Xi critical of law enforcement officers
Print Edition
CHINA’S judicial system has serious problems, President Xi Jinping said yesterday in a document issued in Beijing that pledged to remove injustices.
The document expanded on legal reforms agreed at the fourth plenary session of the 18th Communist Party’s Central Committee last week.
Xi, also general secretary of the Central Committee, described the judicial system as troubled by unfair trials and corrupt judges.
He denounced judges and prosecutors who manipulate cases in exchange of money and favors, saying, “some even go two ways by draining both the defendant and the plaintiff.”
The reason for these problems is a judicial system that is not effective and complete, he said.
“The judicial system is the last defense for social justice,” he said.
“If it fails, people will question (the country’s ability to realize) social justice and stability will hardly be maintained.”
Xi said the reform plan includes measures to ensure the independence of courts and prosecutors.
According to the legal reform plan, also published in full yesterday, the country will adopt rules to monitor senior Party and government officials’ intervention in court cases, publish their bad records and hold them responsible. It bans Party and government officials from asking judical departments to sabotage justice, and forbids judicial departments from taking such orders from them.
Officials who intervene in law enforcement will be punished in line with Party and administrative disciplines and face criminal charges if their conduct causes serious problems such as wrongful convictions.
New rules will regulate interaction between judges, lawyers and other interested parties. “Unwritten rules” in the judicial system — bending the law for money or favors — will be stopped, along with any privilege or brutality in law enforcement.
Police and prosecutors must follow legal procedures.
Xi criticized some law enforcement officers and prosecutors for not collecting enough evidence or doing it illegally, undermining the justice and efficiency of trials.
There will be new rules of collection, presentation and examination of evidence, and on witness testimony.
Courts, prosecutors, police and prisons must improve the transparency of their work, allowing the public to access documents and other information as the law allows, and must follow procedure.
As part of the changes, prosecutors may be allowed to institute public interests litigation.
In current practice, citizens, corporations and other organizations cannot initiate public interests lawsuits against governments for abuse of power or nonfeasance in cases such environmental pollution and public land use, because they are not considered as having a direct stake.
The restraint of public interests litigation has “led to a lack of effective judicial supervision on illegal administrative acts and is disadvantageous to the promotion of administration by law and enhanced protection of public interests,” Xi said.
If this measure is adopted, prosecutors can fill the void and supervise the government. Courts will be encouraged to take on cases against government departments and governments will be required to appear at court hearings.
The meeting decided to advance the rule of law with the overall target to form a system serving “the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics” and build a country under “the socialist rule of law.”
China will adhere to the system while striving for a complete law system, effective enforcement of rule of law and strict supervision of the rule of law as the country aims to build a law-abiding government and a law-abiding society.
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