Institute of People’s Assessors in the People’s Republic of China: History and Modern Innovations

Abstract

The Institute of people’s assessors appeared in the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The research features normative acts and other official documents that regulate the development and operation of people’s courts. In China, selecting candidates for people’s assessors is considered a form of embodying the basic values of the socialist legal system. The article analyzes the conceptual foundations of the multi-stage random selection procedure. Its nature indicates a significant expansion of social composition while the democratic principles in the judicial system seem to grow in strength. The innovative nature of the modern people’s court involves some elements of jury trial, which is not typical for China. The Chinese model of people’s participation in the administration of justice is of dual nature. Its legal basis was set up in 2018 by the Law on People’s Assessors. The Chinese experience can be useful for other countries, regardless of their political and ideological foundations. The author raises a question about the possibility of using the Chinese model of the institution of people’s assessors in modern Russia.