Chief Justice Xiao Yang yesterday used a work conference held
once every five years to call for more judicial independence for
China's courts and ensure their freedom from unlawful
interference.
The courts, he said, are answerable only to the Party and the
people.
"The independence of trials and receiving supervision (from the
Party and the people) are the two most important factors to ensure
justice," Xiao told the 19th national courts work conference in
Beijing.
Such "supervision" protects judges, he said.
"The essence of independent trials means being free not only
from intervention from other administrations, social organizations
and individuals, but also from any interference from human
relationships, networks and money," he said.
"But, of course, we must receive supervision from the public and
the Party, instead of unilaterally emphasizing the need for
independence."
He called on court officials to be "loyal even upon death" to
safeguard people's fundamental interests and achieve fair,
efficient and authoritative justice.
In the past five years, China's courts have heard more than 39
million cases. Of those, 3.28 million criminal cases were completed
after a single trial, with 4.06 million people sentenced.
The number of civil cases completed within the first instance
was 21.34 million, with a total lawsuit value of 3.16 trillion yuan
($430 billion).
Courts finalized "enforcement" in 10.4 million cases, with more
than 1,629 billion yuan being awarded to litigants.
Xiao said trial quality had also been steadily improving, with
89.77 percent of litigants accepting the judgments of first
trials.
Courts have begun to strike a better balance between leniency
and strictness in criminal trials, he said.
In a landmark move, the Supreme People's Court this year took
back the power from provincial high courts to review death
penalties, a power they had held for 26 years.
Last year, for the first time ever, the number of death
sentences with two-year reprieves outnumbered those sentenced to
immediate execution, Xiao said.
"The number of death sentences has been gradually decreasing
across the nation," he said.
"Human rights have been further protected."
Xiao, 69, has served as chief justice since 1998, and is
expected to retire early next year.
(China Daily December 27, 2007)