A senior judge said the idea of the rule of law has taken root in
Chinese society.
During a panel discussion held as part of the ongoing 16th National
Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Vice-President of
the Supreme People's Court Cao Jianming noted that China's
legislative efforts in the past 13 years, in particular the past
five years, have provided laws to guide people's conduct in the
political, economic and social fields.
According to a report from the China News Service, Cao also noted
that government officials have enhanced their legal awareness, and
practices such as public hearings have increased the transparency
of government departments.
Cao said that judicial reform, with the goals of fairness and
justice, has been forging ahead. He added that judicial departments
are playing an increasingly important role in China and have become
a focus of the public.
In
his keynote speech last Friday at the opening session of the
Party's national congress, General Secretary Jiang Zemin included
the development of socialist democracy and the legal system and the
strategy of the rule of law as goals on the way to building a
well-off society.
China's legal system, seriously undermined during the "cultural
revolution" (1966-76), was restored in the late 1970s, and its
development has been accelerated in recent years.
The strategy of "the rule of law" was written into the Constitution
in its latest amendment in 1999. The move was hailed by the
Minister of Justice Zhang Fusen as "an important milestone in
China's history of the legal system."
Over the past 13 years, the National People's Congress and its
standing committee have formulated more than 100 laws. The laws in
effect in China now amount to more than 200, and there are also
more than 600 administrative rules.
"The legislative goal of setting up a socialist legal system with
Chinese characteristics by 2010 has been gradually turning into
reality," said Zhang at the panel discussion during the CPC
national congress.
Zhang also noted that, with its criminal, civil and administrative
litigation systems, China is improving its judicial system and
steadily pushing ahead with its reform.
The legal profession, which includes lawyers and judges, now enjoys
high prestige in China and law schools are gaining popularity among
young students.
China now boasts 120,000 lawyers and more than 10,000 law firms.
Despite the improvements made over the years, China's lawyers are
still busy honing their skills to face new challenges since the
nation became a member of the World Trade Organization and pledged
to further open up its legal services market.
Meanwhile, efforts have been made to empower the general public
with knowledge about the law.
China has so far carried out three five-year campaigns for the
popularization of legal knowledge. Statistics from the Ministry of
Justice indicate that more than 800 million people have benefited
from the campaigns.
(China Daily November 12, 2002)