|
Chinese courts in 2004 will adhere to the principle of "striking
hard", or a relentless crackdown, in handling grave criminal
offenses to safeguard national security, social stability and the
safety of the people's lives and property, Chief Justice Xiao Yang
said Wednesday.
"The courts shall help create a social environment of long-term
stability for the building of a well-off society in an all-round
way," said Xiao, president of the Supreme People's Court, while
reporting the work of the Chinese courts to the ongoing full
session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top
legislature.
In an apparent response to the proposed Constitutional
amendments, which are expected to be approved at the end of the
10-day NPC session, Xiao pledged in his report that the courts
would "respect and safeguard human rights" and "protect the
citizens' right to private property ownership and right of
inheritance according to law" in trial practices in 2004.
The draft Constitutional amendments, presented to the national
legislature on Monday, include clauses like "The State respects and
safeguards human rights" and "Legally-obtained private property
rights of the citizens shall not be violated."
Special attention should be paid to cases involving disputes
caused by the demolition of urban residential housing and
expropriation of rural farmland, impairment of workers' interests
in the retooling of enterprises, defaulted payment of wages, and
pollution of the environment, Xiao noted.
The courts shall also play an active role in safeguarding the
country's financial security, protecting the growth of non-public
economic sectors, maintaining a sound market economic order and
ensuring fair market competitions, he added.
The top judge also pledged intensified efforts to accelerate the
reform of courts and further improve judicial justice in an effort
to "raise judicial efficiency" and "maintain judicial
authority".
In 2004, China will strive to strengthen its judicial ranks, and
courts at all levels will carry out activities to foster their
"fairness image" with focus placed on the "building of clean
courts" and "expel any judges who abuse their judicial power or ask
for and take bribes," with severe punishment meted out
indiscriminatingly to those judges who violate the laws, said
Xiao.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2004)
|
