Organic Law of People's Courts of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the Second Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on July 1, 1979; amended according to the Decision on Amending the Organic Law of People’s Courts of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 2nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on September 2, 1983; amended for the second time according to the Decision on Amending the Organic Law of Local People’s Congresses and Local People’s Governments of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on December 2, 1986; amended for the third time according to the Decision on Amending the Organic Law of People's Courts of the People's Republic of China, adopted at the 24th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on October 31, 2006; and revised at the 6th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on October 26, 2018.)

CONTENTS

Chapter I    General Provisions

Chapter II   Establishment, Functions and Powers

Chapter III  Adjudication Organization 

Chapter IV  Personnel

Chapter V   Supporting Measures for Exercising Functions and Powers

Chapter VI  Supplementary Provision

Chapter I  General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution in order to regulate the establishment, organization, functions and powers of people's courts, and to ensure that people’s courts perform their duties according to law.

Article 2 People's courts are adjudicative organs of the state.

People's courts, by adjudicating criminal, civil, administrative cases and other cases provided by law, punish crimes, protect innocent people from criminal punishments, resolve civil and administrative disputes, protect the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations, ensure that administrative organs exercise authority according to law, safeguard national security and social order, maintain social fairness and justice, preserve the unity, dignity and authority of the country's legal system, and ensure the smooth development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Article 3 People's courts shall be established in accordance with the Constitution, the laws and decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 4   People's courts shall independently exercise adjudicative power in accordance with the law and shall not be subject to interference by administrative organs, societies and individuals.

Article 5 People's courts shall apply the law impartially when adjudicating cases, shall not grant privileges to any organization or individual to let them be above the law, and shall not practice discrimination in any form.

Article 6 People's courts shall uphold judicial justice, take facts as the basis and laws as the criterion, abide by legal procedures, protect the litigation rights and other legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations, and respect and protect human rights.

Article 7 People's courts shall ensure judicial transparency, except as otherwise prescribed by law.

Article 8 People's courts shall implement the judicial accountability system to establish and improve the mechanism for the exercise of judicial power featuring the coordination of powers and responsibilities.

Article 9 The Supreme People's Court shall be accountable to and report to the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee. A local people's court shall be accountable to and report to the people's congress and its standing committee at the corresponding level.

A people's congress and its standing committee shall supervise the work of the people’s court at the corresponding level.

Article 10  The Supreme People's Court is the highest adjudicative organ.

The Supreme People's Court shall oversee the adjudicative work of local people's courts at all levels and of special people's courts; people's courts at higher levels shall oversee the adjudicative work of those at lower levels.

Article 11  People's courts shall accept supervision from the public and ensure people's rights to know information of, participate in and supervise the work of people's courts according to law.

Chapter II   Establishment, Functions and Powers

Article 12  People's courts are divided into:

(1) the Supreme People's Court;

(2) local people's courts at various levels; and

(3) special people's courts.

Article 13  Local people's courts at various levels are divided into high people's courts, intermediate people’s courts and primary people's courts.

Article 14  The organization, jurisdiction and appointment and removal of judges of people’s courts in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps shall be determined in accordance with relevant regulations of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 15  Special people's courts include military courts as well as maritime courts, intellectual property courts and financial courts.

The establishment, organization, functions and powers of special people's courts and the appointment and removal of judges thereof shall be regulated by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 16  The Supreme People's Court hears the following cases:

(1) first instance cases falling under its jurisdiction in accordance with law or being considered under its jurisdiction by itself;

(2) appeals and protests against judgments and rulings of high people's courts;

(3) appeals and protests filed in accordance with the regulations of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress;

(4) re-opened cases filed in accordance with the adjudication supervision procedures; and

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

Article 17  Except for the death penalty imposed by the Supreme People's Court according to law, death penalty judgments shall be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for review.

Article 18  The Supreme People's Court may interpret the law in response to issues arising from the specific application of law in adjudicative work.

The Supreme People's Court may release guiding cases.

Article 19  The Supreme People's Court may set up circuit courts to hear cases that the Supreme People's Court determines to adjudicate according to law.

The circuit courts are an integral part of the Supreme People's Court. The judgments and rulings of the circuit courts are the judgments and rulings of the Supreme People's Court.

Article 20  High people's courts include:

(1) provincial high people's courts;

(2) high people's courts of autonomous regions; and

(3) high people's courts of municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 21 High people's courts shall hear the following cases:

(1) first instance cases falling under their jurisdictions in accordance with law;

(2) first instance cases submitted by people's courts at lower levels for adjudication;

(3) first instance cases designated by the Supreme People's Court;

(4) appeals and protests against judgments and rulings of intermediate people’s courts;

(5) re-opened cases filed in accordance with adjudication supervision procedures; and

(6) death penalty cases submitted by the intermediate people’s courts for review.

Article 22  Intermediate people’s courts include:

(1) intermediate people’s courts of municipalities directly under provincial and autonomous region governments;

(2) intermediate people’s courts established in municipalities directly under the Central Government;

(3) intermediate people’s courts of autonomous prefectures; and

(4) intermediate people’s courts established in provinces and autonomous regions based on prefectures.

