ABSTRACT
During a recent trip to Beijing, we had dinner with some old friends, one of whom is a judge in the Supreme People’s Court. When the conversation turned to the role of Supreme Court judges in China, she joked that the title sounds really impressive when she meets foreigners, but in reality, she is burdened with mostly minor cases and does not handle cases that are even remotely as important as those handled by the U.S. Supreme Court. To say the least, the legal system in China is unique and evolving. In this chapter, we first provide an overview of the legal system; then we discuss the court system within the legal system in China. Finally, we highlight key challenges currently facing the legal system and how it is evolving. In the Road Ahead section, we provide our assessment of the future of the legal system in China.
