China Justice Observer

中司观察

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China’s Supreme People’s Court

The Supreme People's Court (SPC, 最高人民法院) is China's Supreme Court .  

As of Jun. 2017, the SPC has 367 judges. 

The SPC’s main spheres of competence are to try cases and to issue judicial interpretations and cases, as follows:

1. The SPC handles the following cases: 

(1) first-instance cases that are under the jurisdiction of the SPC or that it deems to be under its jurisdiction; 

(2) cases of appeals or protests lodged against judgments and orders rendered by the high people's courts;

(3) cases of appeals or protests lodged pursuant to provisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress;

(4) the retrial cases initiated in accordance with the adjudication supervision procedure;

(5) the death penalty cases submitted by the high people's courts for approval. 

2. The SPC may give interpretations with respect to the issues concerning the law application in the judicial work and may issue guiding cases.

Thus Spoke Chinese Judges on International Civil Jurisdiction: Insights from Chinese Supreme Court Justices on 2023 Civil Procedure Law Amendment (1)

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 Insights Meng Yu 余萌

The insights from Chinese Supreme Court Justices on the 2023 Civil Procedure Law Amendment highlight significant modifications to international civil procedure rules, including expanded jurisdiction of Chinese courts, enhancements in consensual jurisdiction, and coordination of international jurisdictional conflicts.

Judge Shen Hongyu Heads SPC's Int'l Commercial Dispute Resolution Department

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 China Legal Trends CJO Staff Contributors Team

In October 2023, Judge Shen Hongyu was appointed the Chief Judge of the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court. This Division is an international commercial dispute department, that handles cases involving foreign-related civil and commercial matters, the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and judgments in China, and formulates judicial policies and judicial interpretations applicable nationwide in these areas.