Research On The System Of Civil Litigation Expenses Of China

The litigation expense system, as a critical judicial system in the modern civil procedure, has an impact on litigant by virtue of economic means. Litigation expense is a key issue which is related to the exercise of parties’right to litigate, credibility of the court, legitimacy foundation of judgment system as well as some other fundamental principles or values. At present, the judicial system reform in our country is in full swing, thus once again the litigation expense becomes a hot issue of concern.The method employed in this thesis includes standard analysis, empirical analysis, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, systematic analysis as well as typical dissection, with an emphasis on standard analysis, qualitative analysis and systematic analysis.The thesis starts with the basic theory of litigation expense and then mainly analyzes the drawbacks and limitations of the current system in our country as well as the overseas successful experience, thus attempting to find some ways to improve the current situation. Generally speaking, the thesis can be divided into six parts.In the first part, the differences between litigation cost and litigation expense are firstly demonstrated, which is followed by the explanation of the concept of the latter. In this thesis, litigation expense is described as part of litigation cost and it only refers to the costs the party bears according to legislative stipulation in explicit terms, including the case acceptance fee, application fee and other expenses the party pays to the state in accordance with the legal requirements as well as other provisions.The second part is concerned with the basic theory of civil litigation expense. To begin with, the theoretical basis of litigation expense levied is analyzed. Afterwards, different kinds of doctrines on the nature of civil litigation expense are evaluated. In the meanwhile, the author puts forward his own viewpoint, that is. for one thing, the civil litigation expense in our country should be stipulated by the state; for another, it possesses the property of compensation. This part ends with the clarification of the role of litigation expense.In the next part, after a brief introduction about the historical development of the Chinese civil litigation expense system, the author mainly illustrates the legal sources and relevant system of Chinese current civil litigation expense system. On the basis of above-mentioned analysis, a brief evaluation of the system in each stage is also covered.The forth part is the body of the whole thesis, serving to explain the drawbacks and limitations of Chinese civil litigation expense system. Such defects as are mentioned in this thesis include the deficiency in legislative body of the core laws and regulations concerning litigation expense; the vagueness of the nature of litigation expense; the incompleteness of judicial relief system; the lack of clarity in the way that court acceptance fee is paid; the uncertainty of the charges for litigation expense of the cases of second instance; the unreasonableness of the range of the litigation expense; the general trend of low Chinese litigation expense as well as the ineffectiveness of remedies.The fifth part deals with the strength of the developed counties in the civil procedure legislation, which is followed by the comparison of the similarities and differences between the Chinese civil litigation costs and the comparative law.In the last part, on the basis of what has been mentioned above, suggestions are put forward to improve the system of civil litigation expense in China. To begin with, it is believed that the litigation expense should be made scientific. To put it more specifically, it can be done from the following aspects, including the specification of the making subject; the clarification of its nature; the shift of charge standard from single to diversification, the inclusion of parties expense especially lawyers fees in the litigation expense as well as the increase of the litigation expense for some cases. In addition, it is suggested that other relevant systems should be unified and improved, such as the establishment of penalty system for malicious litigation abuse, the improvement of legal aid system, the introduction of litigation insurance system as well as the perfection of non-litigation dispute resolution mechanism.