The Power of the Supreme People’s Court

Abstract

This book explores the recent development of the Supreme People’s Court of China (the Court), seeking to achieve a thorough understanding of the world’s largest highest court that has so far remained largely obscure. Recognizing that the Court’s approach to exercising power in an authoritarian context has to a great extent challenged the Western understanding of judicial power in both democratic and non-democratic legal settings, this book intends to capture the essence of the Court through its institutional design as well as functional practice. It argues that regardless of the deep-seated political and institutional constraints, the Court has demonstrated a highly pragmatic interest in fulfilling its primary functions and prudently expanding judicial power in the era of transformation. Nevertheless, the Court’s incompetence and reluctance to challenge the bureaucratism and politicization suggests that the call for an impartial and authoritative judicial power would continue to be placed in jeopardy as long as the Court remains to operate in the shadow of the Party authority and lacks meaningful checks and balances at the institutional front. Drawing from the experience of the Court, this book eventually reflects on some deep-rooted misunderstandings of the legal development in China, providing a source of inspiration for reconceptualizing the internal logic of a distinct category of judicial power beyond the core Western democracies.