Chinese Law Research Guide: Free Web Resources

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THE JUDICIARY: CASES & COURT INFORMATION:

• Supreme People's Court - Includes Resources, Judicial System, Reports, Laws & Rules, Court Statistics & White Papers.
• Supreme People's Court Monitor - Susan Finder's blog discussing China's highest Court.
  • About the SPC
  • Articles on the SPC
  • How "Case Law" Works in the Chinese Courts (May 29, 2022)
  • How "Case Law" Works in the Chinese Courts: Comments and Response (June 11, 2022)
  • Notice of the Supreme People's Court on Issuing the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening and Standardizing the Analysis and Reasoning in Adjudicative Instruments - No. 10 [2018] of the SPC
  • Notice of the Supreme People's Court on Issuing the Specifications for Preparing Civil Judgments by the People's Courts and the Style of Civil Litigation Documents - No. 221 [2016] of the SPC
  • Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Citation of Such Normative Legal Documents as Laws and Regulations in the Judgments - Interpretation No. 14 [2009] of the SPC
  • Update on Judicial Interpretations - On June 16, 2021, the SPC introduced a new type of Judicial Interpretation. (Also see Global Legal Monitor discussion of JI's.)
  • SPC official websites
  • SPC white papers, occasional papers, and annual reports
  • SPC's judicial interpretations, judicial documents, and model cases
  • Using Cases to Explain the Law in the New Era (July 9, 2020) - Discussion of Model Cases.
• Supreme People's Court White Paper: Judicial Reform of Chinese Courts 2013-2022 (Bilingual pdf) (Feb. 21, 2023).
• China Judgments Online - The official Chinese language web site developed by the Supreme People's Court for searching judgments.  It contains selected PRC judgments from the Supreme People's Court and local courts since 2013. Judgments can be searched by keywords or case number, or can be browsed by region or subject areas (e.g. civil, criminal, administrative, intellectual property, etc.). 
• The China Guiding Cases Project was a ten year initiative (2011-2021) of Stanford Law School aimed at advancing knowledge and understanding of Chinese law. It allowed judges and legal experts both inside and outside of China to contribute to the evolution of Chinese case law through ongoing dialogue on “Guiding Cases” released by China’s Supreme People’s Court. 
  • The Growing Significance of Cases in China: The Guiding Cases System  (Judge Sidney H. Stein, 2017)
    • "Guiding Cases represent a constructive step towards judicial autonomy and transparency." 
    • Started in 2010, "the Guiding Cases System has the potential to move the Chinese legal system closer to the goal set in 1982 by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China—that “[t]he people’s courts exercise adjudicative power independently, in accordance with the provisions of law, and not subject to interference by any administrative organ, social organization, or individual.”
    • "The ultimate value and efficacy of the Guiding Cases System relies on continued participation from all stakeholders, including members of the bench, the bar, and academia."
    • "To be certain, the term “Guiding Cases” is something of a misnomer—they are not “cases” as we know them but are, rather, decisions and cases that have been re-constituted into easily-digested adjudicative data. Chinese courts are not ultimately obligated to genuinely consider Guiding Cases in their judgments—they exist for reference, not as binding precedent—and practitioners before these courts are not obligated to cite Guiding Cases in the course of their representation.
    • "[T]he Detailed Implementing Rules prohibit a Chinese court from resting a decision solely on the strength of a Guiding Case, and the present composition of the National Judicial Examination means that neophyte Chinese lawyers most likely begin the practice of law with no—or little—familiarity with the Guiding Cases regime."
  • The Archived Stanford Law Guiding Cases website is not adding new content, but now includes all 13 issues of the bilingual quarterly e-journal China Law Connect with the the full-text of many of the Guiding Cases, provisions of the Supreme People’s Court concerning Guiding Cases, expert commentaries on the Guiding Cases, and summaries of selected laws. 
  • Guiding Cases at LawInfoChina - Use the filter on the left to locate 168 Guiding Cases from the Supreme People's Court and 126 Guiding Cases from the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

• China has four official online platforms for publicizing court information.  For an overview of these resources, see the following White Papers: Judicial Transparency of Chinese Courts (2015) and Judicial Transparency by The People's Court (2017).

1. Live Broadcast of Court Trials - In September 2016 China officially launched this website to live broadcast court trials in an effort to increase judicial transparency.
2. China Trial Process Information Disclosure Website - In 2014 the Supreme People’s Court became the first court in China to disclose information on trial process at this disclosure website. Parties to the case may log on with their ID cards to search and download court records, trial documents, and process information.  
3. China Judgments Online - In 2013, the Supreme People's Court began making judgment documents from more than 3,000 courts across China accessible and searchable through this website.
4. Enforcement of Court Decisions - The Supreme People’s Court has integrated the disclosed information of all courts in China to develop and construct a uniform China Enforcement Information Disclosure Website. 

