Law of China on People's Assessors

· Document Number：Order No. 4 of the President

· Area of Law： State Organs

· Level of Authority： Laws

· Date issued：04-27-2018

· Effective Date：04-27-2018

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

Order of the President
(No. 4)
The Law of China on People's Assessors, as adopted at the 2nd Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 27, 2018, is hereby issued, and shall come into force on the date of issuance.
President of the People's Republic of China: Xi Jinping
April 27, 2018

Law of China on People's Assessors
(Adopted at the 2nd Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 27, 2018)
Artile 1 This Law is developed for purposes of safeguarding citizens' participation in trial activities according to the law, promoting judicial justice, and improving judicial credibility.
Article 2 Any citizen has the right and obligation of serving as a people's assessor according to the law.
A people's assessor shall be generated in accordance with this Law, participate in the trial activities of people's courts according to the law, and enjoy equal rights as judges, except as otherwise provided for by laws.
Article 3 A people's assessor shall legally enjoy such rights as participating in trial activities, independently making comments, and obtaining guarantee for the performance of functions.
A people's assessor shall faithfully perform the functions of trial, keep trial secrets, pay attention to judicial etiquette, and maintain judicial image.
Article 4 The people's assessors shall be protected by law when participating in trial activities according to the law.
The people's courts shall safeguard according to the law the people's assessors' performance of the functions of trial.
The employers of people's assessors or the basic-level self-governing mass organizations at the places of people's assessors' registered permanent residence or habitual residence shall safeguard according to the law the participation of people's assessors in trial activities.
Article 5 To serve as a people's assessor, a citizen shall satisfy the following conditions:
(1) Upholding the Constitution of the People's Republic of China.
(2) Having reached the age of 28.
(3) Observing disciplines and laws, having good ethics and being impartial and upright.
(4) Being in a proper health state to perform his or her functions and duties normally.
To serve as a people's assessor, a citizen shall generally have the educational background of a senior high school or above.
Article 6 The following personnel may not serve as people's assessors:
(1) Members of the standing committees of people's congresses, and staff members of supervisory committees, people's courts, people's procuratorates, public security organs, state safety organs, and judicial administrative organs.
(2) Lawyers, notaries, arbitrators, and basic legal service workers.
(3) Personnel that are inappropriate to serve as people's assessors due to other post-related reasons.
Article 7 Whoever falls under any of the following circumstances is not allowed to serve as a people's assessor:
(1) Having been given a criminal penalty.
(2) Being dismissed from public office.
(3) Having his or her lawyer's or notary's practicing license revoked.
(4) Being included in the list of dishonest judgment debtors.
(5) Being removed from the post of a people's assessor due to punishment.
(6) Otherwise seriously violating laws or disciplines, which may affect judicial credibility.
Article 8 The quota of people's assessors shall be submitted by the basic-level people's court to the standing committee of the people's congress at the same level for determination as needed by the trial of the case.
The quota of people's assessors may not be lower than three times the number of judges of the people's court.
Article 9 The judicial administrative organ shall, in conjunction with basic-level people's court and the public security organ, randomly select personnel that are more than five times the number of people's assessors to be appointed from the list of local permanent residents under its jurisdiction as candidates of people's assessors, conduct qualification examination of candidates of people's assessors, and solicit opinions from such candidates.
Article 10 The judicial administrative organ shall, in conjunction with the basic-level people's court, randomly select and determine people's assessors from the list of candidates of people's assessors who have passed the qualification examination. The president of the basic-level people's court shall request the standing committee of the people's congress at the same level to appoint such people's assessors.
Article 11 Due to needs of trial activities, candidates of people's assessors may be generated by means of applications filed by individuals or recommendation by the employers or the basic-level self-governing mass organizations or people's organizations at the places of registered permanent residence or habitual residence, and people's assessors shall be determined through the qualification examination conducted by the judicial administrative organ in conjunction with the basic-level people's court and the public security organ. The president of the basic-level people's court shall request the standing committee of the people's congress at the same level to appoint such people's assessors.
The people's assessors generated based on the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not exceed one fifth of the quota of people's assessors.
Article 12 After being appointed by the standing committees of the people's congresses, people's assessors shall be publicly sworn into office. The swearing-in ceremony shall be organized by the basic-level people's court in conjunction with the judicial administrative organ.
Article 13 The term of office of a people's assessor shall be five years. In general, a people's assessor may not be reappointed.
Article 14 When people's assessors and judges form a collegial panel to try a case, the judges shall serve as presiding judges. A three-member collegial panel may be formed or three judges and four people's assessors may form a seven-member collegial panel.
Article 15 When the people's court tries a criminal, civil, or administrative case of first instance and the case falls under any of the following circumstances, people's assessors and judges shall form a collegial panel to try the case:
(1) Involving the interests of a certain group or public interests.
(2) Attracting extensive attention of the general public or otherwise having great social impacts.
(3) Having complicated case circumstances or falling under any other circumstances, which requires people's assessors to participate in the trial.
Where the people's court tries a case as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, if law prescribes that the case should be tried by a sole judge or a collegial panel consisting of judges, such provision shall prevail.
Article 16 Where a people's court tries any of the following cases of first instance, people's assessors and judges shall form a seven-member collegial panel for the trial of the case:
(1) Criminal cases with great social impacts where a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment or death penalty may be sentenced.
