BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced Monday that its six circuit courts had accepted 5,730 cases in the first half of 2017.

The top court accepted 15,400 cases and concluded 9,594 cases, according to a document issued at an SPC press conference.

Moreover, courts nationwide have accepted over 14 million cases and concluded more than 8.8 million cases in the first half of the year, the document said.

The work of circuit courts has proven effective in reducing the public's litigation burden and promoting the accessibility of judicial services, said Li Liang, director of the SPC trial management office.

The SPC circuit courts are permanent trial courts set to exercise power on behalf of the SPC. Circuit court judgements and decisions are equal to those made by the SPC.

China currently has six SPC circuit courts, one each in Shenzhen, Shenyang, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Chongqing and Xi'an.