The Chinese public is said to have little confidence in China’s judicial system. This finding was discussed at a National Conference on Socialism in Hebei Province August 10–14, attended by over 40 high-court judges.
Among the Chinese people, distrust in the administration of justice “is now a spreading trend and is becoming a common public attitude,” admitted Shen Deyong, Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court, as reported by the regime’s state-run People’s Daily.
Dr. Fan Yafeng from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences believes the key issue is that the system cannot operate independently, justly, and legally.
With regard to the widespread appeals in China, Vice President of the Supreme Court Wan E’xiang Wan pointed to problems in legal procedures as well as to the unprofessional and rude attitudes of the court staff. He contended that these also lead directly to public distrust.
Several judges in the conference proposed improving the quality of trials by making the trial hearings public. There was also discussion of setting up a public review process for verdicts and the reasoning behind them.
Professor Hu Xingdou of the Beijing Institute of Technology, however, argued that it is the lack of effective supervision and restraint mechanisms in China’s judiciary system that have led to the unfavorable attitude of the public.
“The society’s distrust in judicature is in fact a distrust in the current judiciary system,” said Hu. “The lack of effective restraints allows judicial authorities to be rude and unreasonable to the people, to lawyers, and to other social groups.”
The Supreme Court issued a notice on a campaign entitled “People’s Judges are for the People” on August 18, in an attempt to improve the court system’s understanding of people’s needs and feelings.
Dr. Fan commented, “Confidence in China’s judiciary system is based on the concept of civil justice and the eradication of factors of influence. The system needs to be able to carry out trials independently and justly. Courts should be places that protect civil rights and fairness and restrain privileged groups.”
Professor Hu stressed that the loss of public trust in the judicial system will directly impact the mechanisms of social justice. “China still needs innovations in the system. For instance, can the People’s Congress have the power to restrain and supervise the judicial system? If so, there needs to be an independent election for members of the Congress. Proposing empty claims of enhancing public trust and efficiency in the judicial system cannot solve the problem.”
Read the original Chinese article.
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