Article 23  Intermediate people’s courts hear the following cases:

(1) first instance cases falling under their jurisdictions in accordance with law;

(2) first instance cases submitted by primary people's courts for adjudication;

(3) first instance cases designated by people's courts at higher levels;

(4) appeals and protests against judgments and rulings of the primary people's courts; and

(5) re-opened cases filed in accordance with the adjudication supervision procedures.

Article 24  Primary people's courts include:

(1) people's courts of counties and autonomous counties;

(2) people's courts of cities not divided into districts; and

(3) people's courts of municipal districts.

Article 25  Primary people's courts shall hear first instance cases, unless otherwise provided by law.

Primary people's courts shall provide professional guidance to people's mediation committees regarding their mediation work.

Article 26  Primary people's courts may establish dispatched people's tribunals according to their local situations, population size and caseloads.

Dispatched people's tribunals are an integral part of the primary people's courts. The judgments and rulings of dispatched people's tribunals are the judgments and rulings of primary people's courts.

Article 27  People's courts may, according to the needs of adjudicative work, set up necessary specialized divisions. Intermediate people’s courts and primary people's courts with a limited number of judge posts may set up comprehensive divisions or decide not to establish divisions.

People's courts may set up comprehensive functional bodies according to the needs of adjudicative work. Intermediate people’s courts and primary people's courts with a limited number of judge posts may decide not to establish comprehensive functional bodies.

Article 28  A people's court may, according to the needs of its work, set up necessary adjudication supporting bodies and administrative bodies.

Chapter III  Adjudication Organization

Article 29  A people's court shall hear a case by  a collegial bench or a single judge.

The scope of cases to be heard by a collegial bench or a single judge shall be prescribed by law.

Article 30  A collegial bench shall be composed of judges or both judges and people's assessors, which shall have an odd number of three or more members.

A collegial bench shall have one judge as the presiding judge. When participating in the hearing, the president of the court or the chief judge of a division shall serve as the presiding judge.

The presiding judge shall preside over court hearings and organize the deliberation, and shall have equal rights with other members of the collegial bench in the deliberation.

Article 31 A collegial bench shall make a decision according to the opinions of the majority; the opinions of the minority shall be transcribed in the record. The record of the deliberation shall be signed by all members of the collegial bench.

Article 32 The adjudicative documents created by a collegial bench or a single judge upon hearing a case shall be signed by the members of the bench or the single judge and issued by the people's court.

Article 33  When a collegial bench hears a case, the judges shall be accountable for the fact-finding and application of law in the case; when a single judge hears the case, he shall be accountable for the fact-finding and application of law in the case.

People's courts shall strengthen internal supervision. In case of violations of law in adjudicative activities, people’s courts shall promptly investigate and verify the violations and deal with them based on their circumstances according to law.

Article 34  People's assessors shall hear a case as members of a collegial bench in accordance with the law.

Article 35  A people's court at the intermediate level and above shall set up a state compensation committee to hear cases of state compensation according to law.

A state compensation committee shall be composed of an odd number of three or more judges and shall make a decision according to the opinions of the majority.

Article 36  People's courts at all levels shall set up adjudication committees. An adjudication committee shall be composed of the court president, vice-presidents and senior judges, and shall have an odd number of members.

The adjudication committee meetings are divided into plenary meetings and specialized committee meetings.

Based on the needs of adjudicative work, people's courts at the intermediate level and above may hold specialized committee meetings for matters such as criminal adjudication, civil and administrative adjudication in accordance with the specialization and work division of the members of the adjudication committee.

Article 37 An adjudication committee shall perform the following functions:

(1) summing up adjudication experience;

(2) discussing and deciding on the application of law in major, difficult or complicated cases;

(3) discussing and deciding whether a case with a legally effective judgment, ruling or settlement paper of the court shall be re-opened; and

(4) discussing and deciding other major issues related to the adjudicative work.

The Supreme People's Court's interpretation of law in response to issues arising from the specific application of law in adjudicative work shall be discussed and approved by its adjudication committee at its plenary meetings. The release of guiding cases may be discussed and approved at the specialized committee meetings.

Article 38  An adjudication committee shall have more than half of the members present to hold plenary meetings and meetings of specialized committees.

A meeting of an adjudication committee shall be presided over by the court president or the vice-president entrusted by the court president. The adjudication committee shall practice democratic centralism.

When an adjudication committee meets, the Procurator-General (the chief procurator) of the people's procurotarate at the same level or a Deputy Procurator-General (deputy chief procurator) entrusted by the Procurator-General (the chief procurator) may attend the meetings without voting right.

Article 39  If a collegial bench considers that a case needs to be submitted to the adjudication committee for discussion and decision, the presiding judge shall apply to the court president for approval.

The collegial bench shall be accountable for the facts presented to the adjudication committee for discussion; the members of the adjudication committee shall be accountable for their own opinions and votes. The collegial bench shall implement the decision of the adjudication committee.

