According to the Organic Law of People's Courts, grass-roots people's courts include people's courts of counties and autonomous counties, and people's courts of cities and municipal districts without districts. Their functions and powers mainly include:
(1) Cases of first instance for criminal, civil and administrative cases, unless otherwise provided by law. When it is considered that the accepted case should be tried by the people's court at a higher level, it may request to be transferred to the people's court at a higher level for trial.
(2) Handling civil disputes and minor criminal cases that do not require trial.
(3) to guide the work of the people's mediation committee.
In order to facilitate people's litigation, the basic people's courts set up a number of people's courts as agencies, but the people's courts are not a trial level. Its functions and powers are to try general civil and minor criminal cases, guide the work of people's mediation committees, publicize the legal system, handle people's letters and receive people's visits. Its judgments and rulings are those of the basic people's courts.
Intermediate people's courts include intermediate people's courts established by provinces and autonomous regions according to regions, intermediate people's courts of municipalities directly under the Central Government, and intermediate people's courts of provinces, autonomous regions and autonomous prefectures. Their functions and powers mainly include:
(1) tried the following cases:
(1) Cases of first instance under the jurisdiction of law. According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, criminal cases of first instance under the jurisdiction of the Intermediate People's Court are: cases endangering national security; Ordinary criminal cases that may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death penalty; Criminal cases in which foreigners commit crimes or China citizens infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of foreigners. According to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law, the civil cases under the jurisdiction of the Intermediate People's Court are major foreign-related cases, cases with great influence within its jurisdiction and cases under the jurisdiction of the Intermediate People's Court ordered by the Supreme People's Court.
According to the provisions of the administrative procedure law, the administrative cases of first instance under the jurisdiction of the intermediate people's court are: cases of confirming invention patent rights; Customs handling cases; Cases in which proceedings are brought against specific administrative acts of various departments in the State Council or the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; Major and complicated cases within its jurisdiction.
② Cases of first instance transferred by grassroots people's courts.
(three) appeal cases and protest cases against the judgment or ruling of the basic people's court.
When the intermediate people's court considers that the criminal, civil and administrative cases it accepts are serious and should be tried by the people's court at a higher level, it may request to be transferred to the people's court at a higher level for trial.
(two) to supervise the trial work of the grassroots people's courts within their respective jurisdictions. If it is found that there is an error in the legally effective judgment or ruling of the grassroots people's court, it has the right to send it back for retrial or instruct the grassroots people's court to retry it.
According to the provisions of the Organic Law of People's Courts, higher people's courts are located in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and their functions and powers mainly include:
(1) tried the following cases:
(1) Major or complicated criminal cases, civil cases and administrative cases under the jurisdiction of the law.
(2) Cases of first instance transferred for trial by people's courts at lower levels.
(3) Appeals and protests against the judgments or rulings of the lower people's courts. The higher people's court where the maritime court is located has the right to hear appeal cases against the judgment or ruling of the maritime court.
(4) Protest cases filed by people's procuratorates in accordance with trial supervision procedures.
(2) Review the criminal cases of first instance in which the intermediate people's court sentenced the death penalty and the defendant did not appeal. Those who agree to the death penalty shall be reported to the Supreme People's Court for approval; Those who disagree with the death penalty may be remanded for retrial or remanded for retrial.
(3) Reviewing cases in which the intermediate people's court sentenced the death penalty with a two-year suspension.
(4) According to the authorization of the Supreme People's Court, some death penalty cases were approved.
(five) to supervise the trial work of the people's courts at lower levels within their respective jurisdictions. If it is found that the legally effective judgment or ruling of the lower people's court is wrong, it has the right to send it back or instruct the lower people's court to retry it.
2. A special people's court refers to a court established in a specific department to hear specific cases according to actual needs. At present, China has established special courts such as military, maritime and railway transport courts.
Military courts are divided into three levels: grass-roots military courts, military courts of major military regions and services, and military courts of China People's Liberation Army.
The military court of the People's Liberation Army of China is the highest trial level of the army, and its functions and powers are:
(1) trial of first instance cases of duty crimes above division level;
(2) To try foreign-related criminal cases;
(three) cases authorized or designated by the Supreme People's Court and other criminal cases of first instance that should be tried by themselves;
(4) To undertake the trial tasks of second instance, death penalty review and retrial.
The military courts of the major military regions and services and arms include the military courts of the major military regions, the naval and air forces, the Second Artillery Corps and the PLA General Command. This is an intermediate military court, and its functions and powers are:
(1) to hear the first-instance cases of crimes committed by deputy division chiefs and regimental officers;
(2) to try cases that may be sentenced to death and cases authorized or designated by military courts at higher levels;
(3) to undertake the trial of appeals and protests.
