China's Supreme People's Court issues regulation on holding judicial personnel accountable

The Supreme People's Court released the Regulation on Pursuing Judicial Responsibility in the People's Courts on 21 October 2026, at a press conference. China News Service said the regulation sets out what counts as a breach of adjudication duty and how responsibility is to be pursued. Xinhua, citing Sun Zhenping (孙镇平), director of the court's political department, said the regulation has six chapters and 47 articles. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]

The regulation says court personnel who deliberately breach their adjudication duties, or who show gross negligence in performing them with serious consequences, must bear judicial responsibility. The people covered include judges and auxiliary staff such as judicial assistants, enforcement officers, clerks, judicial police and judicial technical staff, as well as court presidents and division chiefs who have supervisory duties. Judicial personnel are responsible for their conduct for life, and the rules apply to those who have retired, been transferred, resigned, been dismissed or been expelled. They also apply at every stage, from case filing and trial to enforcement and supervision. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]

Jiemian reported that Article 8 lists eight kinds of deliberate breach, plus a catch-all clause. Examples include clearly wrong application of law, concealing or forging evidence, and ruling without deliberation by the collegial panel. Article 9 lists eight kinds of gross negligence with serious consequences, also with a catch-all. Examples include wrong findings of fact leading to an incorrect ruling and serious delays beyond legal time limits. [ 3 ]

The regulation also lists situations in which a changed or corrected ruling is not treated as a wrongly decided case. According to Jiemian, Article 20 lists seven such situations, plus a catch-all. They include differing understanding of a legal provision that can be reasonably explained, new evidence, revised laws or policy, and errors caused by technical limits. Supervising court presidents and division chiefs who performed their duties with due care and can give a reasonable explanation are not held responsible. Auxiliary staff are not held responsible for errors caused by objective reasons or force majeure if they took due care or remedial steps. Where judicial personnel face false reports or slander, courts are to clear their names. [ 3 ]

On procedure, China News Service said responsibility is pursued under the leadership of Party groups in courts at each level, with the department in charge of supervision taking the lead. The court where the person works generally receives leads and investigates. Leads are passed to discipline inspection and supervision bodies if the person's cadre management authority lies outside the courts. Courts do not investigate when such bodies or prosecutors have already opened a case on the same conduct. Penalties are organisational measures, Party discipline or administrative sanctions, used singly or together. [ 1 ]

Xinhua said the court released six model cases on pursuing judicial responsibility and protecting lawful performance of duty. Caixin described them as including a former grassroots-court judge held responsible for delaying cases and falsely closing them, and a judge who ruled against a judicial committee decision. They also include the head of a mid-level court's judicial appraisal office and a grassroots-court deputy president and enforcement bureau chief. Sun Zhenping said the court will continue to strengthen routine supervision of adjudication work. [ 5 , 6 ]