It exercises the highest judicial right independently by law, without any interruption by administrative organs, social organizations or individuals. It includes a judicial committee, the highest-level judicial organization, and courts, including the No. 1 Criminal Tribunal, No.2 Criminal Tribunal, the Civil Tribunal, the Economic Tribunal, the Administrative Tribunal, the Complaint and Appeal Tribunal and the Communication and Transportation Tribunal.

By the Constitution and statutes, the Supreme People's Court is charged with three responsibilities:

First, trying the cases that have the greatest influence in China, hearing appeals against the legal decisions of higher courts, and trying the cases that the Supreme People's Court claims to be heard by itself.

Second, supervising the work of local courts and special courts at every level, overruling wrong judgments they might have made, and deciding interrogations and reviewing cases tried by the lower courts.

Third, giving a judicial explanation of the law in the judicial process which becomes effective nationally.

The Presiding judge of the Supreme People's Court is elected by the National People's Congress and remains in office for only two continuous terms. Deputy-presiding judges, commissioners, presiding judge of affiliated courts, their deputies and judicial officers can only be assumed or recalled by the NPC .

The current President of the Supreme People's Court: Xiao Yang (from March 1998)