The People's Republic of China's legal system is rooted in both civil law and socialist legal traditions. The supreme law of the land is the 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China. The highest legislative body, the National People's Congress (NPC), is responsible for adopting laws, amending the constitution, and overseeing the government. The court system in China is hierarchical, consisting of four levels: basic, intermediate, high, and the Supreme People's Court (SPC). The SPC serves as the highest authority for interpreting laws and reviewing major cases.
Various legal codes cover areas such as criminal law, civil law, administrative law, and commercial law, outlining the rights and responsibilities of individuals and organizations. The legal profession in China includes judges, who are appointed by the government, and lawyers, who must pass a bar exam to obtain a license. The criminal justice system focuses on investigation, prosecution, and punishment, with the Public Security Bureau in charge of law enforcement and the Procuratorate responsible for prosecution.
Efforts to reform the legal system include enhancing judicial independence, promoting transparency, and strengthening intellectual property rights protection. However, the Chinese Communist Party's leadership continues to play a significant role in shaping and influencing legal decisions within the framework of the legal system.
The National People's Congress of The People's Republic of China
The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China, the highest court of the People's Republic of China
Since China adopts a civil law system, the use of case law is not based under such adoption. Thus, law reports and its reporting system is not available in the country.
Yet, selected cases or significant judgments will be reported in gazettes of the Supreme People’s Court of PRC, Supreme People’s Procuratorate and Collection of China’s Judgments (人民法院案例選). Reporting of cases and the Collections are also published by various commercial publisher, such as Law Press China (法律出版社).
You may use the below search terms in Advance Search under FIND@HKUL to look for titles under the HKU Libraries’ collection.
Gazettes (國家公告) published by different government departments or agencies of the PRC can be found in HKU Libraries’ Collection. Below are some key titles:
Call Number: 法期322 163 / [法] KNQ2514.A15 Z47
目錄索引Table of contents
The main official source providing the text of laws, regulations and other enactments or decisions passed by the NPC or its Standing Committee; published irregularly.
Call Number: 法期322 165
目錄索引Table of contents
索引Index: 中華人民共和國國務院公報. 1954-1990 總目
Provides texts of enactments of the NPC and its Standing Committee, administrative regulations enacted by the State Council, and selected guizhang (規章) made by State Council departments; 3 issues monthly, with table of contents in English.
Call Number: 法期322 1633
Contains selected documents of judicial interpretation, case summaries, and information about current developments in court system; published monthly.
Call Number: 法期322 164
Contains judicial interpretation documents and instructions of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, speeches and reports relating to procuratorial work, and selected case summaries; published irregularly.
Call Number: 法期343 16
Call Number: 法期343.2104 14
Call Number: 法期332.6 14
中國裁判文書網 China Judgments Online
Maintained by the Supreme People’s Court of PRC (中華人民共和國最高人民法院), this platform serves as the largest collection of judgments made from Chinese courts in the country, with cases available starting from 2013. Searches can be done by categories of judgments with keywords, or filtered by the court of states. Access to various Information Disclosure Websites (信息公開網), such as China’s Enforcement Information Disclosure Website (中國審判流程信息公開網), can be located at the bottom navigation menu.
To view search results and full text of the judgments, registration is required with your phone number.
*Please note that all judgment are reported in Simplified Chinese. Official English translations of judgments are not available.
Supported by the Supreme People’s Court of PRC and the State Council Information Office (國務院新聞辦公室), the China Courts website offers comprehensive collection of Chinese legal resources and materials, and news to the general public.
*Please note that all judgment are reported in Simplified Chinese. Official English translations of judgments are not available.
中國庭審公開網 China Court Trial Online
Authorised by the Supreme People’s Court of PRC, the China Court Trial Online provides live streaming of court trials, with recordings of the trials from the last 6 months available for looking back on. Searching can be done by case name, case number or judges’ name, with filtering of type of case and court of delivery.
*Please note that all judgment are reported in Simplified Chinese. Official English translations of judgments are not available.
The National Database of Laws and Regulations was launched in February 2021, with its aim to facilitate access of legal services by the general public. All PRC laws, judicial documents, regulations of different states and other relevant information can be obtained via this site.
Being the highest legislative body in the country, content of documents on the recent annual sessions held by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (全国人大常委会) can be found on this website, regarding updates on legislative decisions made by the committee. Availability of content start from 2018 to the present. Chinese version of the site was originated in 2005, while English version was launched in 2006.
中华人民共和国国务院公报
This Gazette published by the State Council of the PRC concerns all legislative decisions and orders announced by the Council, with legal notices and updates. This site offers an archival collection with a table of contents of the Gazettes dating back to 1954 till the present.
Originated in 1985, this Gazette is published by the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC and regarded as an important publication on judicial information by the Court. A full archive of table of contents can be found on this site.
最高人民检察院公报
Published by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the PRC, this Gazette offers latest updates on decisions made by the unit, including regular work reviews, list of appointments, etc. Index of the title can be found on this site, dating back to 2010.
Asian Legal Information Institute (AsianLII)
To promote free access of legal information to the general public, AsianLII offers consolidated materials related to Chinese law under different categories, in which most content is openly accessible.
Sponsored by the Academy for the Rule of Law at China University of Political Science and Law, this site is created and maintained by researchers at China University of Political Science and Law, committed to offer latest updates on the Chinese judicial system. Contents can be filtered by different tags added to the materials.
Serves to promote the free access of legal information by the general public, consolidated information on Chinese Law and its regulations can be found here, which helps to direct you to the corresponding site for accessing of the desired information.
Access path: WorldLII > Catalog > All Categories > Countries > China