I. Introduction

On 24 April 2019, the Chinese Supreme People’s Court issued the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on People’s Assessors (hereafter referred to as “Interpretation”), adjusting the division of duty between judges and assessors. In the Chinese legal system, the term “people’s assessor (人民陪审员)” refers to a citizen who participates in trial activities of people’s courts. The assessors share similarities with the jurors in American legal system because they are, by nature, non-judge citizens involved in the trial process.

This note starts from a brief sketch of the history of the assessor system in China and would focus on the Interpretation. Part II discusses the current scope of the assessors’ duty, and provides some justifications for this duty arrangement. Part Ⅲ focuses on the extent to which the assessors could influence the final judgment delivered by the court, with a comparison to that in American jury system.