Judicial system of China

Politics of China
Leadership Leadership generations Succession of power Hu–Wen Administration (2002–2012) Xi–Li Administration (2012–2017) Xi Administration (since 2017) 4th Leadership Core: Xi Jinping 20th Party Politburo: Xi Jinping 14th State Council: Li Qiang Current state leaders Current provincial leaders Party and state leaders Orders of precedence Paramount leader: Xi Jinping First lady: Peng Liyuan Communist Party leader: Xi Jinping State representative: Xi Jinping Head of government: Li Qiang Congress Chairman: Zhao Leji Conference Chairman: Wang Huning Commander-in-chief: Xi Jinping Politburo Standing Committee longest-serving members Related systems Unified power Democratic centralism Collective leadership Organization Department Elections Civil service
Constitution Law Constitution Previous constitutions 1954 1975 1978 "People's democratic dictatorship" (Article 1) Democratic centralism (Article 3) Constitutional oath of office (Article 27) Protection of human rights (Article 33) Freedom of religion (Article 36) Highest state organ of power (Article 57) Chinese legal system Civil law tradition Socialist law tradition Laws Legislation Law List of statutes General Principles of the Civil Law (to 2020) Civil Code (From 2021) Marriage Law Labour law Labour Law Labour Contract Law Property law Property Law Intellectual property law Patent law Administrative law Administrative Procedure Law Criminal law Capital punishment Capital offences Death sentence with reprieve
Communist Party History Principal leaders Constitution & ideology Admission Oath (Article 6) Socialism with Chinese characteristics Communism Marxism–Leninism Mao Zedong Thought Deng Xiaoping Theory Primary stage of socialism Four Cardinal Principles Three Represents Scientific Outlook on Development Harmonious Socialist Society Xi Jinping Thought Chinese Dream Four Comprehensives Two Establishes and Two Safeguards Democracy Organization National Party Congress (20th) Central Committee (20th) General Secretary (list) Xi Jinping Central Politburo (20th) Standing Committee (20th) Central Secretariat (20th) Central Military Commission Chairman: Xi Jinping Vice Chairmen: Zhang Youxia, He Weidong National Security Commission Chairman: Xi Jinping Vice-Chairman: Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Cai Qi Office Chief: Cai Qi Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission Director: Xi Jinping Deputy Directors: Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi Secretary-General: Wang Huning Financial & Economic Affairs Commission Director: Xi Jinping Deputy Director: Li Qiang Office Chief: He Lifeng General Office Director: Cai Qi Office of the General Secretary Chief: Cai Qi Central Guard Bureau Central Guard Unit Office of the Central Secrecy Commission Organization Department Head: Li Ganjie Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (20th) Standing Committee (20th) Secretary: Li Xi Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission Secretary: Zhang Shengmin Central Leading Group for Inspection Work Leader: Li Xi Provincial committee Standing committee Secretary Deputy secretaries Party group
National People's Congress (14th) Elections Standing Committee (14th) Council of Chairpersons Chairman: Zhao Leji Vice-Chairpersons Top-ranked: Li Hongzhong Secretary-General: Liu Qi Special Committees Ethnic Affairs Constitution and Law Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Financial and Economic Affairs Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Foreign Affairs Overseas Chinese Affairs Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Agriculture and Rural Affairs Social Development Affairs Presidium State representative President (list): Xi Jinping Presidential Office Chief: Cai Qi Vice President: Han Zheng Executive organ State Council (Central People's Government) Li Qiang Cabinet Premier (list): Li Qiang Vice-Premiers (list) Ding Xuexiang He Lifeng Zhang Guoqing Liu Guozhong State Councilors Wang Xiaohong Wu Zhenglong Shen Yiqin Secretary-General: Wu Zhenglong Cabinet-level departments National Development & Reform Commission Central bank National Audit Office General Office Secretary-General Deputy Secretaries-General State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission most Central Enterprises Military organ Central Military Commission (CMC) Chairman (supreme commander): Xi Jinping Vice Chairmen: Zhang Youxia He Weidong Members: Liu Zhenli Miao Hua Zhang Shengmin Departments: General Office Director: Zhong Shaojun Joint Staff Dept. Chief: Liu Zhenli Political Work Dept. Director: Miao Hua Logistic Support Dept. Director: Zhang Lin Equipment Development Dept. Director: Xu Xueqiang Training and Administration Dept. Director: Wang Peng National Defense Mobilization Dept. Director: Liu Faqing Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary: Zhang Shengmin Politics and Legal Affairs Commission Science and Technology Commission Strategic Planning Office Reform & Organizational Structure Office Int'l Military Cooperation Office Audit Office Offices Administration Agency National armed forces: People's Liberation Army Theater commands People's Armed Police China Coast Guard Militia State Council National Defense Mobilization Commission Chairman: Li Qiang Ministry of National Defense Minister: Dong Jun Ministry of Veterans Affairs State Administration