China: Integration of Core Socialist Values into Interpretation of Laws and Reasoning of Court Decisions

The People’s Supreme Court recently issued the Guiding Opinions on Further Promoting the Integration of Socialist Core Values into the Law Interpretation and Reasoning of Court Decisions (the “Opinions”). The Opinions specify that in the process of integrating core socialist values into the law interpretation and reasoning of court decisions, the courts shall insist on combining the rule of law and rule by virtue, making the people the central focus and achieving the political, legal and social effects at the same time. The Opinions also stress that, taking the socialist core values as an important guideline for understanding the legislative purpose and legal principles is conducive to embodying and carrying forward the socialist core values in practice. The Opinions also prescribe on the interpretation methods and oriented values to be used in the course of integrating core socialist values into court decisions.  Before the promulgation of the Opinions, people’s high courts in different provinces have already been witnessed to use the core socialist values to decide on employment disputes. As the Opinions have taken effect since 1 March 2021, it is reasonable to expect that the courts will use socialist core values more often, when it comes to judicial discretion in employment disputes.

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