Supreme People's Court

The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC; ) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of national importance. The court also has a quasi-legislative power to issue judicial interpretations and adjudication rules on court procedure.

According to the Chinese constitution, the Supreme People's Court is accountable to the National People's Congress, which prevents the court from functioning separately and independently of the governmental structure. The court has about 400 judges and more than 600 administrative personnel.

The court serves as the highest court for the People's Republic of China and also for cases investigated by the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong. The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau have separate judicial systems based on British common law traditions and Portuguese civil law traditions respectively, and are out of the jurisdiction of the Supreme People's Court.

History

The Supreme People's Court was established on 22 October 1949 and began operating in November 1950. At least four members of the first court leadership did not come from a legal background, and most staff members came from the military.

The functions of the court was first outlined in the Chinese constitution in its 1954 version, which said the court has the power of independent adjudication and is accountable to the National People's Congress.

During the Cultural Revolution, the 1975 constitution removed the provision that said courts were to decide cases independently and required them to report to revolutionary committees. Most staff members of the court were sent to the countryside, and the People's Liberation Army occupied the court from 1968 to 1973.

Following the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the Supreme People's Court began to focus on legal issues, especially those related to civil and commercial law, because of China's economic liberalization under new leader Deng Xiaoping. The independent power of adjudicate cases returned to the constitution with the 1982 amendment, which explicitly states the courts' right of adjudication cannot be influenced by administrative organs, social organizations and individuals.

In 2005, the Supreme People's Court announced its intent to "akeback authority for death penalty approval" over concerns about "sentencing quality", and the National People's Congress officially changed the Organic Law on the People's Courts to require all death sentences to be approved by the Supreme People's Court on 31 October 2006. A 2008 report stated that since the new review process, the court has rejected 15 percent of the death sentences decided by lower courts.

Since March 2013, the President of the Supreme People's Court and Grand Chief Justice has been Zhou Qiang.

In 2013, the court began a blacklist of debtors with roughly thirty-two-thousand names. The list has since been described a first step towards a national Social Credit System by state media.

In 2015, the court began working with private companies on social credit. For example, Sesame Credit began deducting credit points from people who defaulted on court fines.

On 1 January 2019, the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court was established to handle all second instance hearings from cases heard in the first instance by the Intellectual Property Courts.

Functions

Adjudication

The Supreme People's Court exercises its original jurisdiction over cases placed with the court by laws and regulations and those the court deems within its jurisdiction. It also reviews appeals or protests against trial decisions or verdicts of high people's courts and special people's courts, as well as appeals against court judgments lodged by the Supreme People's Procuratorate according to trial supervision procedures. When the court has discovered errors in the rulings and verdicts of lower courts that are already enforced, it investigates or appoints a lower court to rehear the case.

The court also approves death sentences and suspended death sentences handed down by lower courts. It also approves verdicts on crimes not specifically stipulated in the criminal law.

Legal interpretation

The court explains the application of laws in specific cases during a trial. Further details about this were described by Zhou Qiang as:
:

While the Chinese constitution does not state that courts have the power to review laws for their constitutionality (see constitutional review), the Supreme People's Court can request the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to evaluate whether an administrative rule, local regulation, autonomous regulation or separate regulation contravenes the constitution or a national law. However, the Supreme People's Court has never made such request.

Supervision of lower courts

The Supreme People's Court is also responsible for supervising the adjudication of lower courts and specialized courts.

Organization

; Divisions within the Supreme People's Court
* Case-Filing Division
* Criminal Divisions (5)
* Civil Divisions (4)
* Environment and Resources Division
* Administrative Division
* Judicial Supervision Division

; Departments within the Supreme People's Court
* State Compensation Division
* Enforcement Department (Enforcement Command Center)

* General Office
* Political Department
* Research office
* Adjudication Management Office
* Discipline and Supervision Department
* International Cooperation Department
* Judicial Administration and Equipment Management Department
* Party-Related Affairs Department
* Retirees'Affairs Department
* Information Department

