion has other obvious flaws.

If the supplementary appraisal or re-appraisal still cannot complete the entrusted appraisal matter, the people's court shall order the appraiser to return the appraisal fee that has been collected.

 

VI. Strengthen Supervision of Appraisal Activities

 

12. The people's court shall explain to the parties the legal consequences of not paying the appraisal fee and appraiser's appearance fee on time, and supervise the charging situation of the appraisal institution and appraiser.

Public interest litigation may apply for a temporary postponement of the payment of appraisal fees and appraiser appearance fees.

Parties who meet the conditions for legal aid may apply for a temporary postponement or reduction of the payment of appraisal fees and appraiser appearance fees.

13. The people's court shall determine a reasonable appraisal period based on the difficulty of the appraisal matter and the preparation of appraisal materials. The appraisal period for general cases shall not exceed 30 working days, and the appraisal period for major, difficult, and complex cases shall not exceed 60 working days.

If the appraisal institution or appraiser needs to extend the appraisal period due to special circumstances, they shall submit a written application, and the people's court may decide whether to extend the appraisal period based on the specific circumstances.

If the appraiser fails to submit the appraisal report on time, the people's court shall review whether the appraiser has a legitimate reason. If there is no legitimate reason and the people's court permits the party to apply for another entrusted appraisal, the original appraisal institution and appraiser shall be ordered to return the appraisal fee that has been collected.

14. If an appraising organization or appraiser conducts appraisal beyond its scope, makes a false appraisal, delays appraisal without justification, refuses to appear in court to testify, charges fees in violation of regulations, or commits other violations of laws and regulations, the people's court may, depending on the severity of the circumstances, impose sanctions on the appraising organization or appraiser, such as suspending the commission, ordering the refund of appraisal fees, or removing it from the list of candidate professional institutions and professionals for commissioned appraisal by the people's court, and issue judicial recommendations to the administrative department in charge or industry association. If an appraising organization or appraiser commits a crime, the people's court shall transfer the relevant clues and materials to the public security or procuratorial organs for handling.

The people's court shall establish a blacklist system for appraisers. If an appraising organization or appraiser is in any of the circumstances mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it may be included in the blacklist of appraisers. During the period when an appraising organization or appraiser is blacklisted, it shall not be allowed to enter the list of candidate professional institutions and professionals for commissioned appraisal by the people's court and related information platforms.

15. The people's court shall make full use of the commissioned appraisal information platform to strengthen the management of commissioned appraisal work.

16. The provisions of these regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to commissioned appraisals by people's courts in administrative litigation.

17. These Provisions shall come into force on September 1, 2020.

 

Attachment:

Commitment Letter of Appraiser (for Trial Implementation)

 

I have been entrusted by the people's court to participate in litigation activities as a participant in the litigation, and I will complete this judicial appraisal activity in accordance with national laws and regulations and relevant provisions of the people's court. I hereby undertake as follows:

1. Adhere to the principles of science, impartiality and honesty, conduct appraisal objectively and independently, and ensure that the appraisal opinion is not interfered by the parties, agents or other third parties.

2. Be honest and self-disciplined, and do not accept property, banquets or other benefits provided by the parties, litigation agents and their clients.

3. Consciously abide by the relevant provisions on avoidance, and promptly report to the people's court any circumstances that may affect the appraisal opinion.

4. Keep confidential state secrets, commercial secrets and personal privacy known in the appraisal activities, do not use state secrets, commercial secrets and personal privacy known in the appraisal activities to obtain benefits, and do not disclose case information and appraisal information to irrelevant personnel.

5. Be diligent and responsible, abide by relevant appraisal management regulations and technical specifications, carefully analyze and judge professional issues, independently conduct inspection, measurement, analysis, evaluation and form appraisal opinions, and ensure that no false or misleading appraisal opinions are issued; properly keep, preserve and transfer relevant appraisal materials, and do not cause damage or loss of appraisal materials due to their own reasons.

6. Complete the appraisal matters within the prescribed time limit and the requirements of the people's court, and if it cannot be completed on schedule due to special circumstances, it shall apply to the people's court for extension in advance.

7. Ensure that the appraiser fulfills the obligation to appear in court to testify in accordance with the law, and do a good job in explaining and cross-examining the appraisal opinion.

I am aware of the legal responsibilities and the corresponding handling consequences given by the competent industry department and the people's court for violating the above commitments.

 

　　                                                               Commitment Person: (Signature)

                                                               Appraisal institution: (seal)

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