Highest court aims for professional judiciary

Reforms to reduce interference in cases, promote qualified judges

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) issued the first official guidance on judicial reform in courts on Wednesday, on the heels of a vow to deepen comprehensive reforms.

The court's fourth five-year reform plan put forward 45 reform measures across eight areas, including improving the protection of human and more transparency in assigning jurisdiction for cases, said He Xiaorong, an SPC official, at a Wednesday press conference.

He said that the SPC is mulling over a jurisdiction system "advisably" free from the influence of local governments. In the envisioned system, lawsuits on administration and environmental protection would be assigned to higher-level jurisdiction courts or courts in other districts. The same would be true for civil lawsuits involving different regions.

Courts specializing in agricultural and forestry cases will no longer be separated from normal courts, while a tribunal on intellectual property rights will be promoted.

Xie Zhiyong, an administrative law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times that the plan was in line with judicial reform decisions taken at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which vowed to ensure lawful and independent use of judicial power and enhance judicial transparency and credibility.

"As more detailed measures defining the term 'advisably' have yet to appear, the move to separate [local governments] from decisions on jurisdiction is worthy of recognition. Many unfair trials and instances of corruption happen because of local government's interference in courts, especially at the grass-roots level," Xie noted.

Liu Aimin, a deputy president at a local court in Shaanxi province, agreed. "This move will keep localities from protecting themselves, as well as keeping departments or industries from doing the same," Liu told the Global Times.

Liu and other judges also hailed a rule proposed by the plan that would free them from paperwork unrelated to casework, as well as many kinds of rankings they consider "unnecessary."

The SPC pledged to relieve the administrative workload on judges with more staff, while provincial courts will establish judge selection committees to test candidates on their professional knowledge, as well as put them through political and disciplinary examinations.

The new plan also requires new judges to begin working at the grass-roots level, further requiring that higher-level judges be selected from lower courts.

"This will help us better focus on cases. Meanwhile, I hope that judge positions will not be reserved for senior and higher-level judges while younger ones get transferred to auxiliary posts," Jiang Yangbing, a senior judge from Guangdong province, told the Global Times.

Xie suggested that apart from grassroots judges, application for judges at higher courts may also be opened to law professors and lawyers, many of whom are also experts in their fields.

"While the plan emphasizes the professionalism on judges, it does not make similar demands of court presidents. Some [court presidents] in China reportedly have no legal knowledge at all," Xie added.