Why China's judicial reform has a long way to go

The advancement of the rule of law has always been a topic under debate. The concept was first written into the Constitution in 1999 and the current leadership appears to have reached a consensus that it can help tackle many of the difficult problems facing today's Chinese society. Standing at the forefront, the Chinese courts are driving legal reform forward both through high-level guidelines and directives and individual court decisions.

The Chinese court system is modelled after the civil law legal systems of Germany and France, but has experienced significant changes since the social and political reform began in 1978. While Chinese courts do not exercise judicial power with total independence, they have gained increasing importance in light of the constitutional requirement for “building a socialist society governed according to law”, and President Xi's calling for a system in which “people can perceive equality and justice in every judicial case”.

The Chinese judicial system

China adopts a four-level court system. Under the Supreme People's Court (SPC), there are Higher People's Courts, Intermediate People's Courts and Basic People's Courts, which have jurisdiction over civil, criminal and administrative cases, and specialised courts dedicated to specific matters, such as intellectual property courts which will begin operating early next year in selected regions, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

There are divisions within the courts, with each handling a particular type of cases. Therefore, while Chinese courts (other than specialised courts) have general subject matter jurisdictions, most judges are assigned to a particular division and only handle certain types of cases throughout their careers.