Q: It is reported that China is reforming its judicial
system. What are the key points of the reform? How will the state
protect the legitimate rights and interests of its citizens, and
advance justice?
A: As we all know, reform of the judicial system is a very
important part of reform of the political system. Among all the
reforms, it is the most dynamic one over the past decade. At
present, when there are disputes between common people and
government agencies, they can bring their cases to court. The
involved parties do not need to worry about justice. This indicates
great changes in China's political life.
In the past, neutrality was often ignored in China's judicial
system. Since the reform and opening up in 1978, great changes have
taken place in politics, the economy and society, which raised new
requirements for justice. The understanding of justice with respect
to the government, society and people is also changing. Presently,
ideas of justice, independent trials, judicial efficiency, judicial
democracy, procedural justice, professional judges and so on are
commonly accepted in China, serving as the basis for the country's
judicial reform.
China is now in a transitional period that must lead to the
establishment of a country ruled by law. Under the rule of law, the
justice system and courts must perform more important functions.
Over the past decade, China's judicial reform has developed very
rapidly in terms of both the scale and specific reform schemes.
During this period, the Chinese judicial department has further
reformed and improved the management mechanism of judges,
procedures and evidence system, advanced trial procedure reform,
established and perfected civil, criminal and administrative trial
systems and the judicial aid system, and regulated systems of
appeal and retrial. At the same time, the judicial department has
also improved the system of judicial openness, and the advanced
civil trial system reform with an emphasis on public hearings,
according to which all civil cases in court shall be heard in
public except for those otherwise stipulated by law, allowing
visitors, media reports and even live reports, so that trials are
more transparent and fair, and justice is promoted.
On May 1, 2005, the Decision on Improving the People's Juror
System, adopted by the Standing Committee of the 10th National
People's Congress, took effect. People's jurors are chosen in
accordance with the law and participate in trials with the same
functions as judges. This system not only reflects judicial
democracy and is beneficial to people's supervision of justice, but
also helps to protect the legitimate rights and interests of
citizens.
China's judicial reform fully considers the country's economic
and social development level, cultural traditions as well as major
problems needed to solve and present situation of quality of
judges. China will further advance reform of the judicial system
with the aim of realizing justice and fairness in the whole of
society. The state will, in accordance with the requirements of
impartial justice and strict enforcement of law, perfect
structures, functions and management mechanisms of judicial
departments and further develop a judicial system with clearly
defined power and responsibilities, mutual coordination, and high
efficiency.
Zhu Bin (right), a juror from the Tianjin
No.2 Nankai Secondary School, sits in a trial.
