The Judiciary in Economic and Political Transformation: Quo Vadis Chinese Courts?

Much has been achieved in China’s legal development: the courts, the bar, legal education, and the very idea of a rule-of-law system that was inserted into the Chinese Constitution.1 Despite these considerable achievements, China’s judicial system, which is rooted in an administrative governance society that is undergoing economic and political transformation, remains plagued by many pervasive shortcomings.2 There have been numerous concerns about the Chinese courts, such as the slow pace in processing cases, the lack of professional judges, the varying quality of law enforcement across the nation, and the influence of local politics and social pressures over judicial decisions, despite the continuing efforts that China has made in improving the profile of its judiciary.3 It is in this context that this article discusses comprehensively the judiciary in China—the size and performance of the Chinese courts, judicial appointments and the training of judges, the actual operation of courts and judges in terms of independence and integrity, and finally, the various judicial reforms that have taken place over one-and-a-half decades. Moreover, the article analyzes the tensions, compromises, and expectations of different currents in China’s ongoing judicial reform that are leading towards an aim of justice and independence against the macro backdrop of deepening marketization and social movements.