What is the highest court in the Chinese legal system?
Judicial system of China
Supreme People's Court (SPC)
At the highest level is the Supreme People's Court (SPC) in Beijing, the premier appellate forum of the land, which supervises the administration of justice by all subordinate "local" and "special" people's courts. It is the court of last resort for the whole People's Republic of China except for Macau and Hong Kong.
Local people's courts—the courts of the first instance—handle criminal and civil cases. These people's courts make up the remaining three levels of the court system and consist of "high people's courts" at the level of the provinces, autonomous regions, and special municipalities; "intermediate people's courts" at the level of prefectures, autonomous prefectures, and municipalities; and "basic people's courts" at the level of autonomous counties, towns, and municipal districts.
Courts of Special Jurisdiction (special courts) comprises the Military Court of China (military), Railway Transport Court of China (railroad transportation) and Maritime Court of China (water transportation), and forestry.