According to the Supreme People's Court, a total of 15,400 trials took place in the first half of 2017, up 24.2 percent year on year. Six circuit courts of the Supreme People's Court accepted 5,730 cases, accounting for 44.8 percent of all cases during the period. Meanwhile, visits to the Supreme People's Court by petitioners dropped 17.5 percent compared with the same period of 2016.

The establishment of circuit courts is believed to burden part of the workload of appellate lawsuits, as citizens across the country are able to appeal at a supreme court near home instead of having to go to Beijing.

As standing organs of the Supreme People's Court, the circuit courts are authorized to make final judgments. The circuit courts have a wide range of jurisdiction involving in cases of administrative, commercial and civil affairs. In December 2014, China decided to set up the circuit courts in six major cities across the country to deal with cases from 26 provincial-level administrative regions. Circuit courts are regarded as a significant move to deepen reform on China's judicial system and implement rule of law since the 18th Communist Party of China National Congress in late 2012.

The establishment of circuit courts is helpful to alleviate social contradiction and thereby relieve the pressure of petitioners on the Supreme People's Court in Beijing. Meanwhile, the six circuit courts are aimed at maintaining procedural justice and ensuring fairness in the process of trials with supervision from the Supreme People's Court.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article published in Caixin Weekly on September 11)