ABSTRACT
The concluding chapter draws from the previous discussions of the power of the SPC to rethink and reinterpret the internal logic of the highest courts’ power in a nondemocratic form of separation of powers. In particular, three core sets of elements derived from the separation-of-powers doctrine are used as the basis for reconceptualizing the power of the SPC, including normative versus functional analysis of the doctrine, judicial independence versus judicial interdependence as manifested in the power distribution and power dynamics, and political-centered versus legal-centered modes of judicial operation. This chapter concludes that the SPC has demonstrated self-initiated and highly pragmatic interests in pushing forward its authority and impact on and beyond the legal fields through various judicial and extrajudicial practice in the reform era, despite the political and institutional restraints facing legal development in China. Drawing on the case of China, and especially the rich experience of the SPC, this chapter further highlights the possibility of the highest courts to reach greater competence and authority in an evolving nondemocratic political and legal context, the importance for them to make meaningful breakthroughs in separating judicial power from that of the other powerful state actors and political forces, and the underlying institutional and practical factors affecting this goal.
