Legal System of China

China is located in East N Southeast Asia. It is geographically situated in eastern asia, bordering the east china sea, korea bay, yellow sea, and south china sea, between north korea and vietnam. The country achieved independence on 1 october 1949 (people’s republic of china established); notable earlier dates: 221 b.c. (unification under the qin dynasty); 1 january 1912 (qing dynasty replaced by the republic of china). The capital is Beijing.

Government Overview

Government Type: communist party-led state Chief of State: President XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013) Head of Government: Premier LI Qiang (since 11 March 2023) Cabinet: State Council appointed by National People’s Congress Administrative Divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural), and two special administrative regions (tebie xingzhengqu, singular and plural)

provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan)

autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), Ningxia, Xinjiang Uyghur, Xizang (Tibet)

municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin

special administrative regions: Hong Kong, Macau National Holiday: National Day (anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China), 1 October (1949) Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal System

The legal system of China is described as civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes International Law: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Constitutional Framework

The constitution has the following history: several previous; latest promulgated 4 December 1982 Amendment Process: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress or supported by more than one fifth of the National People’s Congress membership; passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the Congress membership

Judicial Branch

Highest Court(s): Supreme People’s Court (consists of over 340 judges, including the chief justice and 13 grand justices organized into a civil committee and tribunals for civil, economic, administrative, complaint and appeal, and communication and transportation cases) Judge Selection: chief justice appointed by the People’s National Congress (NPC); limited to 2 consecutive 5-year-terms; other justices and judges nominated by the chief justice and appointed by the Standing Committee of the NPC; term of other justices and judges determined by the NPC Subordinate Courts: Higher People’s Courts; Intermediate People’s Courts; District and County People’s Courts; Autonomous Region People’s Courts; International Commercial Courts; Special People’s Courts for military, maritime, transportation, and forestry issues

Legislative Branch

The legislative structure consists of unicameral Note: note: in practice, only members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its 8 allied independent parties, and CCP-approved independent candidates are elected

Citizenship and Suffrage

Citizenship by Birth: no Citizenship by Descent: least one parent must be a citizen of China Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Historical Background

China’s historical civilization dates to at least the 13th century B.C., first under the Shang (to 1046 B.C.) and then the Zhou (1046-221 B.C.) dynasties. The imperial era of China began in 221 B.C. under the Qin Dynasty and lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. During this period, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties.

This article provides a summary of the legal system and governmental structure of China based on the CIA World Factbook. The Factbook is a public domain publication of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.