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A visionary's march toward rule of the law
By Xie Chuanjiao and Xu Chunzi (China Daily) Updated: 2008-03-11 07:19
Xiao Yang's boat ride from his hometown of Heyuan to Guangdong's provincial capital of Guangzhou in 1957 may have been a bit rough. But it's been smooth sailing for the country's chief justice and president of Supreme People's Court (SPC) ever since. He landed in Guangzhou more than half a century ago to apply for admission to a law school in Beijing. The commitment and dedication of the middle school student leader, responsible for campus security, made him major in law from Renmin University of China, known for churning out government administrators. It's been a long journey for Xiao from those humbling beginnings. Now he is 70 years old, and can look back at his career proudly. Of special importance for him and the country is the past decade, when he headed China's "long and painful" process of judicial reform. In 1962, Xiao got a job as a teacher in the Political Science & Law School in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. From there he was transferred to his native province of Guangdong, where he worked in various local administration offices, and later in the Guangdong procuratorate. It was as the provincial prosecutor-general that he began his judicial reform journey. He set up the country's first anti-corruption bureau in the early 1990s, urging national legislators to enact a law to fight corruption. Next came the setting up of the Legal Aid System to provide free advice and representation to people who couldn't afford the hefty fees. He was then the Minister of Justice, a post he held from 1993 to 1998. Another crowning moment came in 1998 when he was elected the SPC president - he was reelected in 2003. Xiao has always loved his job, especially during his 14 years in the top echelon of the judicial system, for the happiness and excitement it has brought, the occasional pain and regret notwithstanding. But despite rising to the highest judicial office in the country, he is still a man attached to his roots. He believes the 28 years of service that he put in his native Guangdong province prepared him for the career ahead. "I have very profound feelings for (Guangdong), the land that gave me faith, taught me perseverance and to be positive," he says. Faith, perseverance and a positive frame of mind are crucial for a life in the judicial system in a country with thousands of years of feudal history, and Xiao knows it better than anybody else. "The idea of 'ruling by man' is deep-seated in China, and the road to rule of the law is long." But that has not deterred him from going about his work with the commitment and dedication of a Solomon.
In 1998, China amended the Constitution and declared its adherence to rule of the law. Since then, Xiao has led the march toward a society where rule of the law would prevail over everything else. He has improved the system of opening litigations to the public "to guarantee that legal decisions are taken and executed under the sun". Lawsuit charges have been cut by an average of 61 percent since April 2007, enabling the courts to handle many more cases involving property, divorce and labor disputes. SPC data show courts across the country handled more than 8.1 million cases in 2006, a 30 percent increase from 1995. In fact, the number in some developed areas has been rising 30 percent year-on-year for some time now. This has prompted some judges to complain that the past decade has been the busiest and most exhausting, with the SPC pushing for a number of training programs and tests to improve their professionalism. Last year saw Xiao at perhaps his judicial best when as part of the capital punishment reforms he withdrew provincial courts' power to review the death penalty. Today the SPC is the sole organization that has the authority to review capital punishment. And since then, the number of death sentences handed to convicts with a two-year reprieve - which usually translates into life imprisonment - has outnumbered immediate executions. SPC judge Huang Ermei says the supreme court has rejected about 15 percent death penalties since it took back the final review power on Jan 1 last year. "Death sentences have been decreasing gradually, which means better human rights protection." As the chief justice, Xiao is often asked about the country's death penalty policy. He says it's too early and unrealistic for China to abolish it now because of the country's long history of capital punishment. It's precisely for this reason that he believes even non-violent criminals, including those involved in financial crimes, deserve death if their actions are extremely harmful to society. "We need to keep the death penalty and use it as an effective deterrent, even though we can't exaggerate this factor. We must be extremely careful while handing down a death sentence. We should have human rights in mind." Thanks to his efforts, judges today are recognized as more than just "court staff", the rights of the accused are lawfully protected and victims can get special relief. But ask him whether he is satisfied with the reforms, and he will say promptly that a lot still needs to be done. He is a man who doesn't sit on his laurels. He knows the bureaucracy and local administrations interfere with the courts because that has been the convention for long. But he insists that trials should be held under direct authority of the State and according to the Constitution. "Some local officials don't want to understand the nature of the judiciary. They think of it as another administrative office. Hence, they ignore the judges and treat them as any other professionals, no different from a public servant." That's why, he says, the judiciary needs more forward-looking judges and better human resources management. A judge's job is the most demanding because expectations from him are high and the pay he gets is low. The salary judges get in central and western China is even lower, Xiao says. The result: many young, capable judges have quit their jobs. To have a more stable court system, judges' salaries should be raised and the regional gap eliminated. "Low wages are at the root of the malaise," he says. Progress made in judicial reforms, however, gives him the confidence that the country will ultimately realize rule of the law. He is confident also because people today have become more aware of the court system. "More and more people know how to use the law for self-protection," he says, and that's a very encouraging sign. Many people who are unhappy with regional courts' rulings rush to Beijing every year to lodge a final appeal in the supreme court. And as the chief justice, Xiao understands full well the great responsibility he carries to uphold what could be the last hope of social justice for these people. A good judge must have a strong moral sense, professional pride and independent judgment. He has all of these qualities, but he says: "Only the Communist Party of China and the people can decide whether I am a good judge." An increasing number of people today are choosing to practice law because it has become more prominent in people's lives, and that is a welcome change, he says. Had he not been as extremely busy as the SPC president, he would have loved to be a university teacher to help these bright, young people become good lawyers and judges. But he is giving society and the judicial system more than that. After all, his motto is: "Give it everything I have, work till I die". It takes a lifetime's devotion to be a judicial reform crusader and a defender of justice. But then he decided a long time ago to "devote all my energy and knowledge to my beloved cause". (China Daily 03/11/2008 page8) |
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