Law Fa ( 2020 ) No. 17
Supreme People's Court
Issued the "Regarding the Proper Trial of Civil Cases Involving the New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic
Notice of Guiding Opinions on Several Issues (2)"
The Higher People’s Courts of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Military Court of the People’s Liberation Army, and the Production and Construction Corps Branch of the Higher People’s Court of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region:
The "Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Proper Trial of Civil Cases Involving the New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic Situation (2)" are hereby printed and distributed to you, please implement them carefully.
Supreme People's Court
2020 Nian 5 Yue 15 Ri
Supreme People's Court
Regarding the proper trial of civil cases involving the new crown pneumonia epidemic in accordance with the law
Guiding Opinions on Several Issues (2)
In order to further implement the Party Central Committee’s overall planning and deployment of the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and economic and social development, the “six stability” work will be carried out in a solid manner, the “six guarantees” task will be implemented, and the people’s courts at all levels will be guided to properly trial contracts involving the new crown pneumonia epidemic , Financial, bankruptcy and other civil cases, the following guiding opinions are proposed.
1. Trial of contract cases
1. If the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures cause the parties to be unable to perform the sales contract within the agreed period or to increase the cost of performance, the continued performance will not affect the realization of the contract purpose, and the parties request to terminate the contract, the people's court shall not support it.
If the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures cause the seller to fail to complete the order or deliver the goods within the agreed time limit, continue to perform and fail to achieve the buyer's contract purpose, and the buyer requests to terminate the contract and return the advance payment or deposit that has been paid, the people's court Should be supported; if the buyer requests the seller to bear the liability for breach of contract, the people's court shall not support it.
2. The sales contract can continue to be performed, but the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures have caused a significant increase in the cost of labor, raw materials, logistics, etc., or caused a substantial price reduction of the product. The continued performance of the contract is obviously unfair to one party, and the party that is adversely affected requests adjustment For the price, the people’s court shall adjust the price based on the principle of fairness based on the actual situation of the case. If the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures cause the seller to fail to deliver the goods within the agreed time limit, or the buyer cannot pay according to the agreed time limit, and the party requests to change the performance time limit, the people’s court shall take into account the actual situation of the case and change the performance according to the principle of fairness. the term.
If the contract has been changed by adjusting the price, changing the performance period, etc., and the parties request the other party to bear the responsibility for breach of contract, the people's court shall not support it.
3. After the seller and the buyer have concluded a sales contract for epidemic prevention materials, the people's court shall support the case where the seller and the buyer resell the epidemic prevention materials at a high price to others, causing the contract to be unfulfilled, and the buyer requests the seller's profits as the amount of compensation for losses. The people’s court shall not support the seller’s request for the seller’s liability for breach of contract due to the government’s invocation or temporary requisition of anti-epidemic materials in accordance with the law.
4. If the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures cause the seller to fail to deliver the house within the time limit specified in the commercial housing purchase contract, or the buyer fails to pay the purchase price within the agreed time limit, the party requests the termination of the contract and the other party bears the responsibility for breach of contract. The court did not support it. However, if a party requests a change in the performance period, the people's court shall make the change based on the principle of fairness in light of the actual situation of the case.
5. The leased house is used for business operations. The epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures have caused the lessee’s capital turnover difficulties or significantly reduced operating income. The lessor requests to terminate the lease contract on the grounds that the lessee has not paid the rent within the agreed period, and the lessee shall bear the breach of contract The people’s court shall not support the responsibility.
If a temporary venue lease contract is reserved for exhibitions, conferences, temple fairs, etc., the event is cancelled due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, and the lessee requests to terminate the lease contract and return the advance payment or deposit, the people's court shall support it.
6. Renting the houses of state-owned enterprises and the houses of government departments, universities, research institutes and other administrative institutions for operation, and service industry small and micro enterprises, individual industrial and commercial households and other tenants who have business difficulties affected by the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, request Where the lessor exempts the rent within a certain period of time in accordance with relevant national policies, the people's court shall support it.
