The Supreme People's Court ("SPC") has recently issued the Plan for the Pilot Reform of Civil Proceedings for the Separation of Complicated Cases from Simple Ones (the "Plan") and the Implementing Measures for the Pilot Reform of Civil Proceedings for the Separation of Complicated Cases from Simple Ones (the "Measures"), signaling the official kick-off of the two-year pilot reform.

The Plan clarifies the goals and basic principles of the reform, key work of the pilot reform, coverage and duration of the pilot program, implementation of the plan, organizational guarantee, etc. The Measures set out more details based on the Plan and serve as the basis of future work on the pilot reform. Major contents of the Plan and the Measures touch upon five aspects, including: 1. optimizing the judicial confirmation procedure; 2. improving the legal proceedings for small-amount lawsuits; 3. refining the rules for simplified proceedings; 4. expanding the scope of application of the sole-judge proceedings; and 5. bettering the rules for online litigation. The Plan and the Measures stipulate that the pilot reform of civil proceedings for the separation of complicated cases from simple ones will be launched among intermediate courts, specialized courts, and grass-roots courts within the jurisdiction thereof, in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, including Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong. Courts under the pilot reform will adjust the application of relevant legal provisions, as authorized by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("NPC").

(Source: Supreme People’s Court)