A man applies to file a case with a clerk at the First Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Feb 2, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Highlights of work reports from the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) which were delivered Sunday.

1. Intensify legal mechanism to prevent miscarriages in justice

SPC: The top court will strictly enforce the ban on illegally obtained evidence, improve legal aid system on review of death sentence, enhance judicial aid system and strengthen judicial protection of human rights.

SPP: The top prosecutor's office will make sure that punishment fits the law, that no punishment is imposed in doubtful cases, and banning illegal evidence to prevent miscarriages in justice.

Interpretation:

In 2015, many wrong criminal judgments passed by courts were redressed, such as the cases of Chen Man and Yang Ming. More steps suggested in the report this year will reduce the number of miscarriage cases.

2. Protections and reward for reporting duty crimes

SPP: The top prosecutor's office will carry out a system that protects and rewards informers.

Interpretation:

Informers make a big contribution in disclosing crimes while they risk physical violence or even death threats. Since the SPP has brought up clear regulations, informers' legal rights will be better protected.

3. Eye on corruption at grassroots levels, especially cases related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers

SPP: The SPP will investigate and prevent crimes at grassroots levels, especially in the fields of agriculture, rural areas and farmers. The SPP has launched a five-year plan with the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development to prevent crimes in poverty relief section.

Interpretation:

With the high attention from the SPP, crimes especially in fields of agriculture, rural areas and farmers will be closely monitored to protect the rights of people from ground level.

4. Severe punishment on extreme violence

SPC: The top court will impose strict punishment on crimes that provoke threaten unity of nation and violent terrorist attacks.

SPP: The SPP has strengthened forces to fight against gangs and severely punish individual extreme violence according to the law.

Interpretation:

In Jan, an arson attack on a bus in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, shocked people nationwide. The suspect brought gasoline on the bus and then lit up, causing severe injuries and dozens of death. The SPP makes it clear to severely punish individual extreme violence to enhance people's security.

5. Improve executive ability

SPC: The top court will improve its executive ability in two or three years to carry out every measurement and punishment on the people who try to escape the law enforcement.

Interpretation:

It's shame to see many efficient verdicts haven't been executed very well. The SPC now is paying much attention to execute all the verdicts thoroughly.

6. Build information-based judicial process

SPC: Pushing forward information-based judicial process. The top court aims to establish a full-coverage, mobile Internet-connected, transparent, convenient, safe and reliable intelligent information system by 2017.

Interpretation:

Transparency is the best way in fighting against corruption and is essential to make people feel equity of judicial practices. To build an information-based court system will allow litigants to clearly know why they win or lose, and will prevent corruption from happening.

7. Prevent abuse of power

SPC: Zero tolerance in the fight against judicial corruption. The top court will implement regulations on preventing government officials and judicial personnel from intervening judicial activities and court recordings.

SPP: Improving the reporting system against procurators and establishing a punishment system on prosecutors. Fight resolutely against abuse of power.

Interpretation:

Abuse of power in judicial process harms credibility of judicial system. Now, the SPC and the SPP have taken a tough stance against judicial corruption, which give the public confidence in the judicial system.

8. Fight against financial crimes

SPC: Cracking down financial crimes to ensure the healthy development of the capital market.

Interpretation:

The fight against crimes in the field of securities has attracted public attention in the past year. Some securities employees took illegal behaviors in trades and some were suspected of fabricating and spreading fraud information. Police have started investigations into such cases. This year, the SPP has clearly said that it will fight against financial crimes to better maintain market orders.

9. Criminals in illegal fundraising to be punished

SPC: Punishing economic crimes, such as illegal fundraising and private lending. Courts will enhance the research and guidance in cases involving illegal Internet financing.

SPP: Fight against economic crimes involving lots of people, protecting the public's rights and interests.

Interpretation:

At the turn of the year, online peer-to-peer broker Ezubao's illegal fundraising case attracted wide attention. Preliminary investigations have shown that the P2P platform collected some 50 billion yuan ($7.7 billion) from around 900,000 investors. The SPP said it would fight against such economic crimes relating to lots of people. The SPC pledged to punish illegal fundraising to regulate the Internet financing and private lending.

10. Clearing the backlog of unexecuted punishments

SPP: To make sure punishments against violators are enforced. Campaigns will be carried out to tackle with the unexecuted punishments.

Interpretation:

Some criminals have received punishments from the courts but the punishments were not executed due to some reasons. Such cases impair the judicial credibility. This year, the SPP has carried out special activities to solve the issue.

11. Punish bribery in elections

SPP: Preventing and punishing bribery in leadership elections at all levels.

Interpretation:

Bribery in elections is serious corruption in bureaucracy. Some officials seek to get positions by offering money for ballots in elections, which violate the Party's disciplines and laws and foul the political ecology. Most of provinces, cities, counties and towns will hold elections within next two years. The SPP has targeted banning possible bribery cases in the elections.

12. Targeting crimes of damaging environmental resources

SPC: Establishing a judicial mechanism in protecting environmental resources and trying public interest litigation cases according to laws, in an aim to build a beautiful China.

SPP: Carrying out special campaigns to supervise crimes on devastating environmental resources, enhancing the judicial role in protecting the ecological environment.

Interpretation:

Nowadays, some places play down the environmental destruction cases by not reaching out to judicial authorities, not filing a case, or imposing administrative fines instead of criminal punishments, which hampers efforts to rectify behavior that harms environment. It needs judicial authorities to deeply investigate into the environmental destruction cases to find out the criminals behind. The SPC and the SPP have announced plans to crack down the environmental destruction cases, sounding an alarm for the criminals.

13. Few sentences differentiated to similar cases

SPC: Improving three platforms on judicial transparency and a data center. Enhancing the big data analysis and unifying the judge criteria to boost adopting similar sentences on similar cases and deciding the sentence due to criteria.

Interpretation:

Similar cases having different sentences are not rare, which confuse people and also impair the dignity of law. How to fulfill the goal of giving similar sentences to similar cases? The SPC's answer is to enhance the big data analysis and unify the judge criteria to reduce the number of similar cases having different sentences.

14. Improper intervention with judicial process to be stopped

SPC: To set up circuit court of the Supreme People's Court; to continue the reform of hearing major cases across administrative regions.

Interpretation: The two SPC circuit courts that opened last year prevented judicial process from being influenced by relations and money. The SPC will keep pushing forward the reform.

15. The working environment of judges to be improved

SPC: To punish those who attack judges; to further cultivate professional judges.

Interpretation: Judges are the defendant of social justice, but they are faced with dangers arising from their work. SPC aims to provide a safer working environment for judges by punishing those who hurt judges.