The Supreme People’s Procuratorate

The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) is the highest procuratorial organ of China, leading regional procuratorates and special procuratorates. It reports to the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee.

Major functions and powers of the SPP:

1. Thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; thoroughly carrying out the line, principles, policies, and arrangement of the Communist Party of China (CPC); unifying thoughts and activities of the procuratorates, and firmly upholding the absolute leadership of the CPC to the procuratorial works; unwaveringly supporting the pivotal role of General Secretary Xi Jinping; steadfastly safeguarding the authority of the Central Committee of the CPC and its centralized and unified leadership.

2. Making proposals to the NPC and its Standing Committee in accordance with provisions of laws; requesting legal interpretations from the NPC and its Standing Committee; approaching the NPC and its Standing Committee for examination of the applicability of administrative regulations, local regulations, regulations on the exercise of autonomy, and specific regulations under the Constitution and laws.

3. Exercising leadership over local and special procuratorates at every level; providing professional guidance to inferior procuratorates; formulating guidelines and overall strategy of procuratorial work, and laying out the work and tasks of procuratorial organs.

4. Exercising the right to investigate criminal cases directly accepted by the Supreme People's Procuratorate in accordance with the law; leading local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates to carry out investigations on criminal cases directly accepted by people's procuratorates in accordance with the law.

5. Reviewing and approving arrests, initiating arrests, and initiating public prosecutions of nationwide major criminal cases in accordance with the law; leading local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates to approve arrests, deciding on arrests, and initiating public prosecutions of criminal cases.

6. Taking charge of criminal, civil, and administrative litigation activities which are assigned to the Supreme People's Procuratorate; undertaking legal supervision of the enforcement of effective legal documents concerning criminal, civil, and administrative judgments and rulings.

7. Initiating public interest litigation; leading local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates to initiate public interest litigation.

8. Supervising death penalty reviews by the Supreme People's Court.

9. Reviewing cases submitted by provincial people's procuratorates for approval, and deciding whether to prosecute.

10. Taking charge of legal supervision of law enforcement activities in prisons, detention centers and other law enforcement facilities; leading local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates to carry out legal supervision of law enforcement activities in those locations.

11. Accepting charges and complaints; leading local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates to handle charges, complaints and procuratorial work.

12. Reviewing the decisions made by local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates in exercising the procuratorial power and correct wrong decisions.

13. Solving problems of law application in the procuratorial work and issuing guiding cases.

14. Guiding the theoretical research of nationwide procuratorates.

15. Taking charge of the team construction and ideological and political work of procuratorates; leading local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates to administer the work of procurators and other procuratorial personnel in accordance with the law, coordinating with the competent central department to manage the institutional setup and staffing of people's procuratorates; formulating relevant personnel management methods; organizing and guiding the education and training of procuratorates.

16. Coordinating with the competent central department to manage and assess the chief procurators of the people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; coordinating with provincial CPC committees to manage and assess the deputy chief procurators of the people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

17. Leading local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates in procuratorial supervision and inspection.

18. Planning and guiding the finance and equipment of nationwide procuratorates; guiding nationwide procuratorates in conducting technical work and information work.

19. Organizing foreign exchanges and cooperation of procuratorates; carrying out relevant international judicial assistance.

20. Undertaking additional work designated to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

English text is based on the Chinese introduction on the official website of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China (www.spp.gov.cn）.