China Supreme People’s Court Establishes Plan for Legal Reform

Gavel and Chinese flag
China's Supreme People's Court has announced plans for a
series of legal reforms.
Image:  Shutterstock
China’s Supreme People’s Court announced last Thursday that it will star ton a five-year comprehensive legal reform plan to make courts in China more impartial, fair, independent, and accountable.

The reforms are being made with five goals:  Streamlining political organization, respecting the law, promoting reforms while ensuring safety and order, promoting progress, and encouraging the development of the legal system 

The target completion date is 2018.

The announcement comes on the heels of continued human rights concerns in China.  These include the imprisonment of writer Huang Zerong for publishing anti-Communist propaganda, the boycott of the legal defense team representing activist Guo Feixiong, and the denial of bail for human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who was originally detained for calling for an investigation into the 1989 crackdown on protests in Tiananmen Square.

In fact, despite the legal system’s professed interest in more transparency, President Xi Jinping’s administration has shown no interest in political change, continuing to detain dozens of dissidents, including lawyers.

The Supreme People’s Court stressed that an important element of the legal reforms will be to ensure “the correct political orientation,” reflecting concerns about continued civil unrest in the country.

However, the reforms do include doing away with requiring criminal defendants to wear vests and jumpsuits, which they hope will stem the traditional presumption of guilt in court trials.  The reforms will also allow for a performance evaluation for judges and will establish media galleries in courtrooms.


Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post