The rule of law is the fundamental principle for the governance of a country, while the judiciary functions as one cornerstone. Comprehensively deepening judicial reform has significant and profound implications for improving and developing the judicial system under Socialism with Chinese Characteristics while promoting the modernization of China’s governance system and capacity. Since 2013, the people’s courts, deep-rooted in the Chinese context and keeping pace with the times, have been striving to ensure people experience fairness and justice in each individual case, and comprehensively deepening judicial reform with unswerving determination. After a decade of persistent efforts, the people’s courts have developed adjudication and enforcement capacity in all aspects, holistically elevated judicial efficiency, competency, credibility, and vigorously contributed to the promotion of the Peaceful China initiative, Rule of Law in China, and the developments of the Party and the country. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China ("CPC") fully recognized the achievements of judicial reform, while drew up a blueprint for the incoming reform. (Judicial Reform of Chinese Courts（2013-2022) Preface, p. 71) [前 言: 法治是治国理政的基本方式，司法是法治体系的重要基石。全面 深化司法改革，对于完善和发展中国特色社会主义司法制度、促进国 家治理体系和治理能力现代化，具有重大而深远的意义。2013 年以来，在以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚强领导下，中国法院坚持以习近平 新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，深入贯彻习近平法治思想，牢 牢坚持党对司法工作的绝对领导，始终立足中国国情，把握时代脉搏，紧紧围绕“努力让人民群众在每一个司法案件中感受到公平正义”目标，坚定不移全面深化司法改革。经过十年的不懈努力，人民法院审判执行工作全方位发展，司法质量、效率和公信力全面提升，为推动建设更高水平的平安中国、法治中国，服务党和国家事业发展作出积极贡献。中国共产党第二十次全国代表大会充分肯定了司法体制改革成效，对加快建设公正高效权威的社会主义司法制度作出重大部署，擘画了下一步改革的蓝图。]
So begins the quite fascinating report on the Judicial Reform of Chinese Courts（2013-2022), distributed in both the original Chinese and an authorized English translation. And indeed, given the ambitions for Chinese courts as the central element of a system of transnational dispute resolution radiating outward from the Chinese heartland through its silk roads and beyond, it makes perfect sense that these reforms are crafted, and announced, not merely as a Chinese but as a transnational project. Its table of contents suggests its breadth:
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The Report and its recommendations merit considerable study. Among the more interesting aspects are the maturing of a Chinese style system of interpretive uniformity (in contradistinction to stare decisis and related judicial mechanisms); the development of the so-called internet judiciary; and and the role of case disciplinary mechanism through solidarity building structures. Most interesting for me is the role of social credit style (data driven accountability and nudging) measures that are being tested and then rolled out nationally. In that respect, the Report suggests its scope this way:
Improving Judicial Performance Evaluation. The SPC issued the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening and Improving Judge Performance Evaluation, according to which people’s courts at all levels set up committees for judge performance evaluation. The opinions also differentiate the indicators based on the functions of the four-tier people’s courts so that judges receive scientific assessments and stimulation for self-improvement. The people’s courts have clarified that bonus distribution shall be based on factors including responsibilities fulfilled, work quality, case quantity and difficulty, and shall prefer judges who assume case-handling duties. The High People’s Court of Jiangsu Province established the performance assessment system with nearly 100 weighting indicators. With it coming into force, the number of cases concluded in the first quarter of 2021 increased by 44.54% compared to the same period in 2019. (Ibid., p. 87)
The (Judicial Reform of Chinese Courts（2013-2022) may be accessed in both languages by clicking on the link provided. The Report's Chapter X "Improving the Systems and Mechanisms for Judiciary to
Serve and Guarantee National Developments"(in English, pp.142-147), follows below. That merits merits special consideration.
X. Improving the Systems and Mechanisms for Judiciary toServe and Guarantee National Developments
The people’s courts aim to safeguard the state’s political security, ensure
overall social stability, uphold fairness and justice, and guarantee that
the people live and work in peace and contentment. People’s courts at all
levels, via deepened judicial reform and strengthened adjudication and
enforcement, make contributions to the overall developments of the country
from diversified perspectives, including forming the new development
paradigm, to create a more stable, fair, transparent and predictable legal
business environment, to advance high-quality development, and to back the
implementation of major national development strategies.
Improving the Mechanisms to Serve and Safeguard Major National
Strategies. The SPC has proactively introduced a series of judicial policies
to serve regional development strategies, including the Hebei Xiong’an
New Area, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Greater Bay Area, Pilot
Free Trade Zones, the Hainan Free Trade Port, and the Chengdu-Chongqing
Economic Circle. The SPC has also issued opinions on providing judicial
safeguards for the Belt and Road Initiative, the Yangtze River Economic
Belt, the Strategy of Pushing Forward the Rural Vitalization in an All-round
Way and other development plans. The SPC has innovated its collaboration
mechanism to ensure the people’s courts respond to economic and social
utilization of judicial policy instruments, including reform planning, guiding
opinions, judicial interpretations, and guiding cases.
In June 2018, the SPC set up the First and the Second International
Commercial Courts in Shenzhen and Xi’an, with procedural rules and other
supporting documents applied to them. In September 2018, the International
Commercial Expert Committee of the SPC was established. The Committee
has appointed 52 Chinese and foreign experts and functions as a think
tank in international commercial dispute resolution. In July 2021, the SPC
completed the construction of the “One-stop” Diversified International
Commercial Dispute Resolution Platform. With the incorporation of China
International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and other
international commercial dispute arbitration and mediation institutions,
the Platform enhanced the connection among international commercial
litigation, arbitration and mediation, and thus provided updated resolution
mechanisms for disputes emerging under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Serving the Establishment of a Market-based International Business
Environment Governed by Law. To optimize the business environment
is one significant end of people’s courts’ reform. With measures adopted
to ensure proper application of the law in adjudication and enforcement,
people’s courts have safeguarded the consistency of market rules and
the maintenance of transaction order, provided equal protection to both
domestic and foreign entities, emphasized the public sense of rule-of-law,
maintained the spirit of the contract, and have striven to support open-up at a
higher level. To build a unified national market and to improve the business
environment, the SPC has issued a series of judicial policy documents, and
published relevant typical cases which guided lower courts to play respective
roles in establishing a credit-driven and law-governed-based economy. In
this regard, the SPC also took measures to strengthen the judicial protection
over property rights, to punish the crimes targeting entrepreneurs’ personal
safety and property rights according to the law, to restrict monopoly and
unfair competition practices, and to enhance equal protection to all market
participants further. The SPC published 3 sets of typical cases regarding the
protection of entrepreneurs’ rights and interests. Furthermore, the SPC also
strove to optimize the mechanisms for business rescue and market exit of
debtors and to promote the specialization of bankruptcy procedures. Since
2016, more than 100 people’s courts have established specialized bankruptcy
divisions, enabling centralized, efficient and just handling of bankruptcy
cases. With the SPC’s support and guidance, Shenzhen pioneered China’s
personal bankruptcy system and launched the pilot scheme. Three out of
eight China reforms specified in the Doing Business 2020 report of the
World Bank were undertaken by the SPC. In particular, regarding the
quality of the judicial procedure, one of the indicators concerning contract
enforcement, China scored 16.5 out of 18 and ranked 1st with contributions
made mainly by the people’s courts.
Engaging in the Coordination between Pandemic Prevention and Socio-
Economic Development. To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the people’s
courts have utilized the Online Litigation Platform, the Online Meditation
Platform, the People’s Court Mobile Service, and other digital platforms
to actively explore remote court hearings and provide persistent litigation
services. Meanwhile, the people’s courts have tried a series of pandemic-
related criminal cases, and published typical criminal cases involving
medical issues to impose severe punishments for the disruption of medical
care and pandemic prevention. In 2020, the SPC promulgated a series of
judicial policies on civil cases involving the COVID-19 pandemic, including
the Guiding Opinions on Civil Cases Involving the COVID-19 Pandemic in
Accordance with the Law. These judicial policies helped to instruct lower
courts to strengthen actions responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and
provide guiding opinions concerning major issues in civil and commercial
disputes arising out of the pandemic. The issues involved include but are
not limited to the breach of contracts, debt defaults, corporate insolvency
and such that effectively resolved businesses can be revitalized, and socio-
economic developments can be sustained.
Serving the Innovation-Driven Development. In November 2017,
the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms
approved the Opinions on Several Issues concerning Strengthening
Reform and Innovation in the Field of Intellectual Property Adjudication.
The Opinions aimed to improve the mechanism for validity proceedings and
evidence rules that are both tailored for the characteristics of intellectual
property adjudication and to establish a mechanism for damages which
reflects the reasonable value of the infringed intellectual property. To provide
strict protection for inventions and scientific and technological innovations,
the SPC promulgated guiding opinions and issued judicial interpretations
on properly handling administrative cases involving rejecting and revoking
patents and patent infringement disputes. To safeguard people’s lives and
health, the SPC implemented the patent linkage system of medicine. By
adequately handling a series of cases involving cutting-edge innovations,
including 5G, bio-pharmaceuticals, high-end equipment manufacturing,
new material, and new energy, the SPC provided strong protection for
an incentive to innovations, thus benefiting the upgrade of technologies
and industries. Meanwhile, the SPC correctly applied the Scientific and
Technological Progress Law of the People’s Republic of China and the
Promoting the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements
Law of the People’s Republic of China, and properly handled innovation-
related disputes over-identification of inventors, transfer of rights, evaluation
of IP and distribution of benefits, as well as employee-inventors’ right and
interests in accordance with the law. Regarding agricultural technology
achievements, the SPC strengthened the protection by formulating judicial
interpretations on cases involving the rights of new varieties of plants
and placing more emphasis on germplasm protection. The Intellectual
Property Tribunal of the SPC, along with 4 IP courts, concluded a series
of significant IP cases that clarified adjudication rules with global impact.
These cases effectively protected the intellectual property rights of China’s
core technologies in key fields, maintained competition order in emerging
industries, and thus promoted innovation-driven development.
Improving Judicial Mechanisms for the Protection of the Ecology,
the Environment, and Natural Resources. The SPC strove to build a
judicial protection mechanism for the ecology, the environment, and natural
resources with Chinese characteristics and international influence. It put great
efforts into providing reliable judicial protection for the commonwealth,
the prosperity of the nation, and the construction of a beautiful China, as
well as safeguarding the ecology and environmental interests of the state,
the public, and the people. Under such mechanisms, the SPC guided courts
at all levels to handle relevant cases and engage in international exchanges and
cooperation. In 2021, courts nationwide concluded approximately 265,000 first-
instance environmental and natural resources cases. The SPC issued judicial
interpretations to impose punitive damages and injunctions on ecological
infringements and implemented the principle, implemented “Whoever Pollutes
Shall Restore, Whoever Damages Shall Compensate”, and explored establishing
a mechanism for ecological damages in public interest litigation to be collected
into the specified fund. As required by the pilot reform on the ecological
damages system, the SPC actively explored adjudication rules on EENR
litigation initiated by provincial governments. Courts in Jiangsu, Jiangxi and
other provinces entrusted third-party supervision over funds for ecological
restoration to ensure exclusive expenditure. Fujian courts carried out
alternative restoration measures such as subscribing to the “Carbon Sink”,
which effectively contributed to carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Qinghai
courts established ecological tribunals in the Sanjiangyuan (the source of the
Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers), Qilian Mountain and Qinghai Lake to
jointly protect the “the Water Tower of China”
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