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Edited Time: May 12, 2022Edited by: adminCategory: Publications

For those who may have to start or in any other way patriciate in court proceedings in mainland China, it shall be critical to understand the levels of courts and the trial system in China.

Level of Courts

There are four levels of courts in China:

• basic courts at various levels below the level of city (with districts);
• intermediate courts at the city level and the special courts (such as maritime courts which have jurisdiction over maritime cases and maritime trade cases of the first instance);
• higher courts at the provincial level;
• the supreme court in Beijing.

Trial System

A particular feature of the Chinese trial system is the “final after two trials” system.

The first instance is generally before the basic courts, while the second instance before the intermediate court. In some cases, for example, cases in which the amount concerned is pretty high or the social impact is significant, the first instance may be heard before the intermediate courts, high courts or even the supreme court.

Within 15 days after the service of the first-instance judgement, either party can appeal directly without permission from the first instance court. The judgment of second instance (i.e. the appeal) is final.

However, in addition to the “final after two trials” system, there is the “System for Judicial Supervision”, which effectively provides a further level of appeal beyond that of second instance. However, this system does not stop the enforcement of the final judgment under reexamination.

In a non-foreign related case, as there is statutory trial time-limit, the first instance, from serving of documents to obtaining judgment, generally takes around six months, while an appeal usually takes around three months to judgment. But in a foreign-related case, there is no statutory trial time-limit. Therefore, it takes longer, ideally, 1 to 2 years for the first instance, while 6 months to 1 year, for the second instance.