for Sci., Tech. & Industry for National Defense Military history Armed conflicts Military modernization Military reform since 2015 CMC Leading Group for Military Reform Leader: Xi Jinping Supervisory organ National Supervisory Commission Director: Liu Jinguo Corruption in China Anti-corruption campaign since 2012 Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong) Commission Against Corruption (Macau) Judicial organs Supreme People's Court President: Zhang Jun People's Courts Judicial Police Supreme People's Procuratorate Procurator-General: Ying Yong People's Procuratorates Judicial Police Judiciary of Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Department of Justice Prosecutions Division Law enforcement in Hong Kong Disciplined Services Security Bureau Hong Kong Police Force Judiciary of Macau Court of Final Appeal Public Prosecutions Office Secretariat for Security Macau Security Force Unitary Police Services [zh] Public Security Police Judiciary Police [zh]
United front Political Consultative Conference National Committee Chairman: Wang Huning Vice-Chairpersons Top-ranked: Shi Taifeng Secretary-General: Wang Dongfeng Political parties: CCP (ruling) United Front Work Department Head: Shi Taifeng RCCK CDL CNDCA CAPD CPWDP CZGP JS TDSL Historical parties: KMT CDSP YCP Federation of Industry and Commerce People's organizations
Law enforcement CCP Central Politics and Law Commission Secretary: Chen Wenqing Ministry of Public Security Minister: Wang Xiaohong Public Security Organs People's Police State Immigration Administration Local public security bureaus Ministry of State Security Minister: Chen Yixin State Security Organs People's Police Ministry of Justice Minister: He Rong Judicial Administrative Organs People's Police Bureau of Prison Administration [zh] Office for Safeguarding National Security Urban Management (chengguan)
Propaganda Central Leading Group for Propaganda, Ideology and Culture Leader: Cai Qi Deputy Leaders: Li Shulei, Shen Yiqin Central Guidance Commission on Building Spiritual Civilization Director: Cai Qi Deputy Director: Li Shulei Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party Head: Li Shulei General Administration of Press and Publication China Film Administration State Council Information Office China Daily Ministry of Culture and Tourism National Radio and Television Administration China Media Group China Central Television China Global Television Network China National Radio China Radio International Xinhua News Agency Reference News China News Service People's Daily Global Times China Today Censorship in China Radio jamming Overseas censorship of Chinese issues Media of China Internal media Publishing industry in China Internet in China Internet censorship Great Firewall Great Cannon Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission Director: Cai Qi Cyberspace Administration of China Director: Zhuang Rongwen
Hong Kong Macau Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Leader: Ding Xuexiang HK & Macau Affairs Office Director: Xia Baolong Hong Kong Liaison Office Macau Liaison Office One country, two systems Special administrative regions Hong Kong Basic Law Chief Executive: John Lee Ka-chiu Hong Kong SAR Government Politics of Hong Kong Pro-Beijing camp Pro-democracy camp Independence movement Mainland & HK CEPA Macao Basic Law Chief Executive: Ho Iat-seng Macau SAR Government Politics of Macau Mainland & Macau CEPA
Cross-Strait relations Cross-Strait relations Chinese Civil War One China Political status of Taiwan Republic of China on Taiwan Taiwan Area "Taiwan Province", PRC Taiwan independence movement Anti-Secession Law Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement Chinese unification Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs Leader: Xi Jinping Deputy Leader: Wang Huning Taiwan Affairs Office Director: Song Tao Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits
Foreign relations Central Foreign Affairs Commission Director: Xi Jinping Deputy Director: Li Qiang Secretary-General: Wang Yi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Wang Yi Spokespersons Diplomatic missions Diplomatic missions of China / in China Foreign aid from China / to China International Development Cooperation Agency Ministry of Commerce Exim Bank of China China Development Bank Belt and Road Initiative Silk Road Fund Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank BRICS New Development Bank Ministry of National Defense International Military Cooperation Office NPC Foreign Affairs Committee CCP International Department State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs Overseas Chinese Affairs Office Chinese nationality law Chinese passports (Hong Kong; Macau) Visa requirements for Chinese citizens (Hong Kong, Macau) Visa policy of China (Hong Kong; Macau) National Immigration Administration Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Panda diplomacy Beijing Consensus Community of Common Destiny China and the United Nations China and the World Trade Organization Shanghai Cooperation Organisation China–Africa relations China–Arab relations China–Caribbean relations China–European Union relations China–Latin America relations China–Pacific relations China–Russia relations China–United States relations
Related topics Administrative divisions Hukou system Family planning Ethnic minorities
China portal Other countries
v t e

