Supreme Court of China Sets Up Circuit Courts in Shenzhen & Shenyang

As a further judicial reform in the direction of better allocating cases and work across the country's court system, China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) recently launched its first two circuit courts, one in the southern city of Shenzhen on 28 January 2015, and the other in Shenyang in northeastern China on 31 January 2015.

The circuit court in Shenzhen has jurisdiction over Guangdong province, Hainan province, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, whereas that in Shenyang covers the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Both have started receiving cases from 2 February 2015.

Judges of the circuit courts are selected and sent by SPC, and judgments, rulings, or decisions issued by the circuit courts are final, equivalent to those of SPC.