Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Certain Issues Concerning the Application of the Statute of Limitations in the Trial of Civil Cases

Fa Shi [2008] No. 11

August 21, 2008

( Fa Shi [2008] No. 11, adopted at the 1450th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on August 11, 2008)

Announcement of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China

The Provisions of the Supreme Court on Certain Issues Concerning the Application of the Statute of Limitations in the Trial of Civil Cases which were adopted at the 1450th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme Court on August 11, 2008 are hereby promulgated and shall come into effect on September 1, 2008.

Provisions on Certain Issues Concerning the Application of the Statute of Limitations in the Trial of Civil Cases

In order to correctly apply legal provisions relating to the statute of limitations and protect the lawful rights and interests of parties to lawsuits, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the General Principles of Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, the Real Right Law of the People's Republic of China, the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and in light of judicial practice.

Article 1 A party to a lawsuit may make a defense of limitation of action against any claim right involved in the lawsuit. However, where any party to a lawsuit makes a defense of limitation of action against any of the following claim rights, the relevant people's court shall not uphold such defense:
1. A claim right relating to the payment of a deposit and its interest;
2. A claim right relating to the cashing of treasury bonds or financial bonds and the payment of corporate bonds issued to non-specific objects and the interest thereon;
3. A claim right relating to the making of a contribution based on an investment relationship; and
4. Any other claim right to which provisions relating to the limitation of action are not applicable in accordance with the law.

Article 2 Where any party to a lawsuit, in violation of any legal provisions, extends or shortens the limitation of action period by agreement or waivers in advance the benefits derived from the limitation of action, the relevant people's court shall not give an approval thereto.

Article 3 Where any party to a lawsuit fails to make a defense of limitation of action, the relevant people's court shall not make an interpretation regarding the issue of limitation of action or make a judgment by initiatively applying provisions relating to the limitation of action.

Article 4 Where any party to a lawsuit failing to make a defense of limitation of action during the first instance makes such defense during the second instance, the relevant people's court shall not uphold the defense, except where such party is able to prove with new evidence that the limitation of action period for a claim right of the opposite party to the lawsuit has expired.
Where any party to a lawsuit, who fails to file a defense of limitation of action in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, applies for retrial or makes a retrial defense on the ground that the limitation of action period has expired, the relevant people's court shall not uphold such application or defense.


Article 5 Where both parities to a lawsuit agree on the performance of a debt in installments, the limitation of action period shall commence from the date on which the performance period for the last installment expires.

Article 6 For any contract for which a performance period has not been stipulated but for which a performance period can be determined in accordance with the provisions of Articles 61 and 62 of the Contract Law, the limitation of action period shall run as of the date on which such a performance period is expired; where the performance period can not be determined, the limitation of action period shall run as of the date of the expiration of the grace period allowed by the obligee concerned for the obligor concerned to perform the relevant obligations; however, where the obligor makes an explicit statement that he or it will not perform the obligations when the obligee initially claims any right against the obligor, the limitation of action period shall run as of the date when such an explicit statement is made.


Article 7 Where any party to a lawsuit, who has the right to cancel a contract, seeks to cancel a contract, the provisions of Article 55 of the Contract Law relating to the one-year period for which the right to cancel a contract is to be exercised shall apply. Where the opposite party to the lawsuit makes a defense of limitation of action against the claim right to cancel the contract, the relevant people's court shall not uphold such a defense.
Where a contract is cancelled, the limitation of action period for claim rights to make restitutions or compensate losses shall run as of the date when the contract is canceled.


Article 8 For a claim right to return unjustified enrichment, the limitation of action period shall run as of the date when the injured party knows or ought to have known the fact of unjustified enrichment and the opposite party concerned.

Article 9 For a claim right relating to the payment of necessary service expenses incurred by or the compensation of any loss suffered by the relevant negotiorum gestor in connection with negotiorum gestio, the limitation of action period shall run as of the date when the negotiorum gestio act ends and the negotiorum gestor knows or should have known the owner concerned.
For a claim right relating to the compensation of any loss suffered by the owner concerned in connection with the negotiorum gestio act, the limitation of action period shall run as of the date when the owner knows or should have known the negotiorum gestor and the fact of damage.

Article 10 Under any of the following circumstances, it shall be recognized that "a request made by any party" as provided for in Article 140 of the General Principles of the Civil Law has been made and has the effect of suspending the limitation of action:
1. Where any party has sent to the opposite party a document claiming any right against the opposite party and the opposite party signs or affixes his or its seal on the document or it can be proved otherwise that the document has been delivered to the opposite party, although the opposite does not sign or affix his or its seal on the document;
2. Where, in the case of any right against the opposite party claimed by any party by means of sending letters or electronic messages, such letters or electronic messages are or should have been delivered to the opposite party;
3. Where any party that is a financial institution has withdrawn the principal owed to it and the interest accrued thereon from the opposite party's account in accordance with the law or as agreed upon by both parties; or
4. Where, in the case of any party being missed, the opposite party has posted a public announcement for the purpose of claiming any right on any of the national media or any of the provincial media at the place where the missed party has been residing, except that if there are any special provisions in laws or judicial interpretations, any such special provisions shall prevail.
Under the circumstance of Item(1) of the preceding paragraph, where the opposite party is a legal entity or any other organization, the signatory may be its legal representative, principal responsible person, department responsible for sending and receiving letters, or authorized parties; where the opposite party is a natural person, the signatory shall be natural person, any of the relatives who live together with him or her and have full capacity, or his or her authorized parties.


