Supreme People's Court Circuit Court Opens in Shenzhen, with Effect Equivalent to Supreme Court, Both Being Final Judgments

The first circuit court of the Supreme People's Court will be officially inaugurated in Shenzhen on the morning of January 28. According to the pilot plan approved by the central authorities, the first and second circuit courts of the Supreme People's Court will be located in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, and Shenyang, Liaoning Province, respectively. Both circuit courts will begin accepting and hearing cases early this year. It is also learned that after the inauguration of the Shenzhen circuit court, the second circuit court of the Supreme People's Court will be officially inaugurated in Shenyang at the end of this month.

The circuit court is equivalent to the Supreme People's Court in terms of trial level.

It is reported that the First Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court will be officially inaugurated in Shenzhen on the morning of January 28. According to the central government's plan, the circuit court established in Shenzhen will have jurisdiction over cases from Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan provinces. The circuit courts set up by the Supreme People's Court function as dispatched agencies of the Supreme People's Court and are equivalent to the Supreme People's Court in terms of trial level. The rulings of the circuit courts have the same legal effect as those of the Supreme People's Court, and both are final judgments.

"Looking at the court system nationwide, Guangdong handles a relatively large proportion of China's total civil, commercial, and criminal cases each year, and many of these cases are complex or of a new type. Shenzhen itself is a pilot site for our judicial reform, with a solid foundation, and its reform and innovation span multiple areas, including economic structural reform, consistently keeping it at the forefront of the country." Cheng Lei, deputy director of the Research Center for Litigation System and Judicial Reform at Renmin University of China, said in an earlier interview with a Beijing Youth Daily reporter.

The two circuit court presidents have already been confirmed.

According to media reports, in terms of staffing, each circuit court will have one chief judge, two deputy chief judges, eight presiding judges, and several staff members, with some clerks to be selected from local courts. At the end of last year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress approved the appointments and removals of the two chief judges of the circuit courts, assigning important roles to Liu Guixiang and Hu Yunteng, both of whom are deputy-ministerial-level full-time members of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court.

The circuit courts can help shift the focus of judicial authorities downward.

"In recent years, the Supreme People's Court has accepted an increasing number of cases, with the number of cases heard exceeding 10,000 per year for several consecutive years. The pressure on judges to handle cases is immense, which is not conducive to the Supreme People's Court fully leveraging its functions of guiding and supervising the judicial work of courts nationwide." Hu Yunteng, appointed as the president of the Second Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court, said in an interview with the People's Daily, "At the same time, as cases are brought to the Supreme People's Court for trial, local conflicts, disputes, and unstable factors are also brought to Beijing."

Sun Jungong, spokesperson for the Supreme People's Court, pointed out that the establishment of circuit courts by the Supreme People's Court aims to shift the focus of judicial authorities downward, resolve disputes locally, and facilitate litigation for parties. This will help the headquarters of the Supreme People's Court concentrate on formulating judicial policies and judicial interpretations, as well as hearing cases that have significant guiding importance for the uniform application of law.

I'm ready to help translate your Chinese legal content into professional English for the Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm website. Please provide the Chinese text you'd like me to translate.The Supreme People's Court's Second Circuit Court will be inaugurated in Shenyang at the end of January.

According to the pilot plan approved by the central government, the First and Second Circuit Courts of the Supreme People's Court will be located in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, and Shenyang, Liaoning Province, respectively. Both circuit courts will begin accepting and hearing cases early this year. It is also reported that after the Shenzhen Circuit Court is inaugurated, the Second Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court will be officially inaugurated in Shenyang at the end of this month.

(Beijing Youth Daily)