Late last year (2023), some followers asked me to describe some of the principal sources for Supreme People’s Court (SPC) research. I’m doing this in several posts, as few (particularly outside of China) seem to be aware of the range of publicly available publications of the SPC and its many affiliated entities–see here, here, and here for earlier posts. This post was originally titled Academic Journals of the Supreme People’s Court, but I thought that incorporating some other journals made sense. If I’ve omitted any journals, please use the comment function to provide additional information.

Title	Sponsoring Entity	Content	Other Comments
Supreme People’s Court Gazette (最高人民法院公报)	SPC’s General Office	Detailed summary of content available here.	On the authority of Bulletin cases, see comments here
Journal of Law Application法律适用	National Judges College	Description of its content is available here, but it is not current, the most current information is on WeChat.	It is one of the core academic journals in law.   More focused on specific legal issues than the Journal of Applied Jurisprudence; often includes studies by court research  groups；judges; academics. In honor of the 500th issue,  their WeChat account published “‘Journal of Law Application’ and I”  posts– insightful short articles from among others, author Prof. Hou Meng of Renmin University & Judge Geng Baojian, head of the Administrative Divison about what the journal means to them.
China Journal of Applied Jurisprudence中国应用法学	China Institute of Applied Jurisprudence 中国应用法学研究所 (research institute attached to the SPC)	The sections of the journal vary. The first one most recently related to Xi Jinping rule of law thought; general authoritative interpretation –understanding and application articles; often symposia on specialized issues–personal credit information, corporate compliance; AI	See this video interview with deputy editor Ms. Yang Yi. The articles do not represent the views of the SPC but do not contradict them. Leading academics often publish in this journal, as well as some SPC judges.
Digital Law数字法治	New journal, began publication in 2023, sponsored by the People’s Court Press	See this article for the contents of the first issue, Wangfangdata has more detailed informatiaon
人民司法 People’s Justice	It was started in 1957, so it is the oldest of the SPC journals, for part of its history, for internal use only (see one example below)	Two issues per month, one with discussions of legal issues 人民司法 应用; one issue with cases:  –人民司法 案例	Not an academic journal, more practically oriented; the website is outdated but the WeChat account is current. The articles do not represent the views of the SPC, but do not contradict them.
China Trial 中国审判	Sponsored by the People’s Court Press	See the magazine’s website	magazine with a glossy cover, not an academic journal, mentioned on this blog here and here.