On the Acceptability of Civil Default Judgement in China

As shown by the practical data, the acceptability of the default judgment in China is at a low level. The main reasons lie in the unequal litigation status of two parties, the large power of judges and the broadness of its legal requirements. Driven by these three factors, when one of the parties is absent, It is common for judges to make judgements by default whether the condition is mature or not. Since the insufficient procedural guarantees of parties, It is hard for them to accept the trial results. In order to improve the acceptability of the default judgment, judges can only apply it when time is right, which requires to satisfy two conditions: First, the present party has applied to court for default judgments; Second, the absent party has been given sufficient procedural guarantees.