Ordinary Tort Litigation in China: Law versus Practical Justice?

This essay examines the roles courts play in tort litigation in China, in particular in litigation resulting from death and injury on China’s roads. At first glance traffic accident litigation in China appears to be an area in which courts play minor roles. The police, not courts, are the primary fact-finders. China’s mandatory automobile insurance system has clear guidelines for compensation levels and imposes nearly strict liability in most traffic accident cases. Courts’ roles are, at least in law, largely relegated to calculating damages. Chinese law provides schedules for assessing damages based on average local income levels, and thus outcomes in theory are highly predictable.