Renting non-state-owned houses for business purposes. The epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures have caused the lessee to have no operating income or a significant reduction in operating income. It is obviously unfair to continue to pay the rent in accordance with the original lease contract. The lessee requests rent reduction, extension or extension Where rent is paid, the people’s court may guide the parties to mediate with reference to the relevant rent reduction or exemption policy; if the mediation fails, the contract shall be modified in accordance with the principle of fairness in light of the actual situation of the case.
7. If the contractor fails to complete the construction within the agreed time limit due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, the people’s court shall not support it if the contracting party requests the contractor to assume responsibility for breach of contract; if the contractor requests an extension of the construction period, the people’s court shall consider the epidemic or epidemic situation The degree of influence of prevention and control measures on contract performance shall be supported as appropriate.
If the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures cause the cost of labor and building materials to rise sharply, or the contractor suffers labor costs, equipment rental fees, etc., it is obviously unfair to the contractor to continue to perform the contract, and the contractor requests a price adjustment, the people’s court shall combine The actual situation of the case shall be adjusted according to the principle of fairness.
8. The offline training contract concluded by the parties cannot be conducted offline training due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, and the purpose of the contract can be achieved through online training, changing the training period, etc., and the training party requests to terminate it, the people's court shall not grant it Support; if the parties request to continue to perform the contract through online training, change the training period, adjust the training fee, etc., the people's court shall modify the contract based on the principle of fairness in light of the actual situation of the case.
If offline training cannot be conducted due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, the purpose of the contract cannot be achieved through online training, or the actual situation of the case indicates that online training is not appropriate, and the training party requests to terminate the contract, the people's court shall support it. For training contracts with time-limited requirements, if the training period cannot be changed to achieve the purpose of the contract, and the training party requests to terminate the contract, the people's court shall support it. After the termination of the training contract, the prepaid training fee shall be refunded in whole or in part according to the training time and other circumstances.
9. If a person with limited capacity for civil conduct participates in online paid games or "rewarding" on online live platforms without the consent of his guardian and spends money that is not suitable for his age or intelligence, and his guardian requests the network service provider to return the money, the people The court should support it.
2. Trial of financial cases
10. For industries that are largely affected by the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, and companies that have development prospects but are temporarily in difficulties affected by the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, especially small, medium and micro enterprises, the People's Court is in the process of hearing Full consideration should be given to the series of financial support policies such as the "Notice on Further Strengthening of Financial Support to Prevent and Control the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic" issued by the People's Bank of China and other five departments: early due and unilateral cancellation of loans raised by financial institutions in violation of financial support policies The people’s court does not support litigation claims such as contracts; the interest charged by financial institutions and the disguised interest charged in the name of consulting fees, guarantee fees and other fees shall be strictly in accordance with the provisions of the national re-loan rediscount and other special credit preferential interest rate policies , Does not support the excess; for those who are hospitalized or quarantined due to infection with new crown pneumonia, those who need to be isolated and observed for epidemic prevention and control, those who participate in epidemic prevention and control, and those who temporarily lose their source of income due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures In the case of individual loan repayment disputes such as housing mortgages and credit cards, the people’s courts shall, in light of the actual circumstances of the case, change the repayment period in accordance with the principle of fairness.
11. Epidemic prevention materials production and operation enterprises set floating mortgages with their production equipment, raw materials, semi-finished products, products and other movable properties, and the mortgagee applies for the realization of security real rights in accordance with Article 196 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China If, after the people’s court accepts the application, the respondent or the interested party can prove that the realization of the mortgage right will endanger the production and operation of the enterprise’s epidemic prevention materials, it may be processed after the epidemic or the factors affecting the epidemic prevention and control measures are eliminated.
12. As for stock pledge and margin trading disputes caused by the fluctuation of the stock market price during the epidemic prevention and control period, different situations should be handled: For on-exchange stock pledge and margin trading disputes where the creditor is a securities company, the people’s court may refer to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The relevant policies will be issued to guide the securities companies to negotiate and resolve disputes with different customer groups in accordance with the policies; if the negotiation fails, the securities companies shall be supported in accordance with the law for litigation claims by the customers requesting the securities company to be liable for compensation for the increased losses caused by the forced liquidation of positions in violation of regulations. With regard to over-the-counter stock pledge disputes where the creditors are other financial institutions, the people's courts shall fully consider the impact of the realization of stock pledges on the normal operations of listed companies, strengthen policy guidance and coordination of the interests of all parties, and strive to reduce the impact on the securities market.
