An investigation order refers to a legal document issued by the court to the attorney of the party concerned to collect the required evidence from the relevant units and individuals after the party concerned is unable to obtain the required evidence for objective reasons in civil litigation and is approved by the people's court.
Conditions for applying for a court investigation order:
1. The evidence collected in the application for investigation belongs to the archival materials kept by the relevant state departments and needs to be obtained by the people's court ex officio;
2. The materials that need to be retrieved involve state secrets, commercial secrets and personal privacy, and the court has the right to investigate but the individual is unable to investigate;
3. Some materials can't be collected by themselves for some objective reasons.
Legal basis:
Criminal procedure law
Article 43
With the consent of witnesses or other relevant units and individuals, defense lawyers may collect materials related to the case from them, apply to the people's procuratorate or the people's court to collect and obtain evidence, or apply to the people's court to notify witnesses to testify in court.
With the permission of the people's procuratorate or the people's court, and with the consent of the victim or his close relatives or witnesses provided by the victim, the defense lawyer may collect materials related to the case from them.