This edited volume looks at supreme courts in China and the West. In addition, the authors discuss measures that allow supreme courts in both regions to deal with their existing caseload, to reduce this caseload, and to avoid divergences in the case law of the supreme court.

National civil justice systems are deeply rooted in national legal cultures and traditions. In an attempt to create a `genuine area of justice', new unified procedures are being developed, which operate in parallel with national civil procedures, and sometimes even strive to replace them.