Legislators at the ongoing annual session of the National
People's Congress (NPC) criticized the improper relationships
between some lawyers and judges, a phenomenon that negatively
affects the justice system.
The judiciary forms the foundation of social justice, but when
judges accept bribes from lawyers trying cases before them the
dignity of the law and authority of justice are eroded and
tarnished, said Li Guoguang, an NPC deputy and vice president of
the Supreme People's Court.
"Judges should guard against all temptations, especially when
working alone," Li said in an interview Tuesday.
However, the annual income of a judge is about one-tenth that of
a lawyer, and some fail to adhere to their ethical code when
offered financial inducements by lawyers with ulterior motives,
said the president of the higher court of a northeastern province,
who declined to be named.
Scandals involving judges have been reported time and again in
China over recent years. In one of the most notorious, 13 judges of
the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court in central Hubei
Province -- including two court vice presidents and some deputy
presiding judges -- were found to have taken more than 4 million
yuan (US$480,000) in bribes early last year. Nine more received
administrative discipline and 30 middle-level officials were
demoted.
Xu Zhihui, an NPC deputy who works in a Beijing law firm, said
that some litigants ask the lawyers they hire whether they are on
"good terms" with judges who are going to hear their cases. They
believe that a close relationship between their lawyer and the
judges will help them win their case.
Xu said that the majority of China's 102,000 licensed lawyers
abide by their professional ethics; likewise, most of the
200,000-plus judges are clean.
Last year, the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of
Justice jointly issued regulations to regulate professional
conduct, including a ban on secret meetings between lawyers and
judges.
However, Xiao
Yang, chief justice and president of the Supreme People's
Court, acknowledged that the need to regulate lawyer-judge
relations goes beyond the country's existing rules.
"We must place equal emphasis on discipline and self-discipline,
on supervision and punishment," said Xiao.
He called on judges around China to respect the power in their
hands and on courts at all levels to improve the working and living
conditions of their judges.
He also called for the establishment of an independent judicial
operations system that would minimize the unfair deals between
lawyers and judges.
(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2005)