LEGISLATION: LAWS & REGULATIONS:

• National People's Congress (NPC) [also see the alternate NPC website] - The NPC website is very good and is updated frequently. This website focuses on reporting all major missions and activities of the congress and its standing committee, releasing the laws, resolution/decisions, and lists of appointments and removals passed by the standing committee.  
• NPC Observer - An independent English language website covering China's NPC and it's standing committee.  NPC Observer is dedicated to improving the accessibility of China’s national legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee (NPCSC), to English readers across the globe and to helping them better understand the institution, through free, independent, and high-quality reporting, analysis, and original research.
  • Legislation: Introduction
  • National Laws
  • Legislative Interpretations
  • Quasi-Legislative Decisions
  • Current NPC Session
  • NPC Sessions (archived)
  • NPCSC Work Plans
  • NPCSC Annual Works Reports
• National Database of Laws and Regulations -  The NPC Law and Regulations Database allows users to browse, search, and download laws & regulations promulgated by the NPC or the NPC Standing Committee.  NPC Observer provided a detailed explanation of the Database (NPC Launches Official Chinese Law Database: A Guide & Review) when it was initially released in February 2021. 
• NPC Overview - A description of the organization, function, and history of the NPC.
• Laws of the PRC - NPC's compilation of English translations "for reference only".
• NPC Magazine - English and Chinese language e-journal (2007 to current) covering the work of the NPC and it's standing committee.
• Hong Kong e-Legislation - This free online database contains: the statutes & laws of Hong Kong in English and Chinese; constitutional and other relevant documents, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Basic Law of the HKSAR and the PRC national laws that apply in the HKSAR; English-Chinese Glossary of Legal Terms and the Chinese-English Glossary of Legal Terms; Chinese Subject Index of Ordinances; English Subject Index of Ordinances. 

GENERAL LEGAL INFORMATION:

• China.org.cn - See the Laws section
• Congressional-Executive Commission on China - This website was created by U.S. Congress in October 2000 with a legislative mandate [H.R. 4444, 106th Cong. (2000)] to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China, and to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. The commission consists of nine Senators, nine members of the House of Representatives, and five senior Administration officials appointed by the President. This website includes the annual reports of the commission, the topical papers, and the statements of panelists participating in the roundtables organized by the commission. It includes the full-text of Selected PRC Legal Provisions and is a good place to track current legal issues in China.
• Echtralex -  Parallel Chinese and English texts of official PRC documents, including government work reports, government white papers, political reports from Party Congresses, and transcripts of ministry press conferences. The English text is from the official PRC translations of the documents. 
• Glossary of Chinese/English Legal Terms -  Hong Kong Department of Justice's collection of English-Chinese (and Chinese-English) Legal Terms.
• Glossary of Legal Terms - A user-generated glossary of searchable Chinese and English legal terms at China Law Translate.
• Government White Papers - A collection of official Chinese government "White Papers" (in English) published by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) [also see the alternate SCIO website].  These White Papers may be useful research resources on various topics. SCIO documents include: State Council Gazettes, White Papers, SCIO News, and Press Releases.
• Legislative Affairs Office (LAO) of the State Council - This 2016 archived website includes the free Chinalaw.gov.cn database which provides the summaries of English translations of selected laws and regulations, summaries of departmental rules, and summaries of judicial interpretations up to 2007. The LAO was abolished in 2018 and it's functions have been assumed by the reorganized Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Includes Foreign Policies, Official Activities, Speeches, Communiqués & Diplomatic Agenda.
• Ministry of Justice - China's MOJ website includes information about MOJ policies, departments, and legal services.
• State Council of the PRC - This official website is an English language gateway to Chinese government information and services:
  • Constitution 
  • Doing Business in China
  • Laws and Regulations
  • Official Publications Archive
  • State Council News & Meetings
  • State Council Statistics
  • State Council Gazettes
  • White Papers
• World Legal Information Institute: China - This is a good collection of links to most of the best websites for Chinese legal information on the Internet.

BUSINESS, COMMERCIAL, AND CYBERSECURITY LAW RESOURCES:

• China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) - If you want to do business in China, you need to know about CIETAC. At this website you can find arbitration rules, Chinese laws, case analysis, and reports.
• China Business Information Center - Maintained by the U.S. government, this site contains a list of links to China-U.S. Trade News sources, links to: China Commercial Guide and Advice on doing business in China
• China Labour Bulletin - Publishes research reports on issues such as the Chinese workers' movement, migrant workers, health and safety, and trade unions and collective bargaining.  Provides overviews on topics like the Chinese dispute resolution system and social security along with links to Chinese laws and empirical data.
• Doing Business in China - State Council of the PRC
• DigiChina - The DigiChina Project is a collaborative effort hosted by Stanford University to understand China’s technology policy developments, primarily through translating and analyzing Chinese-language sources.
• Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) - The CAC undertakes rulemaking, administrative licensing, and punishment activities. It also represents China in international cyber-related activities. 
  - Behind the Facade of China’s Cyber Super-Regulator - Jamie Horsley (Yale Law School) discusses China's cybersecurity regulation
  - The CCAC sometimes co-issues policy documents with state agencies and acts unilaterally or collaborates with state agencies in other initiatives. 
  - The Cybersecurity Review Measures issued by the CAC and other authorities grant the CCAC legislated leadership and a final approval role in the review process.
  - The CAC’s statutory basis:
  • The 2016 Cybersecurity Law (CSL) codified the authority of the “state cybersecurity and information departments” (generally deemed to refer to the CAC and its local branches) to comprehensively plan and coordinate cybersecurity and related management efforts with multiple regulatory agencies having overlapping or complementary jurisdiction.
  • The 2021 Data Security Law (DSL) tasked the CAC with overall coordination of online data security and relevant regulatory matters and again authorized the CAC to regulate the export of important data, together with relevant State Council departments.
  • China’s 2021 Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) then granted the CAC overarching powers for comprehensive planning, coordination, and supervision of personal information protection work and reiterated its authority over outbound personal information.