The judicial branch, organized under the constitution and organic law, is one of five organs of state power elected by the National People's Congress (NPC), in the People's Republic of China. China does not have judicial independence or judicial review as the courts do not have authority beyond what is granted to them by the NPC under a system of unified power. The Chinese Communist Party's Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission maintains effective control over the court system and its personnel.^[1][2] Hong Kong and Macau have separate court systems in accordance with the "one country, two systems" doctrine.

According to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China of 1982 and the Organic Law of the People's Courts that went into effect on January 1, 1980, the Chinese courts are divided into a four-level court system (Supreme, High, Intermediate and Primary):

• At the highest level is the Supreme People's Court (SPC) in Beijing, the premier appellate forum of the land and court of last resort, which supervises the administration of justice by all subordinate "local" and "special" people's courts. It also sets up six circuit courts seat outside of the state capital, which acts in the same capacity, to hear cross-provincial cases within respective jurisdiction.^{[citation needed]}
• Local people's courts—the courts of the first instance—handle criminal and civil cases. These people's courts make up the remaining three levels of the court system and consist of "high people's courts" at the level of the provinces, autonomous regions, and special municipalities; "intermediate people's courts" at the level of prefectures, autonomous prefectures, and municipalities; and "primary people's courts" at the level of autonomous counties, towns, and municipal districts.^{[citation needed]}
• Courts of Special Jurisdiction (special courts) comprises the Military Courts (military), Railway Transportion Court of China (railroad transportation) and Maritime Courts (water transportation), Internet Courts, Intellectual Property Courts and Financial Court. Except for the Military Courts, all other courts of special jurisdiction falls under the general jurisdiction of its respective high court.^{[citation needed]}

Candidates for judgeship must pass the National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination.^{[citation needed]} All lawyers must take an oath pledging loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.^[3]

The court system is paralleled by a hierarchy of prosecuting offices called people's procuratorates, the highest being the Supreme People's Procuratorate.^{[citation needed]}

Local departments of justice can revoke the license of lawyers. This power is used to target lawyers who challenge the authority of the state, particularly human rights lawyers.^[4]

The Supreme Court is responsible for establishing and monitoring legal procedures in adherence to the laws and orders made by the legislative organs.^{[citation needed]}

Following civil law traditions, the courts do not establish legally-binding precedent. The Supreme Court has the right to publish legal explanations of laws which are legally-binding but the right to interpret the constitution is reserved by the legislative organs.^{[citation needed]} A verdict made by an inferior court can be challenged in its superior court, up to the Supreme Court, there are four levels of courts in total. A superior court can also designate any of its inferior courts to hear an appeal rather than do so itself.^{[citation needed]}

