China enlists 340,000 people’s assessors, top court says

By the end of 2025, China had enlisted about 340,000 people's assessors, who helped resolve roughly 15 million cases, the country's top court said on Saturday.

People's assessors are lay participants in China's judicial system, selected from the public to assist judges during trials, including evaluating evidence and questioning parties. Their selection, duties and conduct are governed by the Assessor Law, which took effect in April 2018.

Data from the Supreme People's Court show that the number of assessors has tripled over the past decade. More than 50 percent come from grassroots officials, farmers, community workers and freelancers, a composition the court said reflects broad public participation in judicial proceedings.

Of the roughly 15 million cases handled with assessor participation, more than 3.46 million were criminal cases, over 10.16 million were civil cases and about 1.35 million were administrative cases, according to the court.

In more than 43,000 cases, assessors joined judges to form seven-member collegial panels, a structure reserved for major and high-profile criminal trials. Such cases included the child trafficking case involving Yu Huaying and a fatal siblings' fall case in Chongqing, the court said.

Yu, who abducted and trafficked 17 children for profit between 1993 and 2003, was executed by a court in Guizhou province in 2025 after the Supreme People's Court approved her death sentence.

Under the Assessor Law, four assessors sit alongside three judges on seven-member panels. Assessors may question lawyers and defendants and examine physical evidence, but they do not participate in final rulings or sentencing decisions.

The Supreme People's Court said it will continue to ensure the precise application of the law to promote orderly public participation and judicial oversight. It also encouraged assessors to take a greater role in cases involving public welfare, public interests and public security.