China's top judge Xiao Yang said Monday the Supreme People's Court has overhauled more than 2,600 judicial explanations issued since New China was set up in 1949, a move aimed to get compatible with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
In a work report to the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress, the Supreme Court president said that the 177 outdated judicial explanations annulled have been made public.
While making judicial preparations for China's WTO entry, the Supreme Court has stepped up the training of judicial professionals, and more than 200 outstanding young judges have been sent abroad for further study, with about half of them already back home and becoming key players in dealing with cases involving foreign parties.
Xiao said the people's courts all over China have made intensified efforts to handle civil and commercial cases involving foreign parties and to standardize the procedures for the trial of such cases.
To unify judicial standards and improve the administration of justice, concentrated jurisdiction of civil and commercial cases involving foreign parties has been introduced and the trials of such cases are handled by courts with more capable judges in concentration, Xiao said.
The Supreme Court has also launched a website on the trial of commercial and maritime cases involving foreign parties to improve the openness and transparency of the trial of cases involving foreign parties.
Xiao said the Supreme Court requires all judges in the country to improve their awareness of the rule of law and abide by law in their judicial activities.
(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2002)