Court proceedings in China are generally livestreamed, with exceptions including where classified information is discussed or where juveniles testify.^[5]: 125

Besides the court system, it is also encouraged to resolve civil conflicts through a state-sponsored and -regulated mediation and arbitration system. After the first hearing of a civil case, the court is required by law to ask both parties if they are willing to resolve their conflict through mediation. If agreed, the court should assign a mediator and oversee the process. If both parties reach an agreement, it will be legally binding after the agreement is reviewed and documented by a judge of the court.^{[citation needed]}

The enforceability of a civil verdict has long been an issue of some controversy, damaging the people's trust in the legal system. To address the problem of civil law enforceability, the Supreme People's Court has established a system to forbid debtors who fail to honor civil verdicts from exorbitant spending, including five-star hotels, air flights, and bullet trains, though there is controversy as to whether this gives the court too much authority.^[6]

Courts allow litigants to communicate with it via WeChat, through which the litigant parties can file lawsuits, participate in proceedings, present evidence, and listen to verdicts.^[5]: 125 As of December 2019, more than 3 million litigants had used WeChat for litigation.^[5]: 125

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Between the Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957 and the legal reforms of 1979, the courts—viewed by the leftists as troublesome and unreliable—played only a small role in the judicial system. Most of their functions were handled by other party or government organs. In 1979, however, the National People's Congress began the process of restoring the judicial system. The world was able to see an early example of this reinstituted system in action in the showcase trial of the Gang of Four and six other members of the "Lin-Jiang clique" from November 1980 to January 1981 (see the Four Modernizations). The trial, which was publicized to show that China had restored a legal system that made all citizens equal before the law, actually appeared to many foreign observers to be more a political than a legal exercise. Nevertheless, it was intended to show that China was committed to restoring a judicial system.^{[citation needed]}

The Ministry of Justice, abolished in 1959, was re-established under the 1979 legal reforms to administer the newly restored judicial system. With the support of local judicial departments and bureaus, the ministry was charged with supervising personnel management, training, and funding for the courts and associated organizations and was given responsibility for overseeing legal research and exchanges with foreign judicial bodies.^{[citation needed]}

The 1980 Organic Law of the People's Courts (revised in 1983) and the 1982 State Constitution established four levels of courts in the general administrative structure. Judges are elected or appointed by people's congresses at the corresponding levels to serve a maximum of two five-year terms. Most trials are administered by a collegial bench made up of one to three judges and three to five assessors. Assessors, according to the State Constitution, are elected by local residents or people's congresses from among citizens over twenty-three years of age with political rights or are appointed by the court for their expertise. Trials are conducted by the inquisitorial system, in which both judges and assessors play an active part in the questioning of all witnesses. This contrasts with the adversarial system, in which the judge is meant to be an impartial referee between two contending attorneys. After the judge and assessors rule on a case, they pass sentence. An aggrieved party can appeal to the next higher court.^{[citation needed]}

The Organic Law of the People's Courts requires that adjudication committees be established for courts at every level. The committees usually are made up of the president, vice presidents, chief judges, and associate chief judges of the court, who are appointed and removed by the standing committees of the people's congresses at the corresponding level. The adjudication committees are charged with reviewing major cases to find errors in determination of facts or application of law and to determine if a chief judge should withdraw from a case. If a case is submitted to the adjudication committee, the court is bound by its decision. The Supreme People's Court stands at the apex of the judicial structure. Located in Beijing, it has jurisdiction over all lower and special courts, for which it serves as the ultimate appellate court. It is directly responsible to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, which elects the court president.^{[citation needed]}

China also has 'special' military, rail transport, water transport, and forestry courts. These courts hear cases of counter-revolutionary activity, plundering, bribery, sabotage, or indifference to duty that result in severe damage to military facilities, work place, or government property or threaten the safety of soldiers or workers.^[7]

