Zou Bihua: a judicial reformer that never stops

A movie based on the story of Zou Bihua is coming soon, as a reminder of the pioneering spirit of this late model judge and staunch reformer of China’s judicial independence.

Zou Bihua was determined, in his own words, to be “a candle in the darkness” and he walked the talk in his judicial career for over two decades.

A Judge and Erudite Scholar

As a J.D. from Peking University, Zou Bihua gained a good command of legal expertise, but he was hungrier for knowledge after taking up his job. Most of his spare time was spent in the study, a room filled with thousands of books. He even learned Japanese in order to read Japanese legal books.

Based on his years of practice, he wrote a monograph on the procedures of trials, winning praise among legal professionals. “He is a jurist that really knows law,” said Professor Homma, a Japanese legal scholar who kept academic exchanges with Zou.

In the eyes of Gu Quan, vice-president of people’s court in Minhang District in Shanghai, Zou Bihua never gave up his pursuit in the academic field.

“Once when I was working with him, I saw him staying up after work to translate a Chinese book of legal instruments into English.” said Gu Quan. “I realized that he was different from other judges. He wanted the voice of Chinese law circle to be heard by the outside.”

Empathy and Efficiency

Zou once wrote an essay on how judges should treat lawyers, which garnered wide circulation in the lawyer community. In his opinion, a judge should be modest and compatible and always bear professional ethics and moral codes in his heart.

Lyu Hongbing, vice-chairman of All China Lawyers Association, said Zou’s respect for the lawyer profession and lawyer regulations illuminates his judicial philosophy. “He was indispensable towards the promotion of judicial fairness.”

He also showed his sense of innovation at work. While working as the president of people’s court in Changning District in Shanghai, he hosted the development of an application to improve the management of letters and calls from the masses.

Owing to his efforts, a complete system was built under which administrators gain access to the detailed information of petition cases.

A Reformer with Ambitious

Zou was appointed vice-president of Shanghai High People’s Court in 2012. The year also witnessed the juncture of China’s judicial reform. In 2014, Shanghai was chosen to pilot a program of the reform and Zou Bihua, as the director of the program, embarked on his road to reform.

In the research and investigation, he referred to massive data and upheld the method of making decisions on the basis of statistics. Scientific management, as for him, should be involved in the reform.

He spared no efforts to promote the reform of judicial personnel and the operating mechanism of judicial power. Some even told him enough is enough. It would not be wise to offend so many people. But he said, “How can the benefits of all be ensured in a reform?” Eventually, all he cared about was the reform. On December 10, 2014, the platform of lawyer litigation service of Shanghai courts was put into service, one day before Zou Bihua died of a heart attack on his way to a meeting.

There is a line in The Shawshank Redemption, Zou Bihua’s favorite film that says, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.”

Zou Bihua, a judicial reformer, always continued to hope.