The president of China’s top court has called for an active and prudent approach to China’s cross-administrative division court reforms.

Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), presided over a meeting on the work of cross-administrative division courts on Dec 9.

The third and fourth plenary sessions of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee have determined to explore ways to establish a jurisdiction system that is properly separate from the country’s administrative divisions and involves cross-administrative division courts, Zhou said.

As China’s first courts of the kind, the Beijing No 4 Intermediate People’s Court and the Shanghai No 3 Intermediate People's Court have had a good beginning since their launch at the end of 2014, accumulating much-needed experience for the country to expand its judicial reform.

Zhou stressed the need for accurate definition of the functions of cross-administrative division courts. They should apply their authority independently and fairly, as well as supervise and support the administration according to the law. They must indiscriminately ensure that the legal rights of all parties in a lawsuit are equally protected.