Can an investigation order only be issued to a lawyer?

The investigation order must be issued to a lawyer, and the parties have no right to investigate. Lawyers and other agents ad litem have the right to investigate and collect evidence, and may consult relevant materials of this case. The scope and methods of consulting relevant materials in this case shall be stipulated by the Supreme People's Court. In the case that the evidence may be lost or difficult to obtain later, the parties may apply to the people's court for evidence preservation in the course of litigation, and the people's court may also take preservation measures on its own initiative.

People's Republic of China (PRC) Civil Procedure Law

Article 1 14

If a litigant participant or other person commits one of the following acts, the people's court may impose a fine or detention according to the seriousness of the case; If the case constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law:

(1) Forging or destroying important evidence, which hinders the people's court from hearing a case;

(2) using violence, threats or bribes to prevent witnesses from testifying or instigating, bribing or coercing others to commit perjury;

(3) Hiding, transferring, selling off or destroying the property that has been sealed up or detained, or transferring the property that has been counted and ordered to be kept;

(4) Insulting, slandering, framing, beating or retaliating against judicial personnel, participants in litigation, witnesses, translators, expert witnesses, inspectors and assisting executors;

(5) Obstructing judicial personnel from performing their duties by violence, threat or other means;

(6) Refusing to perform a legally effective judgment or ruling of the people's court.

The people's court may impose a fine or detention on a unit that commits one of the acts listed in the preceding paragraph; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law. Article 132

The judge must carefully examine the litigation materials and investigate and collect the necessary evidence.