(2) Public welfare lawsuits filed by in accordance with the Civil Procedural Law of the People's Republic of China and the Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China.
(3) Cases involving land requisition and house demolition, ecology and environment protection, and food and drug safety, and with great social impacts.
(4) Other cases with great social impacts.
Article 17 Where the defendant to a criminal case of first instance, plaintiff or defendant to a civil case, or plaintiff to an administrative case files an application for people's assessors' participation in the trial by the collegial panel, the people's court may decide that people's assessors and judges form a collegial panel to try the case.
Article 18 The legal provisions on the withdrawal of judicial personnel shall apply to the withdrawal of people's assessors.
Article 19 Where people's assessors need to participate in the trial of cases by the collegial panel of the basic-level people's court, such people's assessors shall be randomly selected and determined from the list of people's assessors.
Where people's assessors need to participate in the trial of cases by the collegial panel of the intermediate people's court or the higher people's court, such people's assessors shall be randomly selected and determined from the list of people's assessors of the basic-level people's courts under its jurisdiction.
Article 20 The presiding judge shall perform the obligation of guidance or prompt related to the trial of cases, but he or she may not obstruct people's assessors' independent judgment of cases.
In the deliberation of a case by a collegial panel, the presiding judge shall make necessary interpretations and explanations to people's assessors on the fact-finding, rules of evidence, legal provisions and other matters, and issues to which attention should be paid.
Article 21 When people's assessors participate in a three-member collegial panel to try a case, they shall independently make comments on fact-finding or application of law and exercise the right to vote.
Article 22 When people's assessors participate in a seven-member collegial panel to try a case, they shall independently make comments on fact-finding and vote jointly with judges; and they may make comments on the application of law, but may not participate in the voting.
Article 23 When deliberating a case, a collegial penal shall adhere to the rule of majority. Where people's assessors have dissenting opinions with other members of the collegial panel, the opinions of such people's assessors shall be recorded in the transcripts.
Where members of a collegial panel have significant dissenting opinions, people's assessors or judges may require the collegial penal to submit the case to the president of the people's court for decision on whether the case should be submitted to the judicial committee for discussion and decision.
Article 24 The people's court shall, in light of the actual local circumstances of the jurisdiction, rationally determine the upper limit of the number of cases where each people's assessor participates each year and announce it to the public.
Article 25 The basic-level people's court shall, in conjunction with the judicial administrative organ, be responsible for the training, appraisal, rewards and punishments of people's assessors, and other routine administration work.
People's jurors shall be trained in a planned manner. People's assessors shall participate in trainings as required.
Article 26 People's assessors that have made remarkable achievements in the trial work or have other outstanding deeds shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the relevant provisions.
Article 27 Where a people's assessor falls under any of the following circumstances, which has been verified by the basic-level people's court in conjunction with the judicial administrative organ, the president of the basic-level people's court shall request the standing committee of the people's congress at the same level to remove his or her post as a people's assessor:
(1) He or she files an application for resigning from the post of the people's assessor for any justified reason.
(2) He or she falls under any of the circumstances as specified in Article 6 or 7.
(3) Without justified reasons, he or she refuses to participate in trial activities, which affects the normal trial work.
(4) He or she practices favoritism or makes falsification in violation of the relevant laws and provisions on the trial work, causing erroneous judgment or other serious consequences.
Where a people's assessor commits any act as specified in item (3) or (4) of the preceding paragraph, he or she may be punished by such measures as notifying his or her employer, or the basic-level self-governing mass organization or people's organization at the place of his or her registered permanent residence or habitual residence, and circulating a public notification within the jurisdiction; and if a crime is constituted, he or she shall be subject to criminal liability according to the law.
Article 28 The personal and domicile safety of people's assessors shall be protected by law. No entity or individual may retaliate against people's assessors or their close relatives.
Whoever retaliates against, frames up, insults, defames or violently assaults a people's assessor or any of his or her close relatives shall be held legally liable according to the law.
Article 29 During the period when a people's assessor participates in trial activities, the employer may not withhold, either directly or in any disguised form, the salaries, bonuses, or other benefits payable to the people's assessor.
Where the employer of a people's assessor violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the basic-level people's court shall, in a timely manner, raise correction opinions to the employer of the people's assessor, or the competent department or the superior department of the employer.
Article 30 During the period when a people's assessor participates in trial activities, the people's court shall grant him or her subsidies according to the actual working days in accordance with the relevant provisions.
For traveling expenses and meal fees, among others, paid by people's assessors for their participation in trial activities, the people's court shall grant subsidies in accordance with the relevant provisions.
Article 31 The subsidies people's assessors should enjoy for their participation in trial activities and the necessary expenses of the people's court and the judicial administrative organ for implementing the system of people's assessors shall be included in the business funds of the people's court and the judicial administrative organ and be guaranteed by the relevant government finance. The specific measures shall be developed by the Supreme People's Court and the justice administrative department of the State Council in conjunction with the finance department of the State Council.
Article 32 This Law shall come into force on the date of issuance, upon which the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Improving the System of People's Assessors adopted at the 11th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on August 28, 2004 shall be repealed.