1. Introduction

The Supreme People's Court is the highest judicial organ in China and is responsible to the NPC and its Standing Committee.

It independently exercises the highest judicial right according to the law and without any interruption by administrative organs, social organizations or individuals. Its structure comprises a judicial committee, or the highest judicial organization, and courts or the No.1 Criminal Tribunal, the No.2 Criminal Tribunal, the Civil Tribunal, the Economic Tribunal, the Administrative Tribunal, the Complaint and Appeal Tribunal and the Communication and Transportation Tribunal.

1. Responsibilities:

According to the Constitution and statutes, the Supreme People's Court is charged with three responsibilities:

First, trying cases that have the greatest influence in China, hearing appeals against the legal decisions of higher courts, and trying the cases the Supreme People's Court claims are within its original jurisdiction.

Second, supervising the work of local courts and special courts at every level, overruling wrong judgements they might have made, and deciding interrogations and reviewing cases tried by the lower courts.

Third, giving judicial explanations of the specific utilization of laws in the judicial process that must be carried out nationwide.