The Judicial System of China

Grounded in both English- and Chinese-language sources, The Judicial System of China is a systematic study of Chinese courts after Xi Jinping took power and thoroughly reformed its judiciary. It draws upon extensive empirical scholarship in both Chinese and English languages, complementing it with fresh research based on court statistics, public opinion polling, and interviews with judges, lawyers, and litigants. The book addresses a range of timely subjects, including how Chinese courts have come to their present shape, how decisions are made on civil, criminal, and administrative cases, and what explains the behaviour of the judges. It documents not only the institutional rules, but also the behavioral patterns of the judges and other players revolving around the courts.

This book presents a governance model for understanding the operation of the Chinese court system. The courts have two overarching characteristics under this model: supporting the state’s goals of policy implementation and legitimacy enhancement. The various policies that the courts are tasked with implementing and the approaches the courts use for enhancing the judiciary’s legitimacy--and by extension, that of the state--have played key roles in the courts’ evolution. The model sheds light on the rationales that have underlain the changes in the system over time.

Engaging extensively with the literature in law and politics, law and society, and institutional economics, The Judicial System of China provides readers with a deeper understanding of the inner workings and day-to-day realities of the Chinese judicial system.

Xin He, Professor, The University of Hong Kong

Xin He is a professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. He obtained his LL.B. from Peking University, China, and his J.S.D. degrees from Stanford University. His monograph Embedded Courts: Judicial Decision Making in China with Kwai Ng (Cambridge University Press 2017) won multiple book awards. His most recent book is Divorce in China: Institutional Constraints and Gendered Outcomes (NYU Press, 2021). His research interests include Law and Society and Chinese Legal Systems.