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Edited Time: October 21, 2021Edited by: adminCategory: Publications

If you are a foreigner, a Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan resident, or a mainland Chinese but not personally present in mainland China, to file or in any other way participate in a lawsuit in mainland China, you should bear in mind that first, you can retain only Chinese mainland lawyers to represent you as lawyers in lawsuits and next, you must fulfill the statutory procedures to render your power of attorney effective in mainland China. Generally speaking, there are three ways to do so.

First, you may sign your power of attorney in the court accepting your case with judges as witnesses or in a notary institution in China. But if you are not personally present in mainland China then, this will be costly in terms of time and expenses and it is not advisable and even not viable due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Second, you may have your power of attorney notarized by a notary public in the region of your habitual domicile, then authenticated by the foreign ministry of your country or its authorized organization and finally by the embassy or a consulate of People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as PRC) or follow certification procedures provided for in relevant treaties between the PRC and your countries, if any.

If you are in Hong Kong and Macao, your power of attorney shall be notarized by a China entrusted notary in the above-mentioned regions and then be examined, stamped, and passed on with attached confirmation documents by the China Legal Service (Hong Kong or Macao) Limited.

Third, if you are a mainland China resident but not personally present in mainland China or if you are a Hong Kong or Macau resident, you may apply to the court accepting your case for witness online, which is more economy, efficient and convenient because it eliminates travel expenses and difficulties resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, please kindly be noted that the online witness service is provided only for civil and commercial lawsuits of first instance. Below is a brief introduction of the online witness procedure in Guangzhou to help you better understand the third way.

1. You and / or your lawyer shall first contact with officers of the court accepting your case to determine whether the court offers online witness services and make an appointment with the officers, if it does.
2. You and your lawyer log in the WeChat Mini program “授权见证通” with Chinese Resident ID number, Residence Permit number for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Residents, passport numbers and others.
3. You read out your identity information with your face and identity certificate photographed at the same time and then the client’s part in the power of attorney. And your lawyer will do the reading accordingly.
4. You then choose the scope of your authorization, read it out, and sign on the online version of the power of attorney which will then be confirmed by your lawyer.
5. The online authentication is completed after you and your lawyer see “completed” notice on your screens.