Supreme People's Court of China

The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China, abbreviated SPC, is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals from the high people's courts and serves as the trial court for cases of national importance. The court was established in October 1949, with its functions first formally outlined in 1954; during the Cultural Revolution it was occupied by the People's Liberation Army from 1968 to 1973, and during the reform era it turned its focus back to legal issues. Under the constitution the Supreme People's Court is accountable to the National People's Congress, and it employs about 400 judges and more than 600 administrative personnel. It also serves as the highest court for cases investigated by the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, though the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau otherwise keep their own separate judicial systems, based respectively on British common law and Portuguese civil law, outside the Supreme People's Court's jurisdiction.