Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 14

The CPC Central Committee's Opinions on Strengthening Judicial Work in the New Era

(February 8, 2025)

The People's Court is the state’s judicial organ, entrusted with the vital functions of punishing crime, protecting the people, resolving disputes, and upholding justice. To strengthen judicial work in the new era and accelerate the development of a fair, efficient, and authoritative socialist judicial system, the following guidelines are hereby proposed.

I. General Requirements

Uphold Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guiding principle, deeply implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee, and comprehensively apply Xi Jinping’s thought on the rule of law. We must profoundly grasp the decisive significance of "two establishments," strengthen our "four consciousnesses," firmly uphold "four confidences," and ensure "two safeguards." We will steadfastly uphold the leadership of the Party, remain people-centered, adhere to the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and consistently exercise judicial power independently and impartially in accordance with the law. Guided by the goal of promoting social fairness and justice and enhancing the well-being of the people, we will rigorously enforce justice with integrity, deepen judicial system reforms, build a highly competent judiciary, and further refine the socialist rule-of-law framework with Chinese characteristics. In doing so, we will deliver robust judicial services and safeguards to powerfully support the comprehensive advancement of China's modernization and the great cause of national rejuvenation and prosperity.

II. Uphold and Strengthen the Party's Leadership over Judicial Work

(1) Firmly implement the Party Central Committee’s guiding principles, policies, and strategic decisions regarding judicial work. We will resolutely uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership, refine mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of major decisions and deployments from the Party Central Committee within judicial institutions, and strictly enforce the system for reporting and seeking instructions on significant matters. This will guarantee that the Party’s theories, lines, principles, and policies—as well as national laws—are accurately and efficiently applied in judicial proceedings. Party committees at all levels must strengthen their leadership over judicial work, regularly review progress reports, address critical issues, and ensure that the Party Central Committee’s guidelines, policies, and strategic decisions are fully carried out. Meanwhile, the Political and Legal Committees of party committees at all levels should provide guidance, support, and oversight to help people’s courts perform their duties within the scope prescribed by the Constitution and laws.

(II) Strengthen ideological and political development within the judicial organs. Consolidate and expand the outcomes of thematic education on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, while further deepening the achievements of Party discipline learning and education. Comprehensively reinforce ideological and theoretical training in people’s courts, making Xi Jinping’s Rule of Law Thought a regular, mandatory course for both theoretical education and political refresher programs. Enhance confidence, resolve, and steadfastness in upholding the socialist judicial system with Chinese characteristics. Adhere to the principle of Party leadership over cadre management, prioritizing political criteria when selecting and appointing leading officials, and ensuring that top-tier court leadership teams are carefully chosen and strengthened. In accordance with relevant regulations, effectively coordinate the leadership groups of higher-level people’s courts in managing those of lower-level courts. Strengthen the building of grassroots Party organizations across all levels of people’s courts, fully leveraging their critical role as battle-ready fortresses. Additionally, enhance exchanges and rotations among court leaders at various levels, while intensifying efforts to cultivate and deploy outstanding young cadres.

(III) Support the people's courts in independently and impartially exercising their judicial powers according to law. Party committees at all levels should firmly back the people's courts in upholding their independent and impartial judicial authority, ensuring strict implementation of the system for recording, reporting, and holding accountable any interference in judicial activities or meddling in specific case proceedings. Administrative agencies at all levels must strengthen their awareness and capacity for law-based administration, fully respecting judicial independence and authority. Meanwhile, people's courts at all levels should proactively accept oversight while diligently and fairly exercising their judicial powers as mandated by law. Finally, leading officials at all levels must firmly embrace the rule-of-law mindset, taking the lead in respecting and safeguarding judicial authority, and skillfully applying legal thinking and legal approaches in their work.