Grass-roots military courts include military courts of units at the corps level, military courts of provincial military regions, military courts of naval fleets, military courts of air forces in military regions, and military courts of troops directly under Beijing. Their functions and powers are:
(1) A case of first instance in which a person below the post is tried for a crime and may be sentenced to life imprisonment;
(2) Cases of first instance authorized or designated by a military court at a higher level.
The maritime court is a special people's court established to exercise maritime jurisdiction and to hear maritime affairs and maritime cases of first instance. 1989 in may, the Supreme People's Court made the provisions on the scope of accepting cases by maritime courts, which stipulated that maritime courts should accept maritime commercial cases between legal persons and citizens in China, between legal persons and citizens in China, between legal persons and citizens in foreign countries or regions, and between legal persons and citizens in foreign countries or regions, including five categories 14:
(1) maritime infringement dispute 10. Mainly include: cases of compensation for ship collision, cases of compensation for damage caused by ships touching buildings and facilities at sea, offshore waters and ports, cases of compensation for water pollution or damage to other ships and goods caused by ships discharging or leaking harmful substances or sewage, and cases of compensation for damage caused by personal injury or death during maritime transportation or operations at sea, offshore waters and ports.
(2) China's maritime cases 14. It mainly includes: disputes over water transport contracts, disputes over water passenger and cargo transport contracts, disputes over seafarers' labor contracts, disputes over maritime salvage contracts, and disputes over marine insurance contracts.
(3) There are 1 1 other maritime cases. It mainly includes: major accidents in shipping and maritime operations, port operations disputes, general average disputes, disputes over marine development and utilization, disputes over ship ownership, possession and mortgage, or disputes over maritime claims, administrative cases of maritime and inland river authorities, maritime fraud cases, etc.
(4) Five types of maritime law enforcement cases. It mainly includes: cases in which maritime and inland river authorities apply for enforcement according to law, cases in which the parties apply for enforcement of arbitral awards, cases in which the parties apply to China Maritime Court for recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards of foreign or regional arbitral institutions in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration, and cases in which the parties assist in the enforcement of foreign court awards in accordance with judicial assistance agreements signed between China and foreign countries or on the principle of reciprocity.
(5) There are two kinds of maritime claims preservation cases. That is, cases of applying for the arrest of ships before litigation and cases of applying for the arrest of goods or marine fuel before litigation.
The railway transport court is a special people's court located along the railway, which mainly hears the following cases:
(1) Criminal cases along the railway detected by railway police authorities and prosecuted by the railway procuratorate.
(2) Economic dispute cases. According to the regulations of the Supreme People's Court, * * * has 12 category, including: railway cargo transport contract dispute cases; International railway joint venture contract dispute case; Economic disputes within the railway system; Infringement dispute cases that violate railway safety regulations and cause damage to railways; Personal and property damage caused by railway traffic and shunting operations, and infringement disputes brought by the plaintiff to the railway transport court.
The Supreme People's Court is located in Beijing. It is the highest judicial organ of the country, exercising the highest judicial power of the country according to law, and supervising the work of local people's courts at all levels and special people's courts. The Supreme People's Court is composed of president, vice president, president, vice president and judges. The Supreme People's Court shall exercise the following functions and powers:
(1) Supervise the work of local people's courts at all levels and special people's courts.
If errors are found in the legally effective judgments and rulings of local people's courts at all levels and special people's courts, they have the right to send them back or instruct the lower people's courts to try them again.
(2) hearing the following cases:
(a) cases of first instance that are under their own jurisdiction according to law and that should be tried by themselves. According to the Criminal Procedure Law, the criminal cases of first instance under its jurisdiction are major national criminal cases. According to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law, the civil cases and economic disputes of first instance under its jurisdiction are cases with great influence in the whole country. According to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Law, the administrative cases of first instance under its jurisdiction belong to major and complicated cases nationwide.
(2) Appeal cases and protest cases decided by higher people's courts and special people's courts, and protest cases filed by the Supreme People's Procuratorate in accordance with trial supervision procedures.
(3) approving death penalty cases.
(4) Judicial interpretation. That is to explain how the people's courts specifically apply laws and decrees in the trial process.
To lead and manage the judicial and administrative work of people's courts at all levels throughout the country. The judge system is an important part of the trial system, which refers to the general name of the rules and regulations related to judges' qualifications, methods, term of office, rewards and punishments, material treatment and so on. China's Judges Law *** 17, which was promulgated on February 28th, 1995, made comprehensive provisions on this.
