China's chief justice urges petition system reform

China's chief justice, Zhou Qiang, on Friday urged reforms that would leave public petitions on legal and judicial issues to be dealt with through judicial remedies rather than government departments.

Petitioning, also known as letters and calls, is the administrative system for hearing public complaints and grievances. People who are not satisfied with government decisions can request reexamination.

However, petitions regarding legal issues, including court judgements or the court's execution, should be separate from other kinds of petitions and should be handled and finalized by judiciary agencies within the legal time period in accordance with laws, said Zhou Qiang, head of the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

Government departments will not accept or mediate such cases, but will give explanations and tell petitioners to respect the authority of judicial decisions and pursue judicial solutions, according to the reform plan.

Zhou said the finalizing of such cases should rely on the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the supervision of lawmakers and the support from the government.

Courts at all levels should guarantee petitioners' rights and provide the most convenience as possible for them to make lawsuits, he said.