Courts of original verdicts to hear retrials

Cases involving more than one plaintiff or defendant will be retried in the same court that handed down the original verdict, an amendment to the Civil Procedure Law passed on Friday has ruled, prompting concerns there will be less opportunities to overturn disputed verdicts.

Lawmakers said the change will mainly affect cases on environmental and food safety issues.

The change, which will be put into effect in January, differs from current rules that require all retrials to be heard in a higher court, a practice started in 2007 to encourage courts to correct wrong verdicts.