Chief justice denounces corruption, lack of professionalism at court

Chief Justice Zhou Qiang on Thursday warned of weaknesses in China's court system, denouncing some judges' lack of conscience and professional ethics and involvement in corruption.[Special coverage]

Zhou made the remarks when delivering the work report of the Supreme People's Court to the national legislature at the ongoing annual session.

Flaws such as bureaucracy and extravagance still exist in the court system, he said.

"Some judges lack conscience and integrity, violate professional ethics and bend the law to serve personal interests, in exchange of favor and money," he said. "They are dragged down into the abyss of corruption and crime."

Last year about 1,937 judges and court staff were punished for violating law and regulations, 172.8 percent more than the previous year.

Among them, 863 were punished for abuse of power, more than doubling the figure in 2013, and 138 of them were prosecuted.

Listing the problems that the public complains about most, Zhou said more efforts should be made to prevent wrongful conviction, streamline the court proceeding and avoid different standards in judgement.

He went further to point out that some judges are incompetent and many courts are short of hands.

With rapid increase of lawsuits and new type of crimes, many local courts are facing heavy workload and shortage of competent judges, Zhou said, adding that in the more developed eastern region, a judge hear 300 cases a year in average.

In the regions inhabited by ethnic minorities, courts are in urgent need of judges that can speak both Mandarin and the language of ethnic groups, he said.

Zhou pledged to address these problems next year, improving the selection procedure of judges and increasing support to courts in remote and less developed regions.

The SPC will hold zero tolerance of judicial corruption, he stressed, adding that it will begin to blacklist officials who interfere in judicial activities and stop senior judges from meddling in cases of their inferiors.