Under the current constitution, the president of the SPC is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress (NPC), the legislature.

The president also serves ex officio as the chief justice of the People's Republic of China.

The incumbent president of the Supreme People's Court is Zhang Jun, who took office on 11 March 2023.

Shen Junru served as the first president by the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

[3] Although the Presidium could theoretically nominate multiple candidates for the presidency, leading the election to be competitive, it has always nominated a single candidate for the office.