China is to trim the scale of its judge contingent again over the
next few years in a bid to raise the standard of professionalism
among judges, said Xiao Yang, chief grand justice and president of
the
Supreme
People's Court (SPC), in Beijing Sunday.
Xiao wants judges to have no local interference, to be revered for
their integrity and well-paid so that they can lead a better life.
He issued his blue-print for doing this at a national conference
held soon after China had streamlined court staff by 10
percent.
As
the result of the recent nationwide court reforms, there is now one
Chief Grand Justice, 41 Grand Justices, 30,000 senior judges and
180,000 judges across the country, Xiao said. But a marked number
of them do not have a degree in law and many are incompetent to
hold the position of judge.
"Courts have often been taken as branches of the government, and
judges viewed as civil servants who have to follow orders from
superiors, which prevents them from exercising mandated legal
duties like other members of the judiciary," Xiao said.
Non-professionalization judges, he added, have become one of the
most vital factors in judicial inequity, which brings strong
complaints from the public.
Professional judges will "form a chosen group of elites who speak
the same legal language, think in a unique legal formula, believe
in and pursue social justice," according to the chief grand
justice. And he predicts "over the years, unique professional
traditions and qualities come into being, which will give judges
the strength and the power to ward off outside interference."
However, the process will be "a huge system engineering project,"
Xiao acknowledged. And one of the important steps is to separate
the competent from the incompetent.
The Supreme People's Court is going to decide on the total number
of judges in each court based on population, economic growth and
the number of legal disputes under their jurisdiction. The new
quota is expected to be much less than the existing number of
judges, and those who are not appointed judges may serve as
assistants.
Zhu Mingshan, grand justice and vice-president of the SPC, detailed
other aspects of the reform to Xinhua:
--
New judges, from this year on, have to pass two exams, namely, the
national judicial examination and the test by the provincial
people's court, and receive special training for a period of time,
before being appointed. The incumbent judges without a law degree
must obtain one within a set time, and will be dismissed if they
fail.
--
A mechanism will be instituted to ensure that judges are free from
interventions from local and departmental protectionism. Judges
shall not be fired, demoted or disciplined without due legal
proceedings.
--
Probity and virtue are the ultimate goals of professionalization.
More rules on supervision and warnings are being drafted to ensure
judges' roles are checked and balanced.
This year and next will see the re-election of grand justices and
presidents of provincial level higher people's court, as well as
the majority of heads of municipal and county level courts, Chief
Grand Justice Xiao told today's meeting.
"Court leaders at various levels are of key significance to the
professionalization of judges," he said, urging the incumbent
leaders to play an active role in helping local authorities and
legislatures choose the right court leaders.
(Xinhua News
Agency July 7, 2002)