Regarding the regulations on the payment of court litigation fees, the currently applicable regulation is the “Measures for the Payment of Litigation Fees” promulgated by the State Council. The official explanation is: “The reform of the litigation fee system is an important part of the reform of China’s judicial system and working mechanism. According to the relevant arrangements of the central government on judicial system reform, the measures and standards for court litigation fees are formulated by the State Council, with the specific drafting work undertaken by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council in conjunction with the Supreme People’s Court, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Finance.”
Whether the measures for the payment of court litigation fees can be formulated by the State Council involves research on legal principles and constitutional issues, making it a complex and difficult problem.
When a party applies for judicial assistance, the people’s court shall grant a deferral of litigation fees if one of the following circumstances applies:
- Claiming social insurance benefits or economic compensation;
- Victims of maritime accidents, traffic accidents, medical accidents, work-related injuries, product quality accidents, or other personal injury accidents seeking compensation;
- Currently receiving legal aid from relevant departments;
- Other circumstances where deferral is genuinely necessary.
With the fourth circumstance, are the others still needed??
Application for Deferral of Litigation Fees
City People’s Court:
Applicant: ***, male, born on * September 13, residing at ***, ** County, ** Province, with citizen ID number ****************.
On January 11, 2013, I received the “Notice for Prepayment of Litigation Fees” from your court, requiring me to prepay litigation fees of RMB 12,600. Due to disputes with the contracting party during the operation of **************, I have lost over RMB 3.5 million invested in the factory. My current financial situation is extremely dire, with over RMB 300,000 owed in workers’ wages and over RMB 1 million in external debts. Even funds for daily meals have become an issue, making it temporarily impossible for me to pay the litigation fees on time. Therefore, I hereby apply for a deferral of the litigation fees of RMB 12,600 until March 26, 2013. If any of the above information is untrue, I am willing to bear full legal responsibility.
Applicant: January 11, 2013
Attachments: Supporting documents