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and shall have the right to file a counterclaim.
Article 53 When one party or both parties consist of two or more persons and the subject matter of the action is the same or under the same category, the people’s court may adjudicate them together upon the consent of all the parties. Such adjudication is called joint litigation.
If a party of two or more persons of a joint litigation who have the common rights and obligations with respect to the subject matter of action and the act of any of them is recognized by the others of the party, such an act shall bind the rest of the party; if a party of two or more persons have no common rights and obligations with respect to the subject matter of action, any acts taken by any one of them shall not bind the rest of the party.
Article 54 A joint litigation in which one party has numerous litigants may be brought by the representatives elected by the litigants of the party. The act of litigation taken by these representatives shall bind all litigants of the party whom they represent. However, any substitution of representatives, relinquishing claims, acceptance of claims of the opposing party, or negotiating settlement shall be approved by the litigants of the party.
Article 55 Where the subject matters of an action is under the same category and one of the parties has numerous litigants but the exact number of the litigants is uncertain when the lawsuit is filed, the people’s court may issue a public notice to explain the nature of the case and the claims of the litigation and informing those interested persons who are entitled to the claim to register their rights with the people’s court within a fixed period of time.
Those who have registered their rights with the people’s court may elect representatives from among themselves to proceed with the litigation; if the election fails its purpose, such representatives may be determined by the people’s court through consultation with those who have registered their rights with the court.
The acts of litigation taken by these representatives shall bind all litigants of the party whom they represent. However, any substitution of representatives, relinquishing claims, acceptance of claims of the opposing party, or negotiating settlement shall be approved by the litigants of the party.
The judgments or written orders rendered by the people’s court shall bind all those interested persons who have registered their rights with the court. Such judgments or written orders shall apply to those who have not registered their rights but have instituted legal proceedings during the time of the statute of limitation.
Article 56 If a third party considers that he has the independent right to claim the subject matter of the action of both parties, he shall have the right to bring an action.
If a third party does not have the independent right to claim the subject matter of the action of both parties but the outcome of the case will affect his legal interest, it may file a request to join the litigation or the people’s court may notify him to join the litigation. If a people’s court holds a third party to bear a civil liability, such a third party shall have the litigation rights as a party to the litigation.
Section 2 Litigation Representatives
Article 57 For litigation-incompetent persons, their guardians shall be their legal representative in their litigations. If all legal representatives try to avoid their duties of representation, the people’s court may appoint