; Circuit and other courts of the Supreme People's Court
# First Circuit (established in Shenzhen, Dec 2014)
# Second Circuit (established in Shenyang, Dec 2014)
# Third Circuit
# Fourth Circuit
# Fifth Circuit
# Sixth Circuit
# First International Commercial
# Second International Commercial
# Intellectual Property Court

President/Chief Justices and Vice Presidents of the Court

# 1949–1954: Supreme People's Court of the Central People's Government
#* President: Shen Junru
# 1954–1959: Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China under the 1st National People's Congress
#* President: Dong Biwu
#* Vice Presidents: Gao Kelin, Ma Xiwu, Zhang Zhirang
# 1959–1965: 2nd National People's Congress
#* President: Xie Juezai
#* Vice Presidents: Wu Defeng, Wang Weigang, Zhang Zhirang
# 1965–1975: 3rd National People's Congress
#* President: Yang Xiufeng
#* Vice Presidents: Tan Guansan, Wang Weigang, Zeng Hanzhou, He Lanjie, Xing Yimin, Wang Demao, Zhang Zhirang
# 1975–1978: 4th National People's Congress
#* President: Jiang Hua
#* Vice Presidents: Wang Weigang, Zeng Hanzhou, He Lanjie, Zheng Shaowen
# 1978–1983: 5th National People's Congress
#* President: Jiang Hua
#* Vice Presidents: Zeng Hanzhou, He Lanjie, Zheng Shaowen, Song Guang, Wang Huaian, Wang Zhanping
# 1983–1988: 6th National People's Congress
#* President: Zheng Tianxiang
#* Vice Presidents: Ren Jianxin, Song Guang, Wang Huaian, Wang Zhanping, Lin Huai, Zhu Mingshan, Ma Yuan
# 1988–1993: 7th National People's Congress
#* President: Ren Jianxin
#* Vice Presidents: Hua Liankui, Lin Huai, Zhu Mingshan, Ma Yuan, Duan Muzheng
# 1993–1998: 8th National People's Congress
#* President: Ren Jianxin
#* Vice Presidents: Zhu Mingshan, Xie Anshan, Gao Changli, Tang Dehua, Liu Jiachen, Luo Haocai, Li Guoguang, Lin Huai, Hua Liankui, Duan Muzheng, Wang Jingrong, Ma Yuan
# 1998–2003: 9th National People's Congress
#* President: Xiao Yang
#* Vice Presidents: Zhu Mingshan, Li Guoguang, Jiang Xingchang, Shen Deyong, Wan Exiang, Cao Jianming, Zhang Jun, Huang Songyou, Jiang Bixin
# 2003–2007: 10th National People's Congress
#* President: Xiao Yang
#* Vice Presidents: Cao Jianming, Jiang Xingchang, Shen Deyong, Wan Exiang, Huang Songyou, Su Zelin, Xi Xiaoming, Zhang Jun, Xiong Xuanguo
# 2008–2013: 11th National People's Congress
#* President: Wang Shengjun
#* Vice Presidents: Shen Deyong (Executive), Zhang Jun, Wan Exiang, Jiang Bixin, Su Zelin, Xi Xiaoming, Nan Ying, Jing Hanchao, Huang Ermei
# 2013–2018: 12th National People's Congress
#* President: Zhou Qiang
# 2018—present: 13th National People's Congress
#* President: Zhou Qiang
#* Vice Presidents: He Rong, Jiang Wei, Tao Kaiyuan, Gao Jinghong, Yang Wanming, Yang Linping, He Xiaorong, Shen Liang

See also

* Judicial system of China
* Supreme People's Procuratorate – China's highest prosecutor's office
* Three Supremes

References

External links

The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China
Official site.

Chinacourt
English website sponsored by the Supreme People's Court, with court news and legal information including biographical information for the Grand Justices.

PRC Laws
Links to English versions of the Constitution, General Principles of Civil Law, Administrative Procedure Law, Civil and Criminal Procedure Laws, and the Judges Law.


Court information in English, maintained at People's Daily Online.

The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China
English website.

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Judiciary of China
China
1949 establishments in China
Courts and tribunals established in 1949