Article 11 Where an obligee claims his rights with respect to any portion of a creditor's right, the effect of suspension of the limitation of action shall extends to the remaining portion of the creditor's right unless the obligee explicitly waives the remaining portion of the creditor's right.

Article 12 Where any party files a complaint in writing or orally, the operation of the limitation of action shall be suspended on the date when the complaint is filed in writing or orally.

Article 13 A people's court shall regard any of the following matters as having the same effect of discontinuing the limitation of action as the initiation of an action does:
1. Applying for arbitration;
2. Applying for a payment order;
3. Applying for bankruptcy and declaring claims under bankruptcy proceedings
4. Applying for declaring the obligor as being missed or dead for the purpose of claiming any right;
5. Applying for measures prior to the initiation of an action such as property preservation measures and temporary injunctions;
6. Applying for enforcement
7. Applying for adding new parties to a lawsuit or for informing new parties to participate in a lawsuit;
8. Claiming the exercise of an offset during the proceedings; or
9. Any other matters that have the same effect of discontinuing the limitation of action as the initiation of an action does.

Article 14 Where an obligee submits a application for the protection of his or its appropriate civil rights to a people's mediation committee or social organizations that have the power to resolve relevant civil disputes in accordance with the law, such as state organs, public institutions, and social groups, the operation of the limitation of action shall be discontinued as of the date when such application is submitted.

Article 15 Where an obligee reports a case to a public security bureau or a people's procuratorate or files an accusatory instrument to a people's court to request the protection of his or its civil rights, the operation of the limitation of action shall be discontinued as of the date when the case is reported or the accusatory instrument is filed.
Where the foregoing organs decides not to place the case on file, or to withdraw the case, or not to institute a proceeding, the limitation of action period shall run anew as of the date when the obligee know or ought to have known the fact that the case is not place on file, that the case is withdrawn and that the proceeding is not instituted; where a criminal case enters the trial stage, the limitation of action period shall run anew as of the date when the relevant criminal judgment comes into effect.

Article 16 Where an obligor makes undertakings or actions such as performance in installments, partial performance, provision of guarantees, request for delayed performance, formulation of debt repayment plans, it shall be recognized that "a consent to performing his or its obligations made by any party" as provided for in Article 140 of the General Principles of the Civil Law has been made.

Article 17 Any cause for the discontinuation of the limitation of action occurred to any of joint and several obligees shall be recognized as applicable to other members of the joint and several obligees.
Any cause for the discontinuation of the limitation of action period occurred to any of the joint and several obligors shall be recognized as applicable to other members of the joint and several obligors.

Article 18 Any action filed by an obligee with respect to subrogation rights shall be recognized as having the effect of discontinuing the operation of the limitation of action for claims of both the obligee and the obligor concerned.

Article 19 Where any creditor's right is transferred, it shall be recognized that the operation of the limitation of action is discontinued as of the date when a notice of creditor's right transfer is given to the obligor concerned.
Where the circumstances of an indebtedness assignment constitute an acknowledgement of the indebtedness by the original obligor, it shall be recognized that the operation of the limitation of action is discontinued as of the date when the intention of indebtedness assignment reaches the obligee concerned.

Article 20 Under any of the following circumstances, it shall be recognized that "any other impediments" as provided for in Article 140 of the General Principles of the Civil Law has arisen and the operation of the limitation of action is suspended:
1. Where any injured person without civil capacity or with limited civil capacity has no statutory agent or his or her statutory agent has passed away, lost the agency right, or lost his or her capacity;
2. Where an heir or executor has not been determined after the commencement of the inheritance;
3. Where an obligee is such controlled by the obligor concerned or any other person that the obligee cannot claim his or its rights; or
4. Any objective circumstances that result in a failure by an obligee to claim his or its rights

Article 21 Where the limitation of action for a principal indebtedness expires, the guarantor concerned shall be entitle to exercise the right of the principal obligor concerned to make a defense of limitation of action.
Where a guarantor that has failed to assert the foregoing right to make a defense of limitation of action seeks to exercise the right of recourse against the principal obligor concerned after the assumption of the guarantee responsibility, the relevant people's court shall not uphold such action unless the principal obligor agrees to make a payment.

Article 22 Where upon the expiration of the limitation of action and after an intention expressed to the opposite party concerned to agree to perform the relevant obligations or voluntary performance of the obligations, any party makes a defense on the ground that the limitation of action has expired, the relevant people's court shall uphold such a defense.

Article 23 After coming into effect, these Provisions shall apply to any case that is at the stage of proceedings in a court of first instance or second instance; where a people's court rehears any case that has been concluded before these Provisions come into effect, these Provisions shall not apply.

Article 24 Where any relevant judicial interpretations made by the Supreme Court before these Provisions come into effect conflict with these Provisions, these Provisions shall prevail.