China improves systems of people's jurors

BEIJING - The people's courts as the judicial organs and the people's procuratorates as the legal supervisory organs need to promote democracy to ensure judicial impartiality, a white paper said Tuesday.

China's systems of people's jurors and people's supervisors provide a significant guarantee for developing socialist democratic politics, and realizing the people's participation in the administration of state affairs in accordance with the law, said the white paper on judicial reform in China, which was issued by the State Council Information Office.

The system of people's jurors is a major way for the public to directly participate in and supervise judicial work. In 2004, China's legislative organ promulgated the Decision on Improving the System of People's Jurors.

The state has expanded the sources of people's jurors to all walks of life, and determine the people's jurors for cases by random selection from the rosters. In a collegiate panel, people's jurors have the same power as the judges, except that they cannot serve as chief judges, and exercise the right to vote independently for the findings of fact and the application of law, according to the white paper.

The people's courts at all levels have held training sessions for people's jurors, mainly focusing on judicial procedure, professional skills and awareness of the rule of law, so as to improve their capability to perform their duties, the white paper said.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate launched a pilot program to establish the system of people's supervisors in 2003. In October 2010, this system was comprehensively implemented in procuratorial organs throughout the country, it said.

People's supervisors are selected from all walks of life who supervise and assess, according to supervisory procedures, the following situations in power-abuse cases handled by the people's procuratorates: failure in putting a case on file for investigation, wrongfully putting a case on file for investigation, and withdrawing a case or stopping prosecution, the document said.

From October 2003 to the end of 2011, people's supervisors in China supervised 35,514 cases, and gave opinions different from the original ones of the people's procuratorates in 1,653 cases. People's supervisors' votes in 908 cases were adopted by the people's procuratorates, accounting for 54.93 percent of the total, according to the white paper.

Related:

China issues white paper on judicial reform

The Information Office of the State Council issued Tuesday a white paper on judicial reform. Apart from reviewing China's judicial system and reform process, the white paper focuses on maintaining social fairness, justice and human rights protection. Full story