The first circuit court of the Supreme People's Court opened in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Wednesday. Accepting cases from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Guangdong and Hainan provinces, the court will mainly handle cross-province cases and issue final verdicts that are equivalent to that of the supreme court. Comments:

According to the current administrative proceedings, a citizen can only sue a provincial-level government department in an intermediate people's court, not the SPC. That left room for regional protectionism, namely local courts protecting local government agencies. The opening of circuit courts is expected to curb this protectionism and further promote justice.

Gu Yongzhong, a professor of law at China University of Political Science and Law, Jan 28

Quite a high percentage of nationwide civil and criminal cases are dealt with in Guangdong province, and many involve issues that need the authority of the SPC. Besides, Shenzhen is a good sample of judicial reform, which makes it a good candidate.

Cheng Lei, associate professor of law at Renmin University of China, Jan 28