The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC) is the

highest court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It hears

appeals In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

of cases from the

high people's court A high people's court or higher people's court (高级人民法院) is the highest local court in the People's Republic of China. In each province, it is subject to the "People's Congress". According to the '' Organic Law of the People's Courts ...

s and is the

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

for cases about matters of national importance. According to the

Constitution of China The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the supreme law of the People's Republic of China (PRC). In September 1949, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference adopted the Common Progr ...

, the Supreme People's Court is accountable to the National People's Congress. 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 Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

have separate judicial systems based on British

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

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 of its first staff were assigned from the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

to the Court. 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 Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, 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

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 Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

under new leader

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

. 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 Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

approval" over concerns about "sentencing quality", and the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

officially changed the

Organic Law on the People's Courts A local people's court is a court at local level of the People's Republic of China. According to the ''Organic Law of the People's Courts'', the local people's courts includes: * High people's courts * Intermediate people's courts * Primary pe ...

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. As part of an effort to build judicial credibility through more effective enforcement of court orders, the SPC in 2013 promulgated a blacklist composed of Chinese citizens and companies that refuse to comply with court orders (typically court orders to pay a fine or to repay a loan) despite having the ability to do so. As of 2023, the SPC's blacklist is one of its most important enforcement tools and its use has resulted in the recovery of tens of trillions of RMB for fines and delinquent repayments. 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

According to the

, the Supreme People's Court is accountable to the National People's Congress. It is also subservient to the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP). The court has about 400 judges and more than 600 administrative personnel.

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 is generally selective in the matters it hears, focusing on those with the potential to impact future similar cases. 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 The Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China (SPP) is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and prosecutorial investigation in China. The SPP reports to the National People's Congress (NPC). The P ...

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 Constitutional review, or constitutionality review or constitutional control, is the evaluation, in some countries, of the constitutionality of the laws. It is supposed to be a system of preventing violation of the rights granted by the constitutio ...

), the Supreme People's Court can request the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...

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 In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

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 Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, Dec 2014) #

Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, and it has appellate jurisdic ...

(established in

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

, Dec 2014) #

Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * Eas ...

Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

# 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 The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

#* President: Shen Junru # 1954–1959: Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China under the

1st National People's Congress The 1st National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1954 to 1959. It held four sessions in this period. There were 1,226 deputies to the Congress. These were the first legislative elections to take place after the founding of the People ...

#* President:

Dong Biwu Dong Biwu ( zh , c=董必武 , p=Dǒng Bìwǔ , w=Tung Pi-wu; 5 March 1886 – 2 April 1975) was a Chinese communist revolutionary and politician, who served as acting Chairman of the People's Republic of China between 1972 and 1975. Early li ...

#* Vice Presidents: Gao Kelin, Ma Xiwu, Zhang Zhirang # 1959–1965:

2nd National People's Congress The 2nd National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1959 to 1964. It held four sessions in this period. Background Since the succeeding Congress was to be the first to be elected under the 1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of ...

#* President: Xie Juezai #* Vice Presidents: Wu Defeng, Wang Weigang, Zhang Zhirang # 1965–1975:

3rd National People's Congress The 3rd National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1964 to 1975. It held only one session in the ten years due to the disruption caused by the ongoing Cultural Revolution launched by Chairman Mao Zedong after 1966. Seat distribution ...

#* 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 The 4th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1975 to 1978. It held only one session, in January 1975, despite the Constitution mandating a session be held each year. There were 2864 deputies to this Congress. Seat distribution ...

#* President: Jiang Hua #* Vice Presidents: Wang Weigang, Zeng Hanzhou, He Lanjie, Zheng Shaowen # 1978–1983:

5th National People's Congress The 5th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1978 to 1983. It succeeded the 4th National People's Congress. It held five plenary sessions in this period. Seat distribution The first session *Chairman and Vice Chairman: ''Po ...

#* President: Jiang Hua #* Vice Presidents: Zeng Hanzhou, He Lanjie, Zheng Shaowen, Song Guang, Wang Huaian, Wang Zhanping # 1983–1988:

6th National People's Congress The 6th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1983 to 1988. It held five sessions in this period. Background This new Congress was the first under the current 1982 Constitution, and the first to be elected under the rules of th ...

#* President: Zheng Tianxiang #* Vice Presidents: Ren Jianxin, Song Guang, Wang Huaian, Wang Zhanping, Lin Huai, Zhu Mingshan,

Ma Yuan Ma Yuan may refer to: * Ma Yuan (Han dynasty) (馬援; 14 BC – 49 AD), general of the Han dynasty * Ma Yuan (painter) (馬遠; 1160–1225), painter of the Song dynasty * Ma Yuan (judge) (:zh:馬原 (政治人物), 馬原; born 1930), a former V ...

# 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 The 8th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1993 to 1998. It succeeded the 7th National People's Congress. It held five sessions in this period. Seat distribution The first session Elected state leaders In the 1st Session in ...

#* 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 The 9th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1998 to 2003 across five plenary sessions. It followed the final session of the 8th National People's Congress. There were 2,979 deputies to this Congress. Background This was the f ...

#* 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 The 10th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 2003 to 2008. It held five plenary sessions in this period. There were 2,984 deputies to this Congress. It succeeded the 9th National People's Congress The 9th National People's C ...

#* 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 The 11th National People's Congress (NPC) met for a 5-year term, from 2008 to 2013. It held five annual two week plenary sessions during this period. It succeeded the 10th National People's Congress. There were 2,987 deputies elected to the ...

#* President:

Wang Shengjun Wang Shengjun (; born October 15, 1946, in Suzhou, Anhui) is a retired Chinese politician who was the president of the Supreme People's Court of China from March 2008 to March 2013. Biography He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1972 ...

#* 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 The 12th National People's Congress (NPC) was elected in national congressional conferences from October 2012 to February 2013 and was in session from 2013 to 2018. It succeeded the 11th National People's Congress. It held five plenary sessions ...

#* President: Zhou Qiang # 2018—2023:

13th National People's Congress The 13th National People's Congress (NPC) was elected from October 2017 to February 2018 and was in session in the five-year period from 2018 to 2023. It held five sessions in this period, occurring around early March every year until before 202 ...

#* President: Zhou Qiang #* Vice Presidents: He Rong (Executive), Jiang Wei, Tao Kaiyuan, Gao Jinghong, Yang Wanming, Yang Linping, He Xiaorong, Shen Liang # 2023—present:

14th National People's Congress The 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is the sitting electoral term of the "supreme organ of state power" of the China, People's Republic of China. It convened in Beijing, on 5 March 2023, and is scheduled to continue until March 2028. Electio ...

#* President: Zhang Jun

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Supreme People's Court Courts in China

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

1949 establishments in China Courts and tribunals established in 1949