Supreme People's Court
Unlike [[common law]] jurisdictions, there is no strict precedential concept for case law and no principle of "[[stare decisis]]". In addition, there is no [[case or controversy]] requirement that would require the [[Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China|Supreme People's Court]] to limit its decisions to actual cases, and the SPC does issue general interpretations of the law. In practice, lower people's court judges attempt to follow the interpretations of the laws decided by the [[Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China|Supreme People's Court]]. In addition, unlike common law jurisdictions, higher courts have the power of supervision and guidance, which means that on their own initiative they can reopen a case that has been decided at a lower level.