ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of China’s judicial system, followed by an analysis of the country’s legal reform in the post- World Trade Organization (WTO) era. The WTO accession in 2001 marks a watershed in the country’s overall judicial transformation. China’s judicial system is described as a ‘socialist legal framework with Chinese characteristics’. The legislative power in China is exercised by the National People’s Congress and its permanent body, the Standing Committee. The process of judicial internationalisation has persisted ever since. China has successfully integrated into the world trading system and the country rose to become a world-leading economy in recent years. China’s judicial system consists of the Supreme People’s Court, the local people’s courts at different levels, and the military and other special courts. Judicial enforcement in China is undertaken by an administrative–judicial dual-track system. Administrative enforcement has the advantage of being affordable in its costs and fast in its procedure.
