China has formulated measures to name and shame officials who interfere in judicial cases, in a move it hopes will prevent this common problem and advance the rule of law.
According to the 13-article rules issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the General Office of the State Council on Monday, judicial personnel are obliged to keep detailed records should the interference occur, no matter who is involved.
Under the new rules, officials will have committed violations if they intercede for litigants, ask personnel handling cases to meet with the litigants or their defenders privately, or overstep their authority to make tendentious suggestions or directions on handling of cases by means of hearing reports, holding meetings or issuing circulars.
The rules are part of a broader legal reform package adopted by a key session of the CPC Central Committee in October.
Officials around the country have been criticized for impairing judicial credibility by meddling in cases.
NOT JUST BLUFFING
Wang Xixin, deputy dean of Peking University's Law School, said that the idea of recording officials who meddle in judicial cases is not new in China, but the rules released on Monday can be more effective due to their clear definition of responsibilities.
They hold three different authorities accountable to ensure they will be carried out in practice.
Judicial organs will be responsible for recording instances of meddling; the CPC's political and legal affairs commissions will be in charge of reporting; while the CPC's commissions for discipline inspection are tasked with probing such cases.
While acknowledging officials' right to lawfully acquire information on judicial cases, the rules said records of illegal interference will be reflected in officials' performance reviews, meaning a clean record is important to their chances of promotion.
The rules stressed that judicial personnel's right to record such cases must be protected. Meanwhile, those who fail to record interference shall receive punishment.
Officials who retaliate against judicial personnel involved in the recording or whose interference creates further problems or influences a case shall be given disciplinary and even criminal penalties if their behavior constitutes a crime, according to the rules.
The efforts to stem interferences from officials are complemented by a regulation adopted on Friday to fight misconduct within the judiciary. This regulation stated that judges, prosecutors and police officers will be blacklisted and punished for illegally intervening in investigations and court proceedings.
A PERSISTENT AILMENT
Local party and government officials' interference in judicial activities has long existed, as their power often overwhelms that of the judicial authorities, according to Wang Xixin.
Tang Weijian, a law professor with Renmin University, said official interference in judicial activities is one of the key reasons for corruption in the judicial system, and their interference has contributed to miscarriages of justice.
Such interference has included officials sending signed instruction to the courts, phoning judges or asking their subordinates to talk with them.
With few daring to directly call the judges to instruct on the handling of cases, interference might be detected in officials' subtle wording in their instructions, said Beijing-based lawyer Liu Hongyu. h "Please, 'appropriately' handle the case in line with the law," or "please report the result to me after you have handled the case according to law", are examples of such illicit encouragement, according to Liu.
Court staff are often placed in a dilemma where they struggle to find a balance between superiors' wishes and judicial credibility.
Zhong Xiaoyu, deputy head of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference, said he learned that some local officials have even asked court staff to change verdicts.
Zhong added that interference is usually linked to nepotism and bribery.
Wang Xixin said one major reason why judicial personnel are often subdued by power abuse is the operation of local judicial organs was financed by local budget.
The ongoing overhaul of China's judicial system is aimed at making local judicial organs more financially independent, Wang said.
To safeguard justice, a "firewall" must be placed here to isolate the abuse of power from law, said Jiang Huiling, vice director of the judicial reform office under the Supreme People's Court. "Recording officials' interference is just our first step."
