On The Evidence Of Preparation In The Civil Pretrial Procedures

The reform of pretrial procedures in civil cases is an important theme in the judicial reform of civil law procedure; it not only prompts a series of important discussions on issues of litigation theory, but also influences the structure of judicial proceedings. In other words, without the role of evidence, there is little substance in civil litigation. This essay seeks to erect a structure for procedures for pretrialevidence preparation in civil actions, establish a nexus between pretrial procedures and evidence preparation procedures, and analyze the defects in pretrial evidence preparation procedures in civil actions in order to formulate a methodology which ismore scientific and which will better serve the nation's needs. The essay is composed of an introductory article, main body and conclusion. The main body consists of the following four parts:The first part delineates the substantive concept of pretrial evidence preparation procedures in civil actions in order to explain their salient characteristics. Subsequently, it introduces, by way of contrast, subsisting legislative and judicial pretrial evidence preparation procedures in civil actions, while analyzing their characteristics and defects. Thereafter, it presents a proposal for reform in the form of one step to the court, while, at the same time, discussing the shortcomings of such an initiative. From the above, it goes on to conclude that substantial and comprehensive evidence preparation procedures must be instituted in courts hearing civil litigation.The second part demonstrates the superiority and necessity of instituting evidence preparation procedures prior to court hearings in civil actions.The third part discusses the legislative and reform environment in the other countries, under both Common Law and Civil Law regimes.The fourth part initially elucidates the factors compelling China to formulate a series of rules for the civil procedural law. It thereafter argues for the need to establish dedicated institutions, and thereby to set in place a concrete foundation for pretrial preparation of evidence procedures in civil proceedings, and thus effect a resolution of the pressing question of fundamentally altering the nature of pretrial judicial activities. In this portion, it introduces trends in the judicial reform of procedures for pretrial evidence preparation in civil actions currently in effect in China in support of the arguments made herein.