Military courts make up the largest group of special courts and try all treason and espionage cases. Although they are independent of civilian courts and directly subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense, military court decisions are reviewed by the Supreme People's Court. Special military courts were first established in 1954 to protect the special interests of all commanders, political commissars, and soldiers, but they ceased to function during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). Military courts and procuratorates were reinstituted in October 1978, and open military trials resumed in December of that year.^{[citation needed]}

In April 1986, at the Fourth Session of the Sixth National People's Congress, the General Principles of the Civil Code was approved as "one of China's basic laws." Consisting of more than 150 articles, the code was intended to regulate China's internal and external economic relations to establish a stable base conducive to trade and attractive to foreign investors. Many of its provisions define the legal status of economic entities and the property rights they exercise. The code clearly stipulated that private ownership of the means of production is protected by law and may not be seized or interfered with by any person or organization. It also recognizes partnerships and wholly foreign-owned or joint-venture enterprises.^[8]

In 2007, the doctrine of the Three Supremes was introduced under Hu Jintao, mandating that the judiciary subordinate written law to the interests of the CCP.^[9]

In 2013, the SPC issued Opinions Concerning Sentencing Guidelines for Frequently Committed Offences, which aimed to achieve consistency in sentencing for similar offenses. Therefore, China divided the guidelines into four sections: the guiding principles of sentencing, basic sentence methodology, applications of common mitigating and aggravating factors, and sentences for common offences.^[10] These guidelines introduced a methodology for calculating sentences, involving three components: a sentencing starting point, a baseline sentence, and a final sentence. The starting point was determined based on the primary constituent facts of a crime, while the baseline sentence considered secondary facts related to the offense. A final sentence was derived from an adjusted baseline sentence, considering various mitigating and aggravating factors. However, these guidelines were only applicable to less serious offenses, leaving serious crimes without specific guidance.^[10]

From 2014 to 2017, the judicial system underwent significant reform aimed at curbing judicial favoritism.^[11]: 212 Among the key reform provisions was recentralizing personnel appointments and fiscal management of basic and intermediate courts, with these decisions now being made by provincial governments.^[11]: 212

In 2015, China began publishing all court decisions in civil and criminal cases across all tiers of the judiciary.^[5]: 125 This database, the China Judgment Online database, is the world's largest collection of judicial decisions.^[11]: 141 Although the Supreme People's Court mandates that all local courts upload their judgments, the local courts' compliance with this mandate varies.^[11]: 41 In 2021, millions of court verdicts were removed, including all capital punishment verdicts.^[12] In 2023, administrative proceedings were also removed.^[13]

The Supreme People's Court in 2018 began promoting the Mobile Micro Court app.^[11]: 207 As of March 2020, over 1.3 million people had used the Mobile Micro Court app and over 437,000 cases had been filed through it.^[11]: 207

In 2019, the city of Hangzhou established a pilot program artificial intelligence-based Internet Court to adjudicate disputes related to ecommerce and internet-related intellectual property claims.^[5]: 124 Parties appear before the court via videoconference and AI evaluates the evidence presented and applies relevant legal standards.^[5]: 124 Following the Hangzhou Internet Court, the Beijing Internet Court and Guangzhou Internet Court were established.^[11]: 206 In these courts, all aspects of the judicial process from case filing through conclusion are handled online.^[11]: 206 Major cities including Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Chengdu have established specialized court divisions for cases arising from online disputes.^[11]: 206

The Chinese government is also promoting the development of a "smart court" system to increase the use of technology such as artificial intelligence and blockchain to streamline proceedings.^[11]: 206 The Hangzhou Internet Court was the first court in China to accept blockchain evidence to prove the content of a website at a particular point in time, rather than the public notary method traditionally used to do so.^{[5]: 124–125}

In February 2023, the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party issued a text titled Opinions on Strengthening Legal Education and Legal Theory Research in the New Era that called for purging "Western erroneous views" from legal education, including constitutional government, separation of powers, and judicial independence.^[14] The CCP text is based around adaption and implementation on the views on judicial theory and socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics as examined in Xi Jinping's published text 'Thought on the Rule of Law'.^[15]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Judicial system of China.

• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. China: A Country Study. Federal Research Division.