Judicial System & Supreme People's Court (最高人民法院)

China's judicial system is headed by the Supreme People's Court (最高人民法院, SPC), which issues binding judicial interpretations, publishes guiding cases, and oversees a four-tier court system. The SPC's pronouncements are critical for understanding how Chinese law is applied in practice.

Official SPC Resources

English-Language (english.court.gov.cn)

• SPC English Portal — official English-language website
• Cases — translated Guiding Cases and Typical Cases
• Laws & Rules — judicial interpretations in English
• White Papers — annual thematic reports
• Reports — SPC annual work reports
• Gazettes — official court bulletins
• Guiding Cases (full compilation) — downloadable Word document of all Guiding Cases in English
• Foreign-Related Trials — cases involving foreign parties
• Statistics — judicial statistics and data

Chinese-Language (court.gov.cn)

• SPC Main Portal — 最高人民法院 official website
• Judicial Interpretations Database — 司法解释 full archive
• Guiding Cases — 指导性案例 in Chinese (originals)
• Typical Cases — 典型案例 thematic selections
• SPC Gazette — 最高人民法院公报

Court Judgment Database

• China Judgments Online (裁判文书网) — 130M+ court judgments from all levels (Chinese only, access restrictions since 2021)
• People's Court Case Database (人民法院案例库) — new curated case database launched February 2024, with reference cases organized by legal topic

Academic & Third-Party Resources

• China Guiding Cases Project (CGCP) — Stanford Law School, translated Guiding Cases with annotations
• Supreme People's Court Monitor — English-language blog tracking SPC developments
• China Law Translate — independent translations of Chinese laws and judicial interpretations
• LawInfoChina — commercial database with English translations

Key Concepts

Guiding Cases (指导性案例)

Guiding Cases are published by the SPC and are binding on all courts — judges must refer to them when adjudicating similar cases. Over 260 have been issued since the system began in 2010, released in batches. They carry quasi-precedential weight in China's civil law system.

Judicial Interpretations (司法解释)

Judicial interpretations issued by the SPC have the force of law and are the primary mechanism for clarifying statutory provisions. They are cited alongside legislation in court judgments. Examples on this site include the SPC Draft Interpretation of the Company Law.

Typical Cases (典型案例)

Typical Cases are selected by the SPC to illustrate proper application of law in specific areas. While not formally binding like Guiding Cases, they are highly influential and widely followed by lower courts.