13. People's courts hearing civil compensation cases for tort due to misrepresentation by listed companies shall determine the amount of investor losses in accordance with Article 19 of the Supreme People’s Court on the Trial of Civil Compensation Cases Caused by False Statements in the Securities Market. The four provisions distinguish between the factors affecting the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures and the loss of stock price decline caused by false statements, and determine the scope of compensation for losses in a fair and reasonable manner in accordance with the law.
14. For wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering, logistics and transportation, cultural tourism and other companies that are severely affected by the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, or their shareholders, actual controllers and investors, disputes caused by the performance of the "performance gambling agreement", the people's court The actual situation of the impact of the epidemic or the prevention and control measures of the epidemic on the performance of the target company shall be fully considered, and both parties shall be guided to negotiate changes or terminate the contract. If the parties fail to negotiate and continue to perform in accordance with the agreed performance standard or performance compensation amount is obviously unfair to one of the parties, the people’s court shall modify or terminate the contract based on the principle of fairness in light of the actual situation of the case; if the contract is terminated, the contract shall be reasonably distributed in accordance with the law. Relieve the damage caused.
If the "performance gambling agreement" does not clearly stipulate that the company's small and medium shareholders and the controlling shareholder or actual controller shall bear joint liability for performance compensation, the investor requires the small and medium shareholders and the company, controlling shareholder or actual controller to jointly bear joint liability to them The people's court did not support the request.
15. When hearing a medical insurance contract dispute case related to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, the people's court shall not support the defense that the insurer puts forward that the disease does not fall within the scope of a major disease or insured accident as stipulated in the commercial medical insurance contract. If an insured person infected with new coronary pneumonia does not receive treatment at the medical service institution specified in the insurance contract due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, the insured or beneficiary requests compensation from the insurer according to the insurance contract, the people’s court Should be supported. If the insured person receives treatment at a medical service institution other than the insurance contract, the agreed expenses are caused by objective reasons such as the epidemic situation or epidemic prevention and control measures. If the insured or beneficiary requests compensation, the people's court shall support . If the insured or beneficiary requests compensation according to the medical insurance contract granted by the insurance company during the epidemic prevention and control period, the people's court shall support it.
16. In the trial of civil disputes arising from the medical equipment financial leasing business between a financial leasing company and a medical service institution, the medical service institution claims that the financial leasing contract is invalid on the grounds that the financial leasing company has not obtained the administrative license for the sale of medical equipment The people’s court did not support the defense.
3. Trial of bankruptcy cases
17. If an enterprise is unable to pay off its due debts due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, and the creditor files an application for bankruptcy, the people's court shall actively guide the debtor to negotiate with the creditor, and eliminate it by adopting installment payments, extending the debt performance period, and changing the contract price. The reasons for the bankruptcy application, or to guide the debtor to resolve the debt crisis through out-of-court mediation, out-of-court reorganization, pre-reorganization, etc., to achieve early rescue of the enterprise.
18. When examining whether an enterprise meets the conditions for accepting bankruptcy, the people's court should pay attention to whether the enterprise is in a difficult situation and treat it differently due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures. For companies that were in good business conditions before the outbreak and were unable to pay off their due debts due to difficulties in operations and capital turnover due to the impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, it is necessary to comprehensively determine the solvency of the company based on factors such as the company's ability to continue operations and the development prospects of the industry. , To prevent a ruling that a company that has the ability to survive enters the bankruptcy process simply based on the company’s capital flow and assets and liabilities in a specific period. For companies that have been in trouble before the outbreak, and whose production and operations have deteriorated due to the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, and have indeed had bankruptcy reasons, they should promptly accept bankruptcy applications in accordance with the law to realize the survival of the fittest in the market and the reallocation of resources.
