On 15 July 2022, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Personal Safety Protection Orders, which came into effect on 1 August 2022.

Mr. Zheng Xuelin (Chief Judge of the Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.1), Ms. Wu Jingli (Deputy Chief Judge of the Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.1) and Ms. Wang Dan (second-class senior judge of the Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.1) attended the press conference and answered questions from reporters. The conference was presided over by Mr. Li Guangyu, spokesman of the SPC.

The Provisions consist of 13 articles, mainly covering the following five aspects:

a. Clarified that cases involving the personal safety protection order are not dependent on a divorce or any other civil lawsuit.

b. Expanded the circumstances and subject scope for the application on behalf of the party.

c. Expanded the forms of domestic violence.

d. Clarified the types of evidence and the standard of proof.

e. Increased the punishment for violation of a personal safety protection order.

Furthermore, by making it clear that personal safety protection order cases are not dependent on civil litigation procedures such as divorce, the Provisions lowered the threshold of proof collection and listed 10 types of behavior that can be identified as evidence of domestic violence.

Source: www.court.gov.cn