Embedded Courts
Judicial Decision-Making in China

A study of the decision-making process of Chinese courts and the non-legal forces and regional factors that influence judicial outcomes.

Kwai Hang Ng (Author), Xin He (Author)

9781108420495, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 October 2017

258 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.5 kg

'Every good book raises as many questions as it answers, and this is a very good book. The most obvious concern China, and Embedded Courts will be required reading for those interested in China.' Frank K. Upham, Law & Social Inquiry

Embedded Courts is laden with tension. Chinese courts are organized as a singular and unified system yet grassroots courts in urban and rural regions differ greatly in the way they use the law and are as diverse as the populations they serve. Based on extensive fieldwork and in-depth interviews, this book offers a penetrating discussion of the operation of Chinese courts. It explains how Chinese judges rule and how the law is not the only script they follow - political, administrative, social and economic factors all influence verdicts. This landmark work will revise our understanding of the role of law in China - one that cannot be easily understood through the standard lens of judicial independence and separation of powers. Ng and He make clear the struggle facing frontline judges as they bridge the gap between a rule-based application of law and an instrumentalist view that prioritizes stability maintenance.

1. Chinese courts as embedded institutions
2. The daily rounds of frontline judges
3. Cohorts of judges
4. Administrative embeddedness - the vertical hierarchy of control
5. Political embeddedness - courts as a stability maintenance agency
6. Social embeddedness - ties from within and from without
7. Economic embeddedness - the political economy of court finances
8. Conclusion
9. Methodological appendix.

Subject Areas: Embedded systems [UKM], Social law [LNT], Judicial powers [LNAA1]