If the defendant claims that he is dissatisfied with the verdict and wants to seek redress for his grievances, the "re-examination" procedure will be automatically initiated - the original trial judge will be recused, and the higher court will organize a new court review to go through all the previous procedures again.

In principle, criminal defendants have three opportunities for "review and reexamination." If the defendant expresses his or her acceptance of the verdict after hearing it, the case is closed and submitted to the circuit courts (the "Criminal Courts") stationed in various regions by the central government for review.

If the Circuit Court finds any doubts, the case will be reviewed. If no doubts are found, the sentence can be carried out. However, if the sentence is a death sentence and there are doubts about the facts, the case must be reported to the Central Court for review.

The Song Dynasty attached great importance to confessions. "Revail and separate investigation" was a litigation and trial system in the Song Dynasty. It meant that during the litigation, if the criminal overturned his original confession (revail and separate investigation), and the case was of serious nature, it would generally be retried (separate investigation) by another judge or other judicial authority.

There are two types of retrials: retrial by a different judge and retrial by a different judicial body. During the Song Dynasty, when a prisoner objected to the verdict and claimed injustice before execution, or when a family member appealed on their behalf, the case would be retried by another judicial body or by an official dispatched by the supervisory department.

According to the law, a person can revoke his or her identity three to five times. Those who revoke his or her identity without authorization will be subject to heavier penalties.

In essence, this system is an automatic review by the judicial organs. Although it may sometimes affect the efficiency of the judicial organs' trials due to multiple reversals, it can generally prevent the occurrence of false and wrongful convictions to a certain extent. It is also a manifestation of the Song Dynasty rulers' spirit of cautious punishment.

During the Song Dynasty, the practice of pawning land and houses became widespread, legally recognized, and institutionalized. This practice, also known as "live sale," involved pledging real estate like land and houses to others for a fixed price, with the option of redeeming the property within an agreed-upon period at the original price. This practice differed from "absolute sale."