Zhou Qiang, secretary of the leading Party members' group and president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), has stressed that courts should make good use of their trial function and ensure correct implementation of the newly adopted Civil Code.

Zhou made the requirements in an article recently published in Qiushi Journal. He said that courts nationwide should fully realize the significance of the Civil Code, and ensure its correct implementation to promote the development of the rule of law in China.

The Civil Code is a basic law that will influence the fundamentals of China in the long term. The correct implementation of the Civil Code will benefit the development of the society, protect the interests of the people, improve the modernization of the judicial system and capability of the courts, and enrich the theoretical system of the rule of law in China.

Zhou requires that courts should always put people first, improve the quality and efficiency of judicial work and enhance their ability to win public trust.

They should protect people's rights and interests and promote the well-rounded development of the people, practice core values of socialism and maintain social equality and justice, strengthen governance and research of supervision of judicial work and improve the level of judicial work in civil affairs. They should also enhance the construction of a one-stop diversified dispute resolution and litigation service system to make the diversified dispute resolution mechanism work.

Zhou urges courts to review documents and laws related to the code by the end of 2020, and abolish judicial interpretations which contradict it. They should make new judicial interpretations over time and guarantee their quality and effect.

Courts nationwide should begin the study of the code as soon as possible to improve their capability of handling civil trials, and encourage all of society to respect, learn and obey the law.