According to the Constitution of China, the Supreme People's Court is accountable to the National People's Congress.[3][4]: 14 The court has about 400 judges and more than 600 administrative personnel.[4]: 16
The Supreme People's Court was established on 22 October 1949[6] and began operating in November 1950.[7]: 146 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 to the Court.[7]: 146
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.[8]: 76–77
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.[7]: 147 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.[8]: 77
In 2005, the Supreme People's Court announced its intent to "[take] back authority for death penalty approval" over concerns about "sentencing quality",[9] 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.[10] A 2008 report stated that since the new review process, the court has rejected 15 percent of the death sentences decided by lower courts.[11]
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.[12]: 53 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.[12]: 53
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.[13]
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 is generally selective in the matters it hears, focusing on those with the potential to impact future similar cases.[14]: 63 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.[15] Further details about this were described by Zhou Qiang as:
The reply is a request for a specific case. Its legal binding force is limited to the case itself and does not have universal legal effect. In other cases, the judge cannot directly use the above reply as the basis for the judgment. For documents that have universal effectiveness and guide courts at all levels, the Supreme People's Court generally publishes it in the form of judicial interpretation and can make inquiries in newspapers and on the Internet.[16]
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.[8]: 74 However, the Supreme People's Court has never made such request.[8]: 78
Supervision of lower courts
The Supreme People's Court is also responsible for supervising the adjudication of lower courts and specialized courts.[8]: 71
^Judges Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 16: "Judges are divided into twelve grades. The President of the Supreme People's Court is the Chief Justice."
^ abQi, Ding (2019). The Power of the Supreme People's Court: Reconceptualizing Judicial Power in Contemporary China. Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxford: Routledge. ISBN9780429199479.
^ abcdefHan, Dayuan; Yu, Wenhao; Yang, Xiaomin; Chen, Guofei (2017). "Zhongguo Tese Shehui Zhuyi sifa zhidu de xianfa jichu" 中国特色社会主义司法制度的宪法基础 [Constitutional basis of the socialist judicial system with Chinese characteristics]. In Chen, Guiming (ed.). Zhongguo Tese Shehui Zhuyi sifa zhidu yanjiu 中国特色社会主义司法制度研究 [A study of the socialist judicial system with Chinese characteristics] (in Simplified Chinese). Beijing: Renmin University Press. pp. 23–143. ISBN978-7-300-23913-2.
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