The people’s jury system will be improved by
reforming regulations on how people’s jurors are selected and
trained, according to a recent regulation issued by the Supreme
People's Court (SPC) and the Ministry of Justice.
Cao Jianming, a vice president of the SPC, said on
Saturday that local courts should give priority to those with a
good cultural background and knowledge of law. That the jurors have
high moral standards is also essential.
Previously, the laws and regulations pertaining to
the jury system were vague and there were no specific regulations
on the requirements and selection procedures for jurors.
According to the newly released regulation, an
eligible juror must have at least a junior college education and
must be trained before he or she participates in court
hearings.
It also states that jurors must be appointed by the
standing committee of the legislature. When the five-year term of a
juror expires he or she will be automatically removed from the
post.
When working out the evaluation criteria for
jurors, local courts should consult judicial government agencies at
the same level, and take their achievements, attitude and moral
standards into consideration.
According to a timetable fixed by the SPC,
candidates for the next round of jurors will be selected in the
first two months of 2005. They will be trained from March to April
and take their posts on May 1.
People’s jurors serve as lay judges by joining
professional judges in court hearings.
"To build a clean and fair judicial system, judges
can provide jurors with cues or instructions on law, but
implication on specific case identification or pressing ideas on
the jurors are strictly prohibited," said Jiang Xiangchang, another
vice president of the SPC, on Sunday.
Sources with the SPC said they are currently
working on two other regulations concerning the administration and
training of jurors. They will be put into effect upon revision
after soliciting feedback.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2004)