The Supreme People's Court recently issued its 25th group of guiding cases. All four cases are related to promoting core socialist values.

Guiding case No 140 specifies that the security obligations of the operators and administrators of public places should be kept in a reasonable range in accordance with their management and control capabilities.

This case significantly clarifies the scope of security obligations and standardizes acceptable public behaviors.

Guiding case No 141 clarifies that if a person with full capacity for civil conduct enters an area to which access is denied to the public without authorization and is harmed, the manager or owner of the area shall not be liable for that harm. The case clarifies the legal standards and rules of evidence for the identification of tort liability, and reaffirms the principle that laws should be strictly and correctly applied and that losses should not be borne by parties that are not liable under the rules of tort law.

Guiding case No 142 clearly defines that it is a legal act for a person to protect the legitimate rights and interests of an injured party and to dissuade other person(s) within reasonable limits from leaving the scene after a collision. If the person being dissuaded from leaving the collision scene dies suddenly from a pre-existing condition such as heart stress the person dissuading them bears no tort liability as there is no causal relationship between the dissuasion and the death.

Guiding case No 143 involves reputation infringement when communicating in cyberspace. It specifies that a person shall be identified as infringing reputation if they use words that insult, libel, slander or disparage any other person in a WeChat-group when that group is made up of people with no specific relations between them.

This case has guiding and exemplary significance for regulating citizens' behaviors in cyberspace. It advocates civilized communication and social customs, and is guidance for courts to deal with similar cases in accordance with the law.