Following are facts and figures in a report delivered Wednesday to China's national legislature by Xiao Yang, president of China's Supreme People's Court, on the judicial work in 2003.

-- The Supreme People' Court concluded a total of 300 cases concerning the retrial of crimes and review of cases in which death penalties had been passed by lower courts, up 16.28 percent from the previous year. And of these cases, the original verdict was upheld in 182 cases.

-- The Supreme People's Court concluded the investigation of 372 appeals on civil and foreign-related affairs, which were submitted due to plaintiffs' refusal to accept the verdicts of local higher people's courts, which involved approximately 13.48 billion yuan. The Supreme People's Court also granted retrials to 59 cases pertaining to civil and foreign-related affairs.

-- Courts at all levels concluded the investigation of 5,687,905 cases, involving a total of 768.5 billion yuan last year, up 0.78 percent and 8.33 percent respectively from the previous year.

-- Courts at all levels concluded the investigation of 735,535 criminal cases and gave sentences to 933,967 criminals in 2003, a rise of 1.21 percent and 1.51 percent respectively from the previous year.

-- Courts at all levels tried and concluded 14,775 cases relating to producing and marketing fake and shoddy goods, smuggling, financial fraud and other cases to undermine the market economic order. About 19,197 criminals involved were sentenced and1.5 billion yuan in economic loss was retrieved.

-- Courts at all levels concluded the investigation of 22,986 work-related crimes, giving sentences to 458 county-level officials or section chiefs, 73 prefecture-level officials and six provincial or ministerial-level officials.

-- Courts at all levels tried and concluded 114,896 administrative lawsuits, most of which were the cases relevant to forcible demolition of houses in cities and towns, requisition of land in rural areas and social security. In addition, 3,124 state compensation lawsuits were concluded last year, an increase of 18.24 percent from the previous year.

-- Courts at all levels re-examined 1.12 million criminal, civil and administrative cases and redressed 5,805 wrong cases.

Courts at all levels offered judicial assistance in 228,000 cases, reducing and exempting about 1.057 billion yuan of lawsuit expenses for litigants.

(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2004)