19. It is necessary to further promote the convergence of enforcement and bankruptcy procedures. If it is found in the execution procedure that the person subject to execution has bankruptcy reasons but has salvage value due to the impact of the epidemic, the creditor or the person subject to execution shall be guided to transfer the case to bankruptcy review by means such as explanations, and the execution suspension and preservation provided by the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law shall be reasonably used. The system of cancellation, suspension of interest and payment, effectively preserves the operating value of the enterprise, and gains room for enterprise regeneration. At the same time, it actively guides enterprises to apply bankruptcy reorganization and reconciliation procedures, comprehensively resolve corporate debt crises, pay all creditors in a fair and orderly manner, and realize the protection and rescue of distressed enterprises.
The judicial auction procedure that has been initiated before the execution court makes the transfer decision can continue after the transfer decision is made. If the auction is concluded, the auction target will no longer be included in the debtor’s property in the bankruptcy proceedings, but the auction proceeds shall be distributed in accordance with the bankruptcy proceedings in accordance with the law. If an asset evaluation report or audit report has been made during the execution procedure, and the evaluation conclusion is within the validity period or the audit conclusion meets the needs of the bankruptcy case, it may continue to be used in the bankruptcy procedure.
20. In the process of bankruptcy reorganization, the people’s court may follow the debtor’s or administrator’s decision if it is unable to recruit investors, conduct due diligence, and negotiate and negotiate due to the impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures. The application is based on the actual impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures on the reorganization work, and it is reasonably determined that it should not be included in the period specified in Article 79 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, but generally shall not exceed six months.
For the reorganization plan or settlement agreement that has entered the implementation stage, but the debtor is difficult to implement due to the impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, the people's court shall actively guide the parties to fully negotiate and change it. In case of negotiating changes to the reorganization plan or reconciliation agreement, it shall be voted and submitted to the court for approval in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 and Article 20 of the "Minutes of the National Court Bankruptcy Trial Work Conference" . However, if it only involves a change in the enforcement period, the people's court may directly make a ruling upon the application of the debtor or creditor, and the extension of the period shall generally not exceed six months.
21. The substantive rights and procedural rights of creditors must be effectively protected to reduce the adverse impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures on the exercise of creditors’ rights. For cases affected by the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, the statutory maximum time limit may be adopted according to the specific circumstances. If the creditor is indeed unable to declare the creditor's rights on time or provide relevant evidence materials due to the impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, it shall make a supplementary declaration within ten days after the obstacle is removed. The supplementary declarer may not bear the cost of reviewing and confirming the supplementary declaration of the creditor's rights. Due to the impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures, it is indeed necessary to postpone the organization of hearings and creditors’ meetings, the relevant extension procedures shall be handled in accordance with the law, and the administrator shall notify the creditors and other relevant entities 15 days in advance, and provide explanations.
22. It is necessary to maintain the debtor's ability to continue operations to the maximum extent, give full play to the institutional functions of mutual debt financing, and provide financial support for continued operations. Where the debtor’s enterprise has the ability to continue operations or has the conditions for the production and operation of anti-epidemic materials, the people’s court shall actively guide and support the administrator or debtor to continue the debtor’s business in accordance with the provisions of Article 26 and Article 61 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law. On the basis of protecting the interests of creditors, choose an appropriate business management model, and make full use of the government-court coordination mechanism to explore and release corporate production capacity.
Adhere to the principle of maximizing the value of property disposal, actively guide managers to fully evaluate the impact of the epidemic or epidemic prevention and control measures on asset disposal prices, accurately grasp the timing and method of disposal, and avoid improper depreciation of asset value that affects the interests of creditors.
23. During the period of epidemic prevention and control, in accordance with the requirements of the "Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Promoting the Efficient Trial of Bankruptcy Cases", further promote the use of informatization methods in bankruptcy announcement notices, claims declarations, creditors meetings, debtor property inquiry and disposal, and introduction The in-depth application of investors and other aspects, on the basis of increasing information disclosure and information disclosure, and protecting creditors' right to know and participation in accordance with the law, assists in epidemic prevention and control, further reduces the cost of bankruptcy procedures, and improves the efficiency of bankruptcy procedures.
Reprinted source: Supreme People's Court