1, qualification requirements for judges
Judges are judges who exercise state judicial power according to law, including presidents, vice presidents, members of judicial committees, presidents, vice presidents, judges and assistant judges of courts at all levels. The judge's duty is to participate in the collegial panel and try cases alone.
To be a judge, you must first have the qualification of a judge. Chapter IV of the Judges Law stipulates that a judge must meet the following conditions:
(1) has China nationality;
(2) At least 23 years old;
(3) Supporting the Constitution of People's Republic of China (PRC);
(4) Having good political and professional qualities and good conduct;
(5) good health;
(6) Graduated from a law major in an institution of higher learning or a non-law major in an institution of higher learning, having legal knowledge and working for 2 years; Or get a bachelor's degree in law and have worked for 1 year; Those who have obtained a master's degree or a doctor's degree in law may not be restricted by the above-mentioned working years.
A person who has been criminally punished for a crime or dismissed from public office may not serve as a judge.
In addition, according to the provisions of the Organic Law of the People's Courts, the presidents, vice presidents, judges, assistant judges and people's jurors of the people's courts must be citizens who have the right to vote and stand for election, have reached the age of 23 and have legal expertise.
2. Appointment and removal of judges
The Constitution and laws stipulate the powers and procedures for appointing and dismissing judges:
Presidents of people's courts at all levels are elected and removed by the people's congresses at the corresponding levels. The term of office of the presidents of the people's courts at all levels is the same as that of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels. Vice-presidents, members of judicial committees, presidents, vice-presidents and judges are appointed and removed by the president of the court. Assistant judges shall be appointed and removed by the president of our hospital. Measures for the appointment and removal of judges in special people's courts shall be formulated separately by the NPC Standing Committee.
First-time judges and assistant judges shall adopt the methods of public examination and strict examination, and propose candidates from those who have the qualifications of judges according to the standards of having both ability and political integrity. Candidates for the post of president, vice-president, member of the judicial committee, president and vice-president shall be selected from those with practical work experience.
A judge may not concurrently serve as a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, a staff member of an administrative organ, a staff member of a procuratorial organ, a staff member of an enterprise or institution and a lawyer.
Judges who have lost their nationality, are incompetent after examination, have committed crimes against discipline and law, and are unable to perform their duties for a long time due to health and other reasons should be removed from their posts according to law.
3. Judge guarantee system
According to the provisions of the Judges Law, judges are protected as follows when performing their duties:
(1) Job security. To perform the duties of a judge, one should have corresponding powers and working conditions; To try cases according to law without interference from administrative organs, social organizations and individuals; Dismissal, demotion, dismissal or punishment not due to legal reasons or legal procedures.
(2) wage protection. Judges are paid according to regulations and enjoy insurance and welfare benefits.
(3) Personal protection. The personal, property and residence safety of judges shall be protected by law.
(4) Other guarantees. Judges have the right to resign, lodge complaints or accusations, and participate in training.
4. Judge promotion system
Judges are divided into twelve grades. President the Supreme People's Court is the Chief Justice, and the judges at the second to twelfth levels are divided into justices, senior judges and judges. The grade of a judge is determined on the basis of his position, integrity, professional level, judicial performance and working years. According to the annual assessment, promotion step by step. The assessment of judges shall be organized and implemented by the local courts, adhere to the principle of objectivity and fairness, and implement the principle of combining leaders with the masses and combining peacetime assessment with annual assessment.
5. Judge reward and punishment system
Judges who have made remarkable achievements and contributions in judicial work, or have other outstanding deeds, shall be rewarded. Awards are divided into: commendation, merit citation class III, merit citation class II, merit citation class I, and honorary titles. Carry out the principle of combining spiritual encouragement with material encouragement.
A judge shall not commit any of the following acts: spreading statements that damage the reputation of the country, participating in illegal organizations, participating in assemblies, processions, demonstrations and other activities aimed at opposing the country, and participating in strikes; Corruption and bribery, perverting the law, extorting confessions by torture, concealing or forging evidence; Divulging state secrets or judicial secrets; Abuse of power and infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons or other organizations; Dereliction of duty, resulting in misjudged cases or serious losses to the parties; Deliberately delaying the handling of the case and delaying the work; Use authority to seek personal gain for yourself or others; Engaged in business activities; Meet the parties and their agents in private, accept the parties and their agents to treat and give gifts and other illegal acts.