The decision of the adjudication committee following discussion of the case and the reasons for such decision shall be made public in the adjudicative documents, except where the law provides otherwise.

Chapter IV  Personnel

Article 40  The adjudicating personnel of people's courts shall be composed of, inter alia, the president, vice-presidents, members of the adjudication committee, and adjudicators.

Article 41  The president of the people's court shall be responsible for the overall work of the court, supervise the adjudicative work and manage the administrative affairs. Vice-presidents of the people's court shall assist the president in his work.

Article 42  The President of the Supreme People's Court shall be elected by the National People's Congress; the vice-presidents, members of the adjudication committee, chief judges of division, deputy chief judges of division, and adjudicators shall be appointed and removed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress upon request of the President.

The chief judge and deputy chief judges of a circuit court of the Supreme People's Court shall be appointed and removed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress upon request of the President of the Supreme People's Court.

Article 43 The president of a local people's court shall be elected by the people's congress at the corresponding level. Vice-presidents, members of the adjudication committee, chief judges of division, deputy chief judges of division and adjudicators shall be appointed and removed by the standing committee of the people's congress at the corresponding level upon request by the president.

The president of an intermediate people’s court established in a province or an autonomous region based on prefectural areas and of an intermediate people’s court established in a municipality directly under the Central Government shall be appointed and removed by the standing committee of the people's congress of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, in accordance with the nomination of the council of chairpersons. Vice-presidents, members of the adjudication committee, chief judges of division, deputy chief judges of division and adjudicators shall be appointed and removed by the standing committee of the people's congress of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government upon the request of the president of the high people's court.

Article 44  The term of office of the president of a people's court shall be the same as that of the people's congress at which he is elected.

The people's congresses at various levels have the power to remove the presidents of the people's courts elected by them. When a local people's congress is not in session, if its standing committee considers that the president of the people's court needs to be replaced, it shall report to the standing committee of the people's congress at the next higher level for approval.

Article 45  Judges, adjudication assistants and judicial administrative staff of people’s courts shall be managed by category.

Article 46  Judges are subject to staff quota management. The number of posts for judges is determined according to the caseload, the economic and social development, the population size and the level of the people's court.

The number of judge posts of the Supreme People's Court shall be determined by the Supreme People's Court in consultation with relevant departments. The number of judge posts in a local people's court is subject to the upper limit of the number of staffing and dynamic management within each province, autonomous region and municipality directly under the Central Government.

Article 47  Judges shall be appointed from among persons who have obtained legal professional qualifications and met other conditions prescribed by law. Judges serving their first post shall be examined by the Judge Selection Committee for their professional competence. Judges of people’s courts at higher levels shall be selected from among judges of people’s courts at lower levels based on merit generally.

A president shall have professional legal knowledge and experience of legal practice. Vice-presidents and members of the adjudication committee shall be selected from among judges, procurators or other persons who meet the requirements of judges and procurators.

The duties, management and professional support of judges shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of the Judges Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 48  Judge assistants of people’s courts shall, under the guidance of judges, be responsible for examining case materials, drafting legal documents and other matters supporting adjudication.

A judge assistant who meets the qualifications of a judge may be appointed as a judge after selection according to the appointment and removal procedure of judges.

Article 49 The clerks of people's courts shall be responsible for recording court hearings and other matters supporting adjudication.

Article 50  The judicial police of people’s courts shall be responsible for policing activities such as court security, suspect escort and custody services.

Judicial police are administered in accordance with the People's Police Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 51  People's courts may, according to the needs of the adjudicative work, establish posts of judicial technicians to be responsible for matters related to the adjudicative work.

Chapter V  Supporting Measures for Exercising Functions and Powers

Article 52  No entity or individual may require a judge to engage in matters beyond the scope of his statutory duties.

Where any leader or official interferes in judicial activities or the handling of a specific case, or if the internal personnel of a people's court intervene in a case, the persons handling the case shall fully and truthfully record and report on such interference. In case of violations of law and discipline, the relevant organ shall hold the violator accountable according to the circumstances of the case.

Article 53  An obligor shall perform, according to law, obligations under effective legal documents such as judgments and rulings made by a people's court. The obligor shall be held liable according to law for failure to perform such obligations.

Article 54 People’s courts must take necessary measures to maintain court order and judicial authority. Whoever conduct criminal and other illegal acts that hinder people’s courts from exercising functions and powers according to law shall be held liable according to law.

Article 55  People’s courts shall implement a training system, whereby judges, adjudication assistants and judicial administrative staff shall receive theoretical and practical training.

Article 56  The staffing of people's courts shall be subject to separate management.

Article 57  The expenditure of people's courts shall be included in the government budget according to the principle for division of duties and powers to satisfy the needs of adjudicative work.

Article 58 People's courts shall strengthen their digitalization via information technology to promote judicial transparency and improve efficiency.

Chapter VI  Supplementary Provision

Article 59 This Law shall come into force on January 1, 2019.