Implementation of Human Rights Treaties by Chinese Courts: Problems and Prospects

This article explores the implementation of human rights treaties by courts in the People's Republic of China. The general applicability of treaties in China is not mentioned in its Constitution, which leaves the status of treaties unclear in Chinese courts, and varying from area to area. In the human rights area, the application of treaties at the domestic level requires incorporation. The status of general comments and concluding observations made by treaty bodies is unclear, too. On the basis of the current human rights legislation in China, the problems and prospects of four different kinds of litigation (constitutional, civil, criminal and administrative) in Chinese courts are discussed separately.