President of the Supreme People's Court
Head of Chinese judiciary
- 2 min read
- 4 chapters
Explore on Lably
ToursExplore Lably’s 3D toursUnder the current constitution, the president of the SPC is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress (NPC), the legislature. The incumbent president of the Supreme People's Court is Zhang Jun, who took office on 11 March 2023.
History
The Supreme People's Court of the Central People's Government was established on 1 October 1949. Shen Junru served as the first president by the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
On 27 September 1954, the SPC of the Central People's Government was replaced with the SPC of the People's Republic of China.
Sign in to keep reading
3 more chapters are free with a Lably account.
Selection
According to the Organic Law of the National People's Congress (NPC), constitutionally China's supreme organ of state power, the president is nominated by the NPC Presidium, the Congress's executive organ. However, the nomination is effectively made by the Chinese Communist Party, with the decisions being made among Party leaders. Candidates for top positions including the president are first approved first by the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, and then by its Politburo, then approved in a special plenary session the Central Committee just before the NPC session for election by the Congress, with the Presidium presenting the nominee during the NPC session. Although the Presidium could theoretically nominate multiple candidates for the presidency, leading the election to be competitive, it has always nominated a single candidate for the office.
After the nomination, the president is elected by the NPC, which also has the power to remove the president and other state officers from office. Elections and removals are decided by majority vote. The length of the president's term of office is the same as the NPC, which is 5 years, and the president is restricted to two consecutive terms. Since 2018, the president is required to recite the constitutional oath of office before assuming office.
Powers
According to the Judges Law of the People's Republic of China, the president of the SPC is the chief justice of the People's Republic of China.