On 27 Sept. 2021, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued the “Implementing Measures for Improving the Pilot Reform of Functions and Roles of Courts at Four Trial Levels (hereinafter “the Implementing Measures”, 关于完善四级法院审级职能定位改革试点的实施办法), and officially launched the two-year pilot program.
There are 23 articles in the Implementing Measures, clarifying the objectives, tasks and scope, and supporting measures of the pilot reform.
The Measures specifies the scopes of trial-level functions of courts at four levels.
Primary people's courts shall focus on fact-finding and resolving the disputes in substance.
Intermediate people's courts shall concentrate on effectively promoting final judgment in the second instance.
High people's courts shall emphasize error correction in accordance with law and uniform judgment standards in adjudication supervision procedure.
The SPC shall supervise and guide national trial work to ensure the correct and unified application of law.
Cover Photo by Cajeo Zhang (https://unsplash.com/@cajeo) on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