Judges who commit the above acts should be punished. Punishment is divided into: warning, demerit recording, gross demerit recording, demotion, dismissal and dismissal. Those who are dismissed from their posts shall be reduced in salary and grade at the same time. If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
6. Other systems
Judges have the right to retire, resign, train, appeal and accuse. Enjoy the old-age insurance and other benefits stipulated by the state after retirement. According to the "Organization Law of China People's Court" and other laws, the judicial organization of the people's court currently has the following three forms:
1, single hospital
It is an organizational form in which a judge tries simple cases. According to the law, the cases tried by a court are:
(1) criminal cases of private prosecution and other minor criminal cases of first instance;
(2) The basic people's courts and the people's courts dispatched by them try simple civil cases and economic disputes;
(3) Cases tried by special procedures shall be tried by a single judge, except for voter qualification cases or other major and difficult cases, which shall be tried by a collegial panel of judges.
2. collegiate bench
It is an organizational form in which three or more judges or judges and people's jurors jointly try cases. The people's courts try criminal, civil and economic disputes of first instance. Except for some simple cases, all other cases are tried by a collegiate bench composed of three judges. All administrative cases of first instance shall be tried by a collegial panel; Cases of second instance, retrial cases and death penalty review cases are all tried by the collegiate bench.
The collegial panel is the basic trial organization of the people's court to hear cases. Its members are not fixed, but temporary, and a judge is appointed by the president or the president as the presiding judge. The president or the president shall be the presiding judge himself when he participates in the trial of a case. When the collegial panel deliberates a case, if there are differences of opinion, the minority shall obey the majority, but the opinions of the minority shall be recorded in the deliberation record and signed by the members of the collegial panel.
3. Judicial Committee
In accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law of the People's Courts, people's courts at all levels set up judicial committees. Members of the judicial committee shall be appointed and removed by the president of the court to the Standing Committee of the people's congress at the same level. The Judicial Committee chaired by the President has three main tasks:
(1) Discuss major or difficult cases;
(2) Summing up the trial experience;
(3) Discuss other issues related to the trial work 1. Public trial system.
According to Article 125 of our Constitution, the public trial system refers to the people's court hearing cases in public, except for special circumstances stipulated by law. Cases that are not tried in public according to law shall also be pronounced in public. The so-called openness means opening to society. During the whole trial, except for the collegiate bench, citizens are allowed to attend and journalists are allowed to report. For cases that should be tried in public according to law, the court shall announce the cause of action, the names of the parties, the time and place of the hearing before the hearing.
According to Article 7 of the Organic Law of the People's Court, the following three cases are not heard in public:
(1) Cases involving state secrets.
(2) Cases involving personal privacy.
(3) Cases of juvenile delinquency.
In addition, according to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law, if a divorced party or a party involved in a business secret case applies for a non-public hearing, it may not be held in public.
2. Defense system
The Constitution and the Law on the Organization of Courts stipulate that defendants have the right to be defended.
The Criminal Procedure Law further stipulates that the people's court has the obligation to ensure that the defendant has a defense, and makes specific provisions on the implementation of this principle and system. A criminal suspect or defendant may entrust one or two persons as defenders in addition to exercising the right of defense by himself. People who can act as defenders are:
(1) lawyer;
(2) A person recommended by a people's organization or the unit to which the criminal suspect or defendant belongs;
(3) Guardians, relatives and friends of criminal suspects and defendants.
However, a person who is being punished by criminal punishment or deprived or restricted of personal freedom according to law may not act as a defender.
The criminal suspect has the right to entrust a defender from the date when the case is transferred for examination and prosecution. The defendant in a case of private prosecution has the right to entrust a defender at any time. In a public prosecution case in which the public prosecutor appears in court, if the defendant fails to entrust a defender due to financial difficulties or other reasons, the people's court may appoint a lawyer who undertakes the obligation of legal aid to defend him. If the defendant is blind, deaf, dumb or a minor without a defender, and if the defendant may be sentenced to death without a defender, the people's court shall appoint a lawyer who undertakes the obligation of legal aid to defend him.
3. The system of second instance and final adjudication.
Article 12 of the Organic Law of the People's Court stipulates that the people's court shall adopt the system of second instance as the final instance. Lifetime system of two trials refers to the system that a case ends after being tried by two courts.
The people's courts implement a four-level two-instance system of final adjudication, that is, a four-level people's court is set up, and the second instance is the final adjudication. According to the nature and difficulty of the case, the jurisdiction of the trial level is divided. If a party refuses to accept the judgment or ruling of a case of first instance, he may appeal to the people's court at the next higher level within the statutory time limit; If the people's procuratorate considers that the judgment or ruling of first instance is indeed wrong, it may lodge a protest with the people's court at the next higher level within the statutory time limit. If the parties do not appeal during the appeal period and the people's procuratorate does not protest, this judgment or ruling of first instance is a legally effective judgment or ruling. A judgment or ruling made by a people's court at a higher level after hearing an appeal or protest case in accordance with the procedure of second instance is final. Except for cases sentenced to death, which need to be reviewed according to law, all others take legal effect immediately.
