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🇨🇳 China · first-instance court

Intermediate People's Courts

中级人民法院 / Intermediate People's Courts

Reviewed· 2026-08-03Prefecture-level cities

The tier where most litigation of commercial consequence begins, including cases involving foreign parties. Basic people's courts below them handle the bulk of everyday civil, family and minor criminal matters, often through the people's mediation system, which resolves a large share of disputes before any judgment is entered.

How the court is constituted

Tier
first instance
Court type
Prefecture-level trial and appellate court
Jurisdiction
First-instance trial of serious criminal cases including those carrying capital punishment, higher-value civil and commercial claims, foreign-related and maritime matters, and appeals from basic people's courts.
Seat
Prefecture-level cities
Established
1954

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