CCTV News:Recently, the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of Justice jointly issued the Opinions on Establishing a Linkage Mechanism for the Management and Use of Judicial Expertise, which requires that the appraisers who refuse to testify in court without justifiable reasons should be strictly investigated and punished according to law. If the appraisers or appraisal institutions are found to have intentionally made false appraisals and other serious illegal acts according to law, their appraisal business will be stopped, and criminal responsibility will be investigated according to law if the circumstances are serious.

　　The "Opinions" require that the judicial administrative organs should strictly perform the functions of registration management, effectively strengthen the management of forensic medicine, material evidence, audio-visual materials, environmental damage judicial appraisal and other appraisal matters, strictly grasp the access standards of appraisal institutions and appraisers, strengthen the management of appraisal ability and quality, standardize appraisal behavior, strengthen practice supervision, and promote judicial appraisal work in an orderly manner according to law. The people’s court should standardize the entrustment of appraisal, improve the transfer procedures of appraisal materials, standardize the examination of technical evidence, standardize the cross-examination procedures in court, guide and guarantee the appraisers to testify in court, strengthen the ability to examine and judge expert opinions, and ensure judicial justice. People’s courts and judicial administrative organs should establish normalized communication and coordination mechanisms and information exchange mechanisms, coordinate and solve outstanding problems in the practice of judicial expertise entrustment and acceptance, and appraisers appearing in court to testify, and constantly improve and perfect relevant systems.

　　Entrustment and acceptance are the key links of judicial expertise. The Opinions require that judicial administrative organs should strictly standardize the procedures and conditions for accepting expertise, scientifically and reasonably compile the roster of appraisal institutions and appraisers according to law, and provide people’s courts with various access and retrieval services. Appraisal institutions shall not refuse to accept the entrustment of appraisal without justifiable reasons, and shall not accept the appraisal materials submitted by the parties without the confirmation of the people’s court without permission. In order to standardize the reception and preservation of appraisal materials and need to retrieve or supplement the appraisal materials, the appraisal institutions or the parties shall apply to the entrusting court. The people’s court should strengthen the examination of the necessity and feasibility of the entrusted appraisal matters, especially the re-appraisal matters, and select the appraisal institutions and appraisers that are suitable for the trial requirements of the case.

　　The Opinions also provide for the appraisers to testify in court, emphasizing that the people’s courts should improve the procedures for examining, starting and informing the appraisers to testify in court, and solve the disputes of appraisal opinions by strengthening court cross-examination. In order to provide seats and channels for the appraisers to appear in court, and to protect the personal safety and other legitimate rights and interests of the appraisers according to law, the criminal court can be equipped with a synchronous video testimony room, and take protective measures such as not exposing the appearance and real voice of the appraisers. If the appraiser’s transportation expenses, accommodation expenses, living expenses and lost time allowance should be borne by the parties concerned in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state, the people’s court will collect them on his behalf. The judicial administrative organ shall supervise and guide the appraisers to perform the obligation of testifying in court according to law, and strictly investigate and deal with those who refuse to testify in court without justifiable reasons.

　　The "Opinions" clarify that the judicial administrative organs should strengthen the supervision of judicial expertise, improve the punishment rules, and promote the standardized practice of appraisers and appraisal institutions. Supervision information should be made public. If the appraisers and appraisal institutions have objections to the punishment decision, they may apply for administrative reconsideration or bring an administrative lawsuit according to law. If the people’s court finds that an authentication institution or appraiser has accepted or refused to testify in court in violation of laws and regulations, it may suspend its entrustment to engage in judicial authentication business of the people’s court, and inform the judicial administrative organ or issue a judicial proposal. The judicial administrative organ shall promptly investigate and deal with it according to the regulations, and report the results to the people’s court. If the appraiser or appraisal institution is found to have intentionally made false appraisal and other serious illegal acts according to law, the judicial administrative department of the provincial people’s government shall give a punishment of stopping engaging in judicial appraisal business for three months to one year; If the circumstances are serious, the registration shall be cancelled; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law. The people’s court may, depending on the circumstances, no longer entrust it to engage in the judicial expertise business of the people’s court. If losses are caused to the parties due to intentional or gross negligence in practice, they shall bear civil liability according to law. (CCTV reporter Li Wenjie)