There are four levels of courts in China’s judicial legal system. Located in Beijing, the highest level is the Supreme People’s court. The Basic People’s Court has the jurisdiction over municipal districts’ disputes. Its judgment may be appealed to the Intermediate People’s Court. Any judgment may be appealed once at a court one level higher than the court of first instance. The contents and size of the dispute, which is measured according to the civil claim amount or the maximum penalty for a criminal charge, determines at what level the case should be heard at the first instance.

Generally speaking, there are criminal divisions, civil divisions, and administrative divisions to deal with disputes in each of the categories. However, in order to focus on certain areas, such as intellectual properties or maritime dispute, some special tribunals for such specialist areas of law is established in some certain intermediate courts, and such matters shall be referred to a selected number of specialized courts which are usually located in centers of some international trade zones or big cities.