Record a conversation you take part in when a later dispute is foreseeable
A loan, repayment, refund, compensation, or employment conversation can be remembered very differently months later. Under the Chinese civil-evidence rules cited here, a participant’s recording is not excluded merely because the other person was not told in advance. This does not authorize eavesdropping, intrusion into private spaces, covertly recording someone else’s private life, or coercing statements.
What it takes
Free if your phone has a recording function. Record the whole conversation and retain the original file without editing or overwriting it.
What you may gain
Civil Procedure Law Article 66 includes audiovisual material and electronic data as evidence. Article 106 of the judicial interpretation excludes evidence obtained through serious infringement of lawful rights, violation of a legal prohibition, or serious breach of public order and good morals. Lack of advance notice alone is not one of those categories. The civil-evidence provisions require the original recording medium, such as the phone, when audiovisual evidence is submitted. Article 90 says doubtful audiovisual or electronic evidence cannot alone establish a fact. A judge’s article reposted by the Supreme People’s Court likewise emphasizes lawful acquisition, authenticity, no editing, and relevance to the case.
Context & considerations
Make the people, transaction, amount, and timing clear naturally. “When will you repay the RMB 50,000 I lent you last year?” is more informative than “When will you give it to me?” Use the recording for the court, arbitration body, or police rather than publishing it online and creating privacy or reputation disputes; see online conduct. A recording does not guarantee a win: authenticity, relevance, and other evidence still matter. It addresses proof, not whether litigation is worth the cost or delay. For employment records to save before leaving, see chapter 19, entry 8. This entry concerns Chinese civil-evidence rules; criminal and administrative proceedings have their own requirements.
Research & references
Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (amended 2023, effective 1 January 2024). Civil Procedure Law, Article 66, reposted by Shanghai’s development and reform commission. https://fgw.sh.gov.cn/ys-syjf-zc-2.4.1-h5/20240408/073febdb2b04464390546232d4089f51.html; Supreme People’s Court (second amendment 2022). Civil Procedure Law interpretation, Article 106. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/353651.html; Supreme People’s Court (amended 2019). Civil evidence provisions, Articles 14, 15, and 90. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/212721.html; Liu Danni (2023). Legal issues in the film Lost in the Stars, People’s Court Daily, reposted by the Supreme People’s Court. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/406032.html.