Lawsuit guideline aims to clarify litigation documentation

For those seeking to file a lawsuit after being hit by a car but who are unsure of how to identify the severity of their injuries, a new guideline offers help.

Jointly issued by the Beijing Justice Bureau and the Beijing High People's Court on Wednesday, the guideline focuses on forensic and documentary identification, providing clear answers on what materials litigants need to prepare for cases.

Liu Shuangyu, vice-president of the court, said courts across the capital have dealt with a rising number of cases in which litigants have applied for judicial identification in recent years, mainly involving forensic and documentary issues.

Last year, judicial identification was requested in a total of 9,958 cases, a figure that reached 7,736 in the first six months of this year alone.

"When we dealt with these cases, we found that some litigants were not aware of what they needed to submit for identification, which often delayed the litigation process and cost time," Liu said.

"To make litigation more convenient and improve judicial efficiency, we created the guideline," she added.

In addition to injury identification frequently requested in cases resulting from traffic accidents, Li Hui, who works at the court's litigation service center, said that paternity tests and handwriting identification were often requested in cases of divorce and inheritance disputes, respectively.

To meet the legal demands of litigants, Liu added that courts will work with the Justice Bureau to draft identification guidelines for other sectors, including those involving audiovisual information, asset appraisal, construction costs and environmental damage.