China
Under the law of the PRC, interim relief is mainly granted for evidence preservation, asset preservation, specific performance or advance execution. However, specific laws also provide for other special types of interim relief. For example, the PRC Special Maritime Procedure Law provides certain types of interim relief applicable to maritime claims.
Interim relief can be granted ex parte (i.e. without notice and not in the presence of the parties) before or during a litigation or arbitration. The applicant will usually be required to file a written application with supporting documents to the competent court, but the specific procedure depends on the type of interim relief that a party is seeking to obtain. For instance, a detailed outline of the procedure for an application for an asset preservation order is provided in prejudgment attachments and freezing orders.
Interim relief is generally only granted before the commencement of court proceedings or an arbitration in circumstances where the evidence or property at stake would be irreparably damaged without the interim relief being granted. Before interim relief is granted by the court, the applicant is usually required to provide security. Generally, the court shall make a decision about whether or not to grant interim relief within five days of accepting the application or after security has been provided. In urgent circumstances, the court must make the decision within 48 hours. Once pre-action interim relief is granted, the applicant is required to commence arbitration or court proceedings within 30 days from the date of enforcement of the interim relief order. If this deadline is not complied with, the court may revoke the pre-action interim relief. Representation by a lawyer is not mandatory for interim relief applications.
Should any party in the proceedings wish to challenge the interim relief order, they can apply to the court for reconsideration within five days of receipt of the ruling, and the court must then review and decide the reconsideration application within ten days of receiving it. Enforcement of the interim relief order is not suspended during the reconsideration process.
It is worth noting that on 1 October 2019, the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings between Hong Kong and Mainland China (Arrangement) came into force, pursuant to which parties to certain institutional arbitrations seated in Hong Kong are entitled to apply through those institutions for interim relief from the People’s Courts in Mainland China. The Arrangement makes Hong Kong the first and only seat of arbitration outside of Mainland China to have access to interim relief from the People’s Courts in Mainland China.