According to the law, the following cases are subject to first instance and final instance.
(1) Cases of first instance tried in the Supreme People's Court;
(2) The basic people's courts shall hear cases of voter qualification, cases of identification of citizens' incapacity or limited capacity, cases of declaring missing, cases of declaring dead and cases of ownerless property in accordance with the special procedures of the Civil Procedure Law.
4. The collegiate bench system
Article 10 of the Organic Law of the People's Courts stipulates that the people's courts shall adopt the collegiate bench system when trying cases, except simple civil cases of first instance and cases otherwise stipulated by law. The collegiate bench system refers to the system in which three or more judges and people's jurors form a collegiate bench to try cases, also known as the collegiate bench system, which is opposite to the trial by a single judge. The members of the collegial panel must be singular, generally three, and the principle that the minority is subordinate to the majority is implemented. Minority opinions can be reserved, but they must be recorded. Judges and people's jurors enjoy equal rights.
5. Avoidance system
The challenge system refers to the system that judicial personnel have a special relationship with the cases they handle or the parties to the cases, which may affect the impartial handling of cases, so they are not allowed to participate in handling cases.
According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, judges, prosecutors and investigators should withdraw in any of the following circumstances, and the parties and their legal representatives also have the right to ask them to withdraw;
(1) is a party to this case or a close relative of the party;
(2) He or his close relatives have an interest in the case;
(3) Having served as a witness, expert witness, defender or agent of a party to an incidental civil action in this case;
(4) Having other relations with the parties to the case, which may affect the fair handling of the case;
These provisions also apply to clerks, translators and appraisers.
The Civil Procedure Law and the Administrative Procedure Law also have similar provisions. The withdrawal of the judge is decided by the president; The withdrawal of the president is decided by the judicial Committee of our hospital.
6, the death penalty review system
It refers to the rules of procedures and methods to be followed when examining and approving death penalty cases.
The Organic Law of the People's Court and the Criminal Procedure Law stipulate that death penalty cases, except those sentenced by the Supreme People's Court, shall be reported to the Supreme People's Court for approval. The Supreme People's Court may, when necessary, authorize the higher people's courts of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government to exercise the power to approve cases that seriously endanger public security and social order, such as murder, rape, robbery and explosion. Cases in which the intermediate people's court sentenced the death penalty with a two-year suspension of execution shall be approved by the higher people's court. A death penalty case approved by the Supreme People's Court must be reviewed by a higher people's court after being judged by an intermediate people's court before it can be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval. If the Higher People's Court has any objection to the death penalty, it may send it back for retrial.
7, the trial supervision system
Also known as retrial system, it refers to a special trial system in which the people's court retries legally effective judgments and rulings. The trial supervision system is a kind of relief for the implementation of the system of final adjudication of two trials.
According to the provisions of the Organic Law of the People's Court and the Civil, Criminal and Administrative Procedural Laws, the trial supervision system includes the following points:
(1) The premise of starting the trial supervision procedure is to find that the legally effective judgment or ruling is indeed wrong in ascertaining the facts or applying the law.
(2) The presidents of people's courts at all levels, people's courts at higher levels, people's procuratorates at higher levels, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have the right to initiate trial supervision procedures.
(3) The way to start judicial supervision is that the presidents of people's courts at all levels submit it to the judicial committee for handling; The Supreme People's Court remands or designates a lower people's court for retrial; The Supreme People's Procuratorate and the people's procuratorate at a higher level protested in accordance with the procedure of trial supervision.
(4) The people's court shall re-hear the case according to the procedure of trial supervision, and shall form a collegial panel separately. If it is a case of first instance, the trial shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure of first instance, and the judgment made may be appealed or protested; If it is a case of second instance, or a case brought before a people's court at a higher level, it shall be tried in accordance with the procedure of second instance, and the judgment and ruling made shall be final.
8. Judicial aid system
It refers to a certain judicial act made by a country's judicial organ (mainly the court) according to international treaties or bilateral and multilateral agreements, or in the absence of treaties, according to the principle of reciprocity, at the request of another country's judicial organ or relevant parties.
Judicial assistance in China mainly includes three aspects:
(1) document delivery and investigation and evidence collection;
(2) Mutual recognition and enforcement of court judgments and arbitral awards;
(3) Criminal judicial assistance, including service of documents, investigation and evidence collection, extradition of crimes, etc.