Supreme People’s Court’s new guidance on similar case search | Supreme People's Court Monitor

 Supreme People’s Court’s new guidance on similar case search | Supreme People's Court Monitor
by Susan Finder [PKU Shenzhen Transnational Law School]

In a blogpost in June, 2019, I flagged a provision in the 5th Five Year Judicial Reform Program that would require Chinese judges to search certain prior cases. That provision has now been implemented in the form of a Supreme People’s Court policy document. On 27 July 2020, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued provisional guidance entitled Guiding Opinions Concerning Strengthening Search for Similar Cases to Unify the Application of Law (关于统一法律适用加强类案检索的指导意见（试行)), to be effective on 31 July. It is not a judicial interpretation. but is guidance intended to make judicial decisions more consistent. The SPC’s Case Management Office appears to have been responsible for drafting it, because “a responsible person” (presumably the head) of that office issued a press release to explain these rules.

It codifies many of the practices of the Chinese courts and imposes some new requirements. It does not mean that China has become a common law legal system. The SPC is approving the practice of using principles derived from prior cases to fill in the gaps in legislation and judicial interpretations.

It also illustrates two larger points–that discrete judicial reforms aimed at more consistent judgment continue to be implemented even as the role of Party leadership and oversight continues to be stressed. It is also an illustration of how long it can take judicial reforms to be implemented.
Case Search Requirements
What are similar cases?

Article 1 defines that–the cases that are already effective and are similar in their basic facts, disputed points, issues of law, etc. (指与待决案件在基本事实、争议焦点、法律适用问题等方面具有相似性，且已经人民法院裁判生效的案件).KEEP READINGSupreme People’s Court’s new guidance on similar case search | Supreme People's Court Monitor