| 中文摘要 |
The definition of a settlement action is: the termination of a civil action by voluntary agreement between the litigating parties during or at the end of a trial. Therefore, it is clear that the settlement of an action is different from a settlement agreement reached outside of litigation. The settlement of an action mainly refers to the successful conclusion of litigating parties’ autonomous negotiation efforts to resolve their disputes and terminate the civil action. It should be noted that, as an important way to solve the civil disputes, the settlement of an action should be exercised during or at the end of a trial. However, in practice, there are still debates on the legal effect of a settlement agreement reached outside of litigation in China. Therefore, on December 20, 2012, the Supreme People’s Court published the first four guiding cases. The publishing of these guiding cases has been deemed to further guarantee that the same cases can be sentenced equally, promote the working quality and efficiency of cases being handled, and ensure the organic unification between legal effects and social effects. In these four guiding cases, the legal effect of a settlement agreement reached after the second instance involved in guiding case No.2, Wu Mei v. Meishan Xicheng Paper Co., Ltd. Of Sichuan Province, is one of major disputes in China’s civil jurisdiction. |
