Paragraph 2 of Article 64 of the Civil Procedure Law stipulates that the people's court shall investigate and collect evidence that the parties and their agents ad litem cannot collect on their own due to objective reasons, or evidence that the people's court considers necessary for hearing a case.
Article 94 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that the evidence that the parties and their agents ad litem cannot collect by themselves as stipulated in the second paragraph of Article 64 of the Civil Procedure Law includes:
(a) the evidence is kept by the relevant state departments, and the parties and their agents ad litem have no right to consult or obtain it;
(two) involving state secrets, commercial secrets or personal privacy;
(3) Other evidence that the parties and their agents ad litem cannot collect by themselves due to objective reasons.
Evidence that the parties and their agents ad litem cannot collect by themselves due to objective reasons may apply in writing to the people's court for investigation and collection before the expiration of the time limit for adducing evidence.