The decisions and the legislative interpretations of judicial interpretations of the Supreme Court of China can be considered as a part of Mainland China’s customary law, and carried by decisions and judicialinterpretations. Customary law is the very source of its normal force and they are supposed to be an informal source of the law for they have the required characteristics for substantiating customary law. Accordingly, the legislative judicial interpretations and decisions of the Supreme Court that are qualified to be promulgated in the Gazette of the Supreme Court should be standardized by the requisites of customary law and have the quality supposed to be universally fair.

A peaceful and harmonious world is an important social basis for China’s peaceful development, and international law lays a legal foundation and guarantee for building such a world. In the “village of globe” with co-existence and economic globalization, international law provides China a peaceful development with legal certainty in external environment of peace and security, fair and equal international competitive order, and international cooperation; and on the other hand, it puts on an increasing legal restraint on the internal and external strategies of China’s peaceful development. At the same time, the peaceful development of China deems to make a great contribution to the world, which are the main subject of international law in peace and development, as well as to human rights, rule of law and democracy, which are the universal values pursued by international law.

It is of great significance for the Supreme Court of China (SCC) to take back the power of having judicial review for death sentences. For that purpose, first, we have to amend the procedures for judicial review for death sentences, including precisely defining the responsibility of the SCC to review death sentences, determining appropriate modes of review, prescribing the time limit of review, allowing the participation of defense lawyers and prosecutors, etc. Second, we must also amend the appellate procedures for capital cases, including holding hearings, comprehensive trial of key cases, and adjusting the time limit for the second instance. Third, we must improve relative systems that can directly affect the trial quality of capital cases, including the improvement of evidentiary rules, the reform of judicial committees, and the forbiddance to change an original sentence into a death sentence.

With respect to the current amendments to the Company Law, a balance shall be reached between the freedom and compulsion. In the current legal environment of China, it is improper for corporate legislation to adopt the authorized or eclectic capital system, and adequate amendments shall be made to the existing statutory capital system. The independent director regime conflicts with the current corporate governance structure. On the contrary, the enhancement of the legal status of the board of supervisors and the expansion of its authority are the ongoing direction in the reform of the supervisory mechanism in the corporate governance structure of China. The amendments to the Company Law shall separate the corporate legislation and the ruling of state-owned enterprises reform, hence enabling the corporate law back to the nature of private law and neutrality. The Company Law shall be amended to provide for one-person companies and eliminate wholly state-owned companies.