Hu said the top court hopes that foreigners can be better informed with an English-language work report.

"China's judicial system is different from that in Western countries," he said. "They (the Western world) sometimes require us to do the same as they do, which is a sort of lack of understanding of China."

"What we want is to tell foreigners that there are diverse judicial modes in the world, and hope they can understand Chinese judicial policies better," he said.

With plenty of data and graphics, Hu said the English-language report could be used as authoritative material for overseas law specialists to study China's legal system.

Liu Ze, an officer at the top court who coordinates the publication, said it took almost a year to prepare for the report in English. A similar report was published in Chinese in March.

"Although the English report was translated from the Chinese one, we provided more legal background for each section so that foreigners can better understand the content," Liu said.

The 2012 work report's edition in English can be bought at bookstores, while the top court has begun to draft a new one, introducing court work in 2013.

"We'll do the English work report every year, hoping it can be posted at the end of March the following year," Hu said.

The top court has sent some copies of the English-language report to foreign embassies in China and the response has been warm, Liu said.

Yang Lin, a Beijing lawyer specializing in international cases, said she will buy some of the reports and place them in her office as an introduction to Chinese judicial affairs.

Such documents could be useful when talking to foreign clients who want to invest or work in China, Yang said.

She said she hopes the court will issue more documents in English covering different legal sectors or typical lawsuits, as most foreign clients care more about their own disputes than the Chinese judicial system in general.