3. Ensuring high-quality development and high-level security through strict and impartial justice

(Four) Firmly safeguard national security and social stability. Implement the Overall National Security Concept, and ensure the effective implementation of the Party Committee (Party Leadership Group) responsibility system for national security and the responsibility system for maintaining social stability. Strictly punish, in accordance with the law, serious and heinous crimes that threaten national and public security, including violent terrorism, cult-related offenses, organized crime involving gangs and evil forces, gun and explosives-related activities, intentional homicide, drug production and trafficking, and acts of individual extremism. Additionally, rigorously address public concerns by cracking down on telecom and internet fraud, online violence, and other crimes that have drawn strong public backlash. Further refine mechanisms for identifying, reporting, handling, and providing feedback on clues related to official misconduct, "protective umbrellas" shielding criminal organizations, and other illegal or criminal activities within various types of cases. Promote seamless integration between disciplinary enforcement, law enforcement, and criminal justice processes.

(5) Enhance the rule-of-law-based business environment. Strictly enforce the law against all types of economic crimes, including corruption, embezzlement, bribery, and other corrupt practices, to robustly safeguard the socialist market economy order. Strengthen judicial mechanisms for protecting property rights by ensuring that violations of economic rights and legitimate interests—regardless of the ownership structure—are met with equal accountability, identical criminal charges, and uniform penalties. Proactively prevent and rectify instances where administrative or criminal measures are improperly used to interfere in economic disputes. Ensure the lawful application of asset preservation and judicial enforcement measures to avoid adverse impacts on legitimate business operations and production activities. Further refine the system of punitive damages in areas such as food and drug safety, intellectual property, product defects, and environmental pollution. Establish a sound mechanism for effectively preventing, accurately identifying, and promptly correcting wrongful cases involving businesses. Reinforce regulatory oversight of monopolistic practices and unfair competition, thereby upholding fair competition norms. Additionally, bolster bankruptcy adjudication efforts, advance the improvement of systems governing market entity exits, and promote the optimal allocation of resources. Finally, handle disputes related to data ownership, market transactions, equity distribution, and protection of interests in accordance with the law, fostering the efficient circulation and trading of data as a key economic resource.

(6) Strengthen financial adjudication efforts. Strictly punish, in accordance with the law, financial crimes such as market manipulation, insider trading, illegal fundraising, loan fraud, and money laundering. Enhance coordinated governance of irregularities caused by illegal intermediaries in the financial sector, fostering healthy development of the financial market. Additionally, refine dispute-resolution rules for emerging financial areas like digital currencies, mobile payments, internet-based finance, and cross-border financial asset transactions. Finally, establish a robust mechanism to ensure seamless coordination between administrative enforcement and judicial proceedings in the financial domain.

(7) Strengthen intellectual property adjudication. Increase judicial protection for technological innovation and trade secrets in key, cutting-edge fields. Fully leverage the role of intellectual property courts, and refine the appellate review mechanism for IP cases. Additionally, enhance the coordination between administrative enforcement and judicial proceedings in the IP domain, fostering comprehensive governance in the intellectual property landscape.

(8) Strengthen judicial efforts related to ecological and environmental resources. Strictly punish, in accordance with the law, illegal and criminal activities that pollute the environment or harm ecosystems, and comprehensively enhance judicial protection of the environment. Establish robust mechanisms for holding parties accountable through environmental restoration-oriented approaches, rigorously implement the system of compensation for ecological damage, and promote integrated ecological compensation initiatives. Additionally, bolster the development of specialized judicial frameworks for environmental and resource cases. Refine procedures and guidelines for handling public interest litigation cases involving ecological and environmental issues. Foster cross-departmental coordination and collaboration, and reinforce holistic, integrated protection of our ecological systems.

(9) Strengthen judicial safeguards for people's livelihoods. Enhance judicial protection in key areas affecting daily life, including family matters, healthcare, elderly care, employment, and consumer rights, to improve overall well-being. Refine family court practices such as family investigations, psychological counseling, and post-judgment follow-up support, while also improving the system of personal safety protection orders. Properly handle disputes over medical malpractice claims, fostering a doctor-patient relationship characterized by equality, harmony, and mutual trust. Explore and advance proactive measures for early warning, screening, and mediation of conflicts involving elderly-related issues. Uphold equal employment opportunities and workers' rights under the law, rigorously punish employers who deliberately default on wages, ensure timely enforcement of winning claims for migrant workers, and refine judicial guidelines for resolving labor disputes arising from new forms of employment. Finally, legally safeguard the legitimate land rights of farmers who have settled in urban areas.

(10) Strengthen judicial protection of minors' rights and interests. Enhance the professionalization and comprehensive development of juvenile courts. Fully implement the principle of "best interests of the child." Strictly punish, in accordance with the law, crimes that harm minors, while reinforcing protective measures and support services for young victims and their families. Proactively address the root causes of juvenile delinquency through integrated prevention and governance strategies, collaborating on specialized education and targeted rehabilitation programs. For cases involving individuals with deep-seated malicious intent, severe circumstances, and significant harm, ensure resolute legal action. Further advance initiatives such as family education guidance, social investigations, and community-based supervision. Finally, refine and strengthen the coordinated "sixfold protection" framework—encompassing family, school, society, online platforms, government, and the judiciary—to create a robust, interconnected system for safeguarding minors.

(11) Strengthen judicial work involving foreign affairs as well as cases related to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. Enhance the international commercial adjudication capabilities of the Supreme People’s Court and key regional courts, refine mechanisms that seamlessly integrate international commercial mediation and arbitration, and foster the development of China as a premier destination for resolving international commercial disputes. This will also support the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Further improve judicial systems that allow parties involved in foreign-related civil legal relationships to legally agree on jurisdiction and choose applicable foreign laws. Strengthen efforts to ensure the accurate application of international treaties and customary practices, and establish a sophisticated, specialized system for ascertaining foreign laws. Enhance maritime adjudication by strategically deploying branch courts under maritime tribunals, thereby bolstering judicial protection of China’s maritime rights and interests. Additionally, refine judicial measures aimed at countering sanctions, interference, and so-called “long-arm jurisdiction,” while strengthening mechanisms to safeguard overseas interests. Intensify judicial protections for overseas Chinese interests, and deepen international judicial cooperation and exchanges. Actively participate in shaping global rules governing areas such as international trade, intellectual property, environmental protection, and cyberspace. Finally, further refine the China-specific framework for cross-regional judicial assistance. Deepen judicial collaboration and exchanges within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, reinforcing the alignment of legal standards and institutional frameworks between the three regions. Strengthen judicial efforts related to Taiwan, fostering deeper integration and development across the Taiwan Strait.

4. Strengthen the Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts and Disputes

(12) Promote the integration of dispute-resolution resources. Uphold and advance the "Fengqiao Experience" for the new era, strengthening coordinated collaboration between people's courts, government departments, and social organizations under the leadership of Party committees at all levels. Ensure accountability for preventing and resolving conflicts and disputes, jointly promoting the standardized construction of comprehensive social security governance centers. Further refine mechanisms that seamlessly connect litigation with non-litigation approaches, and establish a robust framework for coordinated efforts among people's mediation, administrative mediation, judicial mediation, and industry-specific/professional mediation. People's courts at all levels should enhance their guidance on mediation activities, legally supporting lawyers, mediation organizations, and other stakeholders in playing a proactive role in early-stage dispute resolution. Additionally, they should strengthen and standardize practices such as entrusted mediation and preliminary mediation.

(13) Strengthen the substantive resolution of administrative disputes. Enhance the role of judicial review in supporting and overseeing lawful administration, helping administrative agencies improve their ability to govern according to the law while safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of parties involved in administrative actions. Deepen reforms related to jurisdictional levels, centralized jurisdiction, and cross-jurisdictional handling of administrative cases, optimizing the allocation of administrative trial resources and boosting the quality and efficiency of administrative litigation. Additionally, ensure seamless integration among dispute-resolution mechanisms such as administrative mediation, administrative adjudication, administrative review, and administrative litigation, leveraging administrative review as the primary channel for resolving administrative disputes.

(Fourteen) Strengthen litigation service efforts. Enhance the litigation service platform to build an efficient, convenient, smart, and precise litigation service system. Intensify the standardization of judicial documents to provide clear guidance and greater convenience for the public when navigating legal proceedings. Actively promote the development of online courts and shared court facilities, making it easier for parties located in different regions to participate in mediation, judicial confirmation, and litigation processes. Further deepen reforms in the circuit court mechanism, shifting the focus of trials closer to local communities and leveraging circuit courts' role in delivering accessible, convenient, and effective dispute resolution. Finally, improve the mechanisms for handling cases through on-site hearings.

(Fifteen) Strengthen efforts to resolve petitioning and complaint cases related to litigation. Strictly enforce the "Regulations on Petitioning Work" and ensure compliance with the rule-of-law requirements for petitioning activities. Adhere to the integrated approach of addressing petitions through both dialogue and mediation, prioritizing mediation to foster coordinated and seamless collaboration between mediation and petition-handling processes. Deepen the implementation of the "Respond to Every Legitimate Petition" initiative, aligning petition reception and handling with higher-level supervisory functions, circuit court trials, and other relevant mechanisms. Refine the standards for reporting and reviewing concluded petitioning cases, and enhance the procedures for transferring such cases to appropriate authorities. Further improve the unified platform for litigation-related petitions, promoting seamless data sharing and connectivity across different organizations. Finally, strengthen the system of lawyer representation in appeals and refine the legal aid framework, guiding parties to pursue their grievances in a lawful and rational manner.

5. Deepen Judicial System Reform

(Sixteen) Implement and refine the judicial accountability system. Adhere to the principle of "let those who hear the case make the judgment, and hold them accountable," while further clarifying and improving the powers and responsibilities of trial teams in handling cases, as well as the supervisory and management duties of court presidents and division chiefs. Strengthen and standardize the practice of court presidents and division chiefs in hearing cases, fully leveraging their exemplary and leading role in setting a high standard for judicial work. Enhance oversight and management of trials, encouraging court presidents and division chiefs to rigorously ensure the quality of judicial documents in accordance with their legal responsibilities. Additionally, bolster the establishment of the Judicial Disciplinary Committee and refine the mechanisms for identifying and pursuing judicial accountability.

(17) Optimize the trial quality and efficiency evaluation system. Respect judicial principles, prioritize quality while also considering efficiency, and refine the trial quality and efficiency management indicator framework. Simultaneously advance case management, supervision, and guidance efforts. Strictly limit the number of assessments conducted at the grassroots level, improve assessment methods, and reduce both the administrative burden and the pressure from performance targets.

(18) Enhance the systems for appellate oversight and case guidance. Strengthen the Supreme People's Court's work on judicial interpretations. Improve mechanisms such as case-level jurisdiction transfers and retrial review procedures, ensuring that higher-level courts effectively unify the application of law and prevent local protectionism. Establish a robust, efficient, and standardized system for resolving legal-application issues across all court levels. Streamline the review processes for civil and administrative retrial applications, explore measures to separate complex cases from simpler ones, and boost the quality and efficiency of retrial review proceedings. Finally, refine the system of guiding cases and continue building the People's Courts Case Database with high standards.

(19) Build a highly efficient and collaborative functional system for judicial institutions. Optimize the internal organizational structure and functional allocation within people's courts. Standardize the establishment of specialized people's courts. Deepen court reforms in areas such as railways, forest regions, and reclaimed land zones. Further refine the functional positioning and overall layout of people's tribunals.

(20) Enhance the human rights judicial protection mechanism. Deepen reforms of the criminal procedure system centered on trials, firmly upholding legal principles such as equality before the law, legality of crimes and punishments, and proportionality between offenses and penalties. Adhere to evidence-based adjudication and the principle of "in dubio pro reo," while improving systems for witness testimony in criminal cases, exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, and second-instance court hearings—moving toward more substantive courtroom proceedings. Fully and accurately implement the criminal policy of combining leniency with strictness, ensuring the lawful and voluntary nature of defendants' decisions to plead guilty and accept punishment under the plea-bargaining system. Further advance full coverage of legal representation in criminal cases, strengthen institutional safeguards for lawyers' professional rights, and establish a system for sealing records of minor offenses. Additionally, promote improvements to mandatory measures affecting citizens' personal rights, as well as systems governing seizure, detention, and freezing actions. Standardize procedures for handling assets involved in cases, refine the dual-track linkage between administrative and criminal penalties, and enhance the judicial assistance system. Finally, bolster the national compensation framework by revising the State Compensation Law.

(21) Deepen reforms of the enforcement system. Advance the separation of judicial and enforcement powers, and strengthen the national enforcement framework. Enhance the oversight mechanisms governing the exercise of enforcement authority, while reinforcing comprehensive supervision by parties involved, procuratorial organs, and the general public throughout the entire enforcement process. Additionally, refine the collaborative approach to addressing the challenges in enforcement efforts, ensuring seamless coordination and effective linkage among case filing, trial proceedings, and enforcement activities.

(22) Deepen and standardize judicial transparency. Continue to effectively publicize judicial documents, courtroom proceedings, trial processes, and other relevant information. Regularly release judicial statistics, further diversify the formats of public disclosure, enhance the quality of transparency, and refine the overall disclosure system. Additionally, establish robust mechanisms to ensure the secure protection of national cybersecurity, citizens' personal information, and the legitimate rights and interests of businesses during judicial openness.

6. Strengthen Support and Assurance for Judicial Work

(23) Strengthen the development of digital courts. Build a unified case-handling and office management system, enabling courts nationwide to operate seamlessly on "one integrated network" and a single platform. Develop and enhance a comprehensive judicial big data repository, establishing an automated mechanism for synchronizing, aggregating, integrating, and comprehensively applying judicial big data resources across all four levels of courts—while ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. Advance the "end-to-end" data aggregation and sharing initiatives among central political and legal institutions, fostering seamless access and collaborative use of relevant data. Reinforce protection efforts for critical information infrastructure and judicial data security, implementing dynamic, end-to-end management throughout the entire process of judicial data circulation and public disclosure. Deeply expand digitalized judicial application scenarios and promote intelligent judicial tools, leveraging digitalization and AI to drive transformative changes in trial processes, litigation procedures, and judicial practices.

(25) Enhance the system for the categorized recruitment, management, and support of judicial personnel. Strengthen the coordinated allocation and dynamic management of specialized political and legal positions. Refine the structure of judge selection committees. Optimize the hierarchical遴选 mechanism for judges, ensuring smooth pathways for outstanding court assistants to advance to qualified judge status. Strengthen the tiered training and performance management of court assistants, establishing a robust judicial training system that aligns with the unique principles of the legal profession. Enhance management of contract-based court clerks by scientifically determining and strictly controlling their deployment model and overall staffing levels. Additionally, bolster risk management measures to safeguard judges during their duties, and refine policies regarding compensation and benefits for court personnel who suffer injuries or fatalities while on duty. Finally, encourage and support retired judges to actively engage in tasks such as case mediation and dispute resolution.

(25) Improve the system for the categorized recruitment, management, and support of judicial personnel. Strengthen the coordinated allocation and dynamic management of specialized political and legal positions. Refine the structure of the judge selection committees. Optimize the hierarchical遴选 mechanism for judges, ensuring smooth pathways for outstanding court assistants to become qualified judges. Enhance the tiered training and performance management of court assistants, establishing a robust judicial training system that aligns with the unique principles of the legal profession. Strengthen management of contract-based court clerks by scientifically determining and strictly controlling their deployment model and overall staffing levels. Additionally, bolster risk management measures to safeguard judges during their duties, and refine policies regarding compensation and benefits for court personnel who suffer injuries or fatalities in the line of duty. Finally, encourage and support retired judges to actively participate in tasks such as case mediation and dispute resolution.

Party committees at all levels should strengthen organizational leadership, while relevant departments and units should tailor their implementation of these guidelines to practical realities, ensuring that all policies and measures are effectively put into action and yield tangible results. Any significant issues arising during the implementation process must be promptly reported to and approved by the Party Central Committee according to established procedures.