China opened its fifth and sixth Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) Thursday in southwestern Chongqing municipality and northwestern city of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
The fifth circuit court will handle cases in Chongqing, Tibet Autonomous Region and provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. The sixth circuit court will cover provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The southwest and northwest China are far away from the capital Beijing, where the SPC is headquartered. The the two circuit courts will provide convenience to local people and help resolve lawsuits in a timely fashion, ensuring local economic and social development, said Xu Jiaxin, head of the SPC political department.
The SPC circuit courts are permanent trial organs sent by the SPC and will exercise power on behalf of the SPC. Circuit courts judgements and decisions are equal to those made by the SPC.
The decision to establish the circuit courts was made at a key Communist Party of China (CPC) meeting in October 2014, as a major step in advancing judicial reform.
As of Thursday, China has had six SPC circuit courts, which together with the SPC cover the whole country.
In January 2015, the first two circuit courts opened in southern economic hub Shenzhen, and Shenyang in northeastern Liaoning Province.
The third and fourth circuit courts opened in Nanjing of eastern Jiangsu Province and Zhengzhou of central Henan Province Wednesday.
SPC IN THE DOORWAY
The first two circuit courts in Shenzhen and Shenyang had 4,445 cases in place by the end of November, solving 3,948 of them, an 89 percent settlement rate.
They handled 72,000 complaints, resolving problems locally and winning public acclaim, Xu said.
Some people call the courts the "SPC in the doorway," he said.
The four new SPC circuit courts have narrowed the distance between ordinary people and the supreme judiciary, saving costs and offering convenient access to excellent, efficient judicial services, Xu said.
In return, the circuit courts will enable more judges to communicate with local people face to face, and better understand the problems of the people, he said.
Chiefs of the four new SPC circuit courts are all vice presidents of the SPC, Xu said.
SPC circuit court chiefs and deputy chiefs will try cases themselves. Court staff will be responsible for cases in their lifetime, and they will be held accountable if cases are badly handled, in a bid to prevent corruption in the court.
Judges in the circuit courts will be changed after a set term, to avoid vested interests. The number of staff for each circuit court will be limited to below 50.
These courts have relieved the SPC's burden, brought benefits to the people and enhanced judicial authority and credibility, Xu said.
"They have already become a window to demonstrate the achievements of China's judical reform and socialist rule of law," Xu said.
