The Supreme People's Courts (SPC) has recently released the Work Procedures for the Building and Operation of the Case Database of the People's Courts (the "Procedures"), effective from May 8, 2024.
The Procedures stipulate that, when hearing cases, the people's courts at all levels shall search the Case Database of the People's Courts, strictly abide by laws, judicial interpretations, and normative documents, and render their judgments upon reference to similar cases in the case database. The Procedures clarify that, in the course of case hearing, if a court finds upon searching that the case database does not contain similar cases, and the legal application issues involved in the case being heard are difficult and complex, it may request instructions on the relevant legal application issues, or request higher-level jurisdiction; if the court continues the hearing of the said case, the relevant issues shall be submitted to the judicial committee for discussion and decision. If the court takes similar cases in the case database as a reference when hearing a case, the reasons and gist in the judgments of the similar cases can be used as considerations and reasons for the judgment of the current case, but shall not be used as the basis for the judgment. If the public prosecutors, the parties concerned and their defenders, agents ad litem, and other parties submit cases in the case database as their grounds for prosecution (litigation) and defense, the court shall give response in the reasoning of the judgment document.