The People's Court takes viewers inside the courtrooms and law schools of China to provide an unprecedented and unexpected portrait of its rapidly growing legal system. The documentary follows itinerant judges, law students, a human rights lawyer, and ordinary Chinese citizens seeking justice as the country tackles the massive task of establishing a legal framework for its new market economy.
Poised to surpass the United States as the largest economy in the world, China faces mounting domestic and international pressure for a fair and transparent framework of laws. This experiment to introduce justice and the "rule of law" to a nation still firmly controlled by the Communist party has global implications.