중국 민사소송상화해제도에 관한 고찰

Abstract

Since ancient times Chinese society has paid more attention to the principle or concept of harmony, so the idea of reconciliation is deeply rooted in Chinese traditional culture. Even during court proceedings, numerous parties reach settlements in court. But in China such settlements are matters of private law and do not have the force of res judicata and executive force, nor does it close litigation by itself. If the parties reach a settlement in court they can only end the litigation by requesting the court to write a conciliation statement for them, or by withdrawing the litigation or the appeal. The former solution has problems as followings: The form of conciliation statement doesn’t meet with the content of settlement in court; it provides room for judges to settle the case by their will. And the latter solution also has problems, because it violates the principle of civil procedure—“just, quick and cheap.” Although the system of withdrawal is adjusted in “Interpretation on the Application of the ‘Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China’” issued by the Supreme Court of China in February 2015, the situations aren’t changed. Combined with legislative and judicial practice in China, this paper pointed out problems and defects in the Chinese system of court settlement, analyzed the system in other countries and districts, and also suggested the solution for improving the system in China. The law should provide the element, process, and effect of settlement, especially it should provide that if the parties reach a settlement in court, the litigation is over, and the settlement in court has executive force. If there are some substantive legal flaws in